General Rugby Leagues Memory Lane

[Trugoy]

In all my years of watching league including the 80s I have never seen anyone as headless as mad jack

There’s been a whole heap of loose units over the years but hard to go past Gordy for straight up loonie eyed aggression.
And one of the best back rowers of all time to boot.

Les Boyd was another, great player but a serial thug who payed for it by basically wiping himself out of the Aussie game through suspensions.

And if we’re talking headless it wouldn’t be right to forget good ol’ Hoppa. (see Les Boyd)

Jacks got a fair ways to go yet haha.

 

[gREVUS]

what about good old Kevin Campion, i swear he used to cut his forehead open himself in half his games and when he didnt i swear he lead with his head in every other tackle.

 

[Worried2Death]

what about good old Kevin Campion, i swear he used to cut his forehead open himself in half his games and when he didnt i swear he lead with his head in every other tackle.

Campo was one of the best for sure, I don't know if we're naming legendary hardmen here or just well known nutjobs.

 

[WA supporter]

What about blind ol' Mark Carroll's lack of self-preservation?

Especailly when he and P Harrigan used to come together

 

[WA supporter]

There’s been a whole heap of loose units over the years but hard to go past Gordy for straight up loonie eyed aggression.
And one of the best back rowers of all time to boot.

Les Boyd was another, great player but a serial thug who payed for it by basically wiping himself out of the Aussie game through suspensions.

And if we’re talking headless it wouldn’t be right to forget good ol’ Hoppa. (see Les Boyd)

Jacks got a fair ways to go yet haha.

I still have nightmares from the ‘95 season when St George played the Warriors at Ericsson. Early minutes of the 2nd half Tallis broke the line 60 metres out down the l/h side and scored. I don’t remember the final score but it wasn’t pretty for us

 

[Worried2Death]

I still have nightmares from the ‘95 season when St George played the Warriors at Ericsson. Early minutes of the 2nd half Tallis broke the line 60 metres out down the l/h side and scored. I don’t remember the final score but it wasn’t pretty for us

Remember it well, he taught us a lesson I've never forgotten. That was the start of our decline.

 

[Miket12]

I still have nightmares from the ‘95 season when St George played the Warriors at Ericsson. Early minutes of the 2nd half Tallis broke the line 60 metres out down the l/h side and scored. I don’t remember the final score but it wasn’t pretty for us

I remember some little hooker running from dummy half. Someone Brown? What’s he doing nowadays?

 

[WA supporter]

I remember some little hooker running from dummy half. Someone Brown? What’s he doing nowadays?

Is that the same bloke G Lowe used to the call the ”Milky Bar Kid”?!

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

Great article on the first black RL coach In this country, Roy Francis. Probably the first black coach in any sport tbh

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/54695638

For anyone who can access BBC iPlayer the Rugby Codebreakers programme is well worth a watch. It’s about those who chose to leave Wales for the North of England to play RL, many of whom were black (Francis, Billy Boston and others) who knew they would never get picked for Wales.

 

[bruce]

Your posts bring tears to my eyes brother

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

Your posts bring tears to my eyes brother

I grew up with this stuff. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was younger (oldest grandchild) and my grandfather was Rugby League to his core. He could go back to the game in the 1920’s, although there were no professional Cumbrian clubs until 1945. He knew a lot of big time players through his refereeing. I remember he told me he’d played amateur games alongside a local hero called Billy Little who got Barrow to the cup final in the 1930’s

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

bruce did you ever see this bloke play in your dotage? Before my time, but I remember him as a coach

 

[Tim burgess]

He is a legend in Hull. I would to have seen him play.

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

He is a legend in Hull. I would to have seen him play.

He played in a Hull pack that had twin brothers at prop, Bill and Jim Drake. A pretty fearsome pair by all accounts and both internationals I think, born in Harrington in Cumbria so turned out for the county team even though they’d grown up near York.

Part of my childhood indoctrination

 

[Tim burgess]

He played in a Hull pack that had twin brothers at prop, Bill and Jim Drake. A pretty fearsome pair by all accounts and both internationals I think, born in Harrington in Cumbria so turned out for the county team even though they’d grown up near York.

Part of my childhood indoctrination

Ive heard the same about the Drake brothers. I think Mick Scott and Arthur Keegan were in the same era as well. Another couple of Hull FC icons.

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

A well overdue recognition of great players by the Welsh

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/54348482

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

Ive heard the same about the Drake brothers. I think Mick Scott and Arthur Keegan were in the same era as well. Another couple of Hull FC icons.

Hull beat Workington in the 1958 play off final, just before Arthur Keegans time I think (and mine-I was born in 1960). I can remember Keegan playing in the late 60’s early 70’s

 

[bruce]

Those were the days. There were some hard bastards, especially from the South Island

'Banned for life in New Zealand': Welsh rugby league prop regrets stamping on Kiwi's face

Big Jim Mills still sorry for injurying John Greengrass in fit of temper in 1975 Rugby League World Cup test.

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

Those were the days. There were some hard bastards, especially from the South Island

'Banned for life in New Zealand': Welsh rugby league prop regrets stamping on Kiwi's face

Big Jim Mills still sorry for injurying John Greengrass in fit of temper in 1975 Rugby League World Cup test.

www.stuff.co.nz

Complete chalk and cheese on and off the pitch Jim Mills. Nice bloke off it, couldn’t keep his temper on it, as a consequence he was an easy target for anyone looking to rile him. That stamp looks dreadful.

The only time I welcomed his loss of temper was 1978 v Australia at Odsal. In the lead up to the game, there were complaints about the Aussies biting in the previous test. During the game one of the Aussies (Gerrard or Reddy I can’t remember) appeared to apply teeth to Mills forearm, what followed was a sustained head butt assault by Mills that sorted things out. I think the ref may even have given GB a penalty. Old fashioned test match forward play I guess

 

[Stone]

As far as the Brits go Barrie McDermott was a straight up lunatic on the pitch.

But the Brit player that really stands out to me for being a genuine hard bastard & definitely one NOT to be trifled with is Jamie Peacock.

I always thought it was a real shame JP never came over to the NRL, he would've been a huge asset to any NRL squad IMO.

I still believe he was a considerably better overall player than Morley & that AM gets a lot more shine downunder because he played NRL.

But Peacock in his prime was an entirely different beast IMO.

As far as Kiwis go, if it's someone you'd want to have your back in a scrap, well it's hard to go past Monty, dude was genuinely feared in his time & he's one of the few players I can think of that had legit fight experience & fight skills while he was an active player.

But if I'm picking all time Kiwi hard bastards then I'd have to call it a draw between Mark Graham & Ruben Wiki.

As far as the Roos go, I always loved how Ian Roberts played the game, the guy just always seemed to be so angry & uber-aggressive whenever he played.

And when it came out that he was gay it just made him seem even tougher in my eyes, I mean to play that way against those players in that comp at that time all while being a semi closeted homosexual for as long as he did

That's something I can't even fully comprehend ... unreal toughness IMO.