WARRINGTON Wolves are expecting their biggest home crowd for nearly 40 years when they face neighbours St Helens on Friday night which is already a near sell-out .
The South Stand sold out earlier this week and there are limited seats remaining in both North and East Stands.
There are also a few remaining tickets for the West Stand terrace are on sale in WolfWare.
The Halliwell Jones Stadium capacity is now 15,000 following the off-season development so this is a fantastic achievement and will be the highest attendance recorded at the stadium.
The last home gate of 15,000 was on 4th March 1973 when Warrington lost 14-18 in a Challenge Cup quarter final tie against Featherstone Rovers at Wilderspool. The attendance of 15,577 was the third home match with crowd over 15,000 in four weeks. A year later Warrington gained revenge by defeating Featherstone at Wembley to lift the Challenge Cup.
Two weeks earlier Warrington had beaten Widnes 20-11 in the second round of the Challenge Cup in front of 15,957 spectators.
A week prior to that on 11th February 1973 a crowd of 15,181 saw Warrington defeat local rivals St Helens 13-11 in a league match at Wilderspool. Alex Murphy’s Warrington went on to finish the season as League Leaders.
Meanwhile Head opf coaching Tony Smith has announced his 19 man squad for the clash and welcomes back former Saint Micky Higham from suspension but it without second rower Benny Westwood who picked up a one match ban after being placed on report during the victory over Wigan last Friday.
Looking ahead to another local derby Wolves’ captain Adrian Morley (pictured) said: “In the last few years the Saints and Warrington games really have been classics and this year should be no different. People have been writing Saints off so far this season, but we certainly haven’t. They showed against the current champs Leeds Rhinos that they are to be taken as serious title contenders this year and even though they have had an up and down start, they are a quality side.
“I am really looking forward to seeing the crowd on Friday night. I cannot wait to hear the roar as we step onto the field. Let’s hope we match the fans’ enthusiasm on the pitch and get the result we want.”
Wolves Squad: 4 Ryan Atkins 18 Matty Blythe 3 Chris Bridge 6 Lee Briers 10 Garreth Carvell 17 Mike Cooper 15 Simon Grix 14 Micky Higham 20 Chris Hill 1 Brett Hodgson 21 Tyrone McCarthy 5 Joel Monaghan 9 Michael Monaghan 8 Adrian Morley 7 Richie Myler 2 Chris Riley 11 Trent Waterhouse 22 Rhys Williams 16 Paul Wood
