My son was looking at old rugby league tables on wiki today and as he was asking me questions I started having a quick look too.

As my username suggests I was born in 76, so although I grew up following fev and rugby, as a young un I never really took any notice of the tables other than what fev did.

Clicking through the tables I was very surprised at the amount of times Fax were relegated and promoted during this time.

Must have been a really mad time to follow fax. I'm sure I counted 6 Relegations and 6 promotions + 2 div 1 championships within a 18 year period after the reintroduction of 2 divisions.

Funny how for some reason I always had memories of Fax always being a top team until recent years, yet overall possibly spent more seasons out of the top division than us during my lifetime.

Not having a dig, just genuinely surprised

1984 was the turning point. We broke the string on our yoyo and invited 13 Australians over to change our bouncy path. The style of rugby changed overnight, as did our fortunes.

The timekeeper around that time was a really good signing too, for both Fev & Fax!

A great post, if we don't move with the times we will be left behind. Hopefully in a few seasons we can be the club d/r players out.

That team from 85-87 was quite something.

Always wondered how you attracted such good Aussies. Was it Anderson and Eadie? Who persuaded them to come over?

Once Anderson stopped playing the decent Aussies seemed to dry up a bit for you.

Mr Brook enticed them over, first Chris Anderson and then the others followed, I understand what clinched it was the offer of unlimited Websters and free entrance to any night club the evening before match day.
It is well documented that the players stayed up very late the night before the final in 87.



Did you know we once had a South Sea Islander who had it written into his contract that he could have a shot of whisky at half time.

As a Northern fan I always envied Fax's ability to get quality Aussies in the mid 80s. We just didn't have the contacts or the cash or the know how. You got Eadie, Anderson, Rix, Neller, Langmack, Bella etc and we got er Gary Mercer.

Wasn't there a story in "When Push Comes to Shove" about a minibus full of Aussie Fax players who were taking one of their number to the airport. They stopped in a bunch of pubs on the way and got legless. This attracted the traffic police who pulled over the minibus and the driver (a Fax player) legged it, jumped off a bridge and broke both ankles.

Maybe someone on here knows the player.

I believe the player was Keith Neller

No it was Bob Arnorld.
Didn't the police also find Hudson (i think that was his name) passed out under the seats of the van the morning after.
Or is that just folklore.

Some great tales from those days. One I recall is Colin Whitfield saying he wasn't going drinking after training as he was teetotal. Chris Andersons response was you come anyway and drink orange juice.

I started supporting Fax from about 1968 when I was 6 and that was the end of a golden era for Fax as the seventies were bad times the 1972 John Player trophy win aside until Maurice Bamford a hero to us got us up off the floor after finishing bottom of Division 2 winning just 2 games all season in 1976/77 but we did not really hit the big time until Brookie's era in the mid eighties although the fans came back in large numbers when we improved in 1978 onwards who remembers 13,000 at Thrum Hall for the CC game against Wakey which we won?
Our real golden era was in the fifties and before really.

Just a little observation here young man. Gary Mercer was errrrrr A KIWI !!!!!
You, yourself, or your club's supporters may not rate that man MING, but for many of us, he has a place in our hearts as a modern
( SL era ) mini legend at Halifax RLFC.

To answer Fax4life's question, yes, sure i remember that day. Wakey came with all their big guns, including Mike Lambkowski iirc, Thrummers was bouncing that day, cracking atmosphere & Jonny Blair's drop goals. If only games like those were available online or to purchase on dvd/blu-ray. 13,000 in Thrum Hall, it was awesome & one win away from Wembley until the late, GREAT Clive Sullivan took us to the cleaners at Headingley in the semi final.

Great player was Gary Mercer, enough said.

Yes it was as per a previous poster put a certain Bob Arnold who jumped over a wall to avoid the local constabulary in Mytholmroyd only to find it was a bridge! Also Bob Hudson was the player who slept through the whole episode and was found on the minibus floor by police!

Anyone remember the CC game versus Fulham at Crystal Palace which was played on about a foot of snow on the pitch! Possibly the coldest rugby match I ever attended and Kevin Moore broke his leg scoring a try on the posts....

That was the coldest game I've ever watched, from a bout a mile away, I think my knee joints froze.
Remember my mates thinking they needed to warm up a bit so had a long jump competition in the pit, the the bloody heating broke down on our coach before the coach itself finally gave up the ghost at Tingley, all in all a long cold day. But great memories.

For me coldest day ever was Oldham away - Boundary Park. Joe Kilroy looked "frozzen daft" after the match. So, so cold.

You obviously remember Jonny Blair and his drop goals that day. Can you remember the score, and how many he kicked?

I was on the very same coach with my dad and loads of other old timers! I remember my dad saying there's bloody ice on the inside of the windows...... That was a long cold trip!

Quote ="marillion man"Just a little observation here young man. Gary Mercer was errrrrr A KIWI !!!!! You, yourself, or your club's supporters may not rate that man MING, but for many of us, he has a place in our hearts as a modern ( SL era ) mini legend at Halifax RLFC.'" I know mate. But he and his pal Russell Stewart from Bay of Plenty were our only decent foreign imports in the late 80s. Mercer left us for Wire and we only really got one good season from him. As far as Aussies were concerned we had the likes of Bob Kellaway and Ash Lumby who were v poor. Nowhere near the quality of Eadie/Anderson/Rix/Neller etc. We did get Bob Grogan for a game or two though after he left Fax. Interesting Jo Kilroy tale here: www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6609613138

Quote ="marillion man"Just a little observation here young man. Gary Mercer was errrrrr A KIWI !!!!! You, yourself, or your club's supporters may not rate that man MING, but for many of us, he has a place in our hearts as a modern ( SL era ) mini legend at Halifax RLFC.'" I know mate. But he and his pal Russell Stewart from Bay of Plenty were our only decent foreign imports in the late 80s. Mercer left us for Wire and we only really got one good season from him. As far as Aussies were concerned we had the likes of Bob Kellaway and Ash Lumby who were v poor. Nowhere near the quality of Eadie/Anderson/Rix/Neller etc. We did get Bob Grogan for a game or two though after he left Fax. Interesting Jo Kilroy tale here: www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6609613138

Yes my mate fell asleep and woke up stuck to the window.

The 80`s must have been the era when recreational drugs were most prevalent in the game, Ive heard all sorts of stories about what some of the players got up to in that decade although i saw first hand in the 90's that it was still going on and quite widespread so it always makes me wonder how performances of players were affected for the better or worse afterall its well known as mentioned before that there were a few players probably still half cut when playing a couple of major games for us.

I can recall some article in The People or the NOTW back in the 80s/early 90s when someone alleged that Wire were on something for the Premiership Final versus Fax. Could’ve just been a massive bonus.

Hmmm, 7-3 or 7-4 & he potted either three or four

14-12 or 14-10, not sure how many drop goals he got.

3rd last paragraph will confirm the detail in question.

The initial article subject matter i was unaware of. R.I.P you Thrum Hall legend.