"Top six and you know we are,......Top six and you know we are........"

Favourite Fletcher chant ever!

2003 - the year of the Frank Sinatra Memorial Stadium with more farewells than Ol Blue Eyes. My favourite announcement that year was Sean Mellor's "and welcome to this week's final game at Wilderspool, the next final game at Wilderspool will be on...".

On the field an abiding memory of Lee Briers controlling a game against London Broncos while playing half of it with a broken hand/wrist. Graham Appo's performances in thumping Halifax & Wakefield at home, the ghastly silver away shirt, the atmosphere at the Wigan play-off game & beating Widnes away with Appo's last minute interception try streaking away while waving at a chasing Millard.

A season of hope & expectation for the future...

Apart from the obvious 'last' game against Wakey, my favourite match was the away match at Huddersfield which I think might have been Tony Smith's last home game in charge of the Giants. That match had everything, terrific play and loads of biff. Mark Hilton nearly got sent off for a unchracteristic high tackle and shortly afterwards mass brawls broke out. Nat Wood had one of his best games for us that night. For all his problems in later years I thought Cull did a superb job of getting the team we had into play offs that year. I honestly thought that on the back of that 2004 was going to be a really good season for us. Sadly the first game at the HJ was the highlight of an otherwise forgetable year. Looking forward to your thoughts on that Sally

Don't know about anyone else, but for me the Wakefield game was the last time I went into Wilderspool. I stood outside it with 2000 other people in Feb 2003 for the March to the HJ, but I made up my mind that day that I wouldn't be going back again.

Re the players, my take on them was thus:

TKL was one of the form centres at the time, hence him having a choice of destinations. I would imagine his deal was far in excess of anythng we could remotely offer. I bore him no malice.

Fozzard was a disappointing one for me. We had offered him an opportunity to get back into SL, when, if we are honest, he was very much a gamble. He repaid our faith with good performances, but it is my take that he had his eyes on the exit door a fair way before the end of his contract. That for me was the disappointment, not the fact he left. I don't think anyone os naive enough to think a player has to look after himself financially.

Wainwright, ther always has to be a scapegoat, regardless of how well they do.

Domic was seeking a two year deal, with Burns willing to acceppt one year. With Appo looking the real deal (what a wonderful thing hindsight is), it made sense to me to let Domic go, despite his incredible performances of 2002.

Overall, I have never really got the mindset of those who give returning plaers the bird.

GDMM: you've got Fozzard all wrong. He wanted to stay but when told Saints were interested he was advised to ask for double the best offer he had from elsewhere. Saints agreed providing it was for an extra year than what he had asked for.

He left with the club's best wishes and thanks and a tear in his eye.

Robert Relf.

Career progression. What trophies was Fozzard going to win at Warrington? He went to Saints and cleaned up.

He was a top player for us for the 2 years of his contract and committed to the shirt, he didn't owe us anything more than that. If I remember rightly he was on a contract that could be terminated instantly if his dodgy arm went again, I doubt we would have cared about loyalty if that had happened, he'd have been straight out the door.

If he had signed for Widnes for a big deal at the end of 2003 I would have felt a bit hurt but who can begrudge him going to Saints.....is he any more of a judas than Richie Myler who Salford gave a chance in SL and has now jumped ship as soon as he's smelt the first chance of joining a trophy winning squad?

As I said, I don't begrudge anybody securing their future, probably none moreso than Fozzard with his run of injuries. It was my misguided view that he had done a deal with Saints, long before he spoke to Warrington about his future.

As for the terminatin clause, I would be quite scathing if they hadn't put it in, with his history, but I actually don't think we would have enforced it, had he suffered the injury, such was his performances.

The famous three-eyed fish poster was that year wasn't it?