I hated Shaun Edwards, but I think a slight dis-service is being done to him. What he lacked in ability (and he was still a bl00dy good player) he made up for in sheer, ferocious, competitive spirit. But no, he wasn't the same class of player that Schoey was.

Spot on. A truly great centre and a magical 6. Danny McGuire has done some similar things through his career, in his younger days a player not afraid to try exciting things and a genuinely great finisher, I guess that's why I like him so much. Both were/are winners IMO, just that Mags was surrounded by winners at a club with a clear work ethic and Gary, erm wasn't.

He did, i think a lot of that had to do with the arrival of Hanley. He was the main man at the club for 5 years and that was no longer the case.

Also when John Gallagher arrived on that massive contract how much was it by the way?

Too much as it turned out.
It may have been different had he not been subjected to that horrendous spear tackle away at St Helens.
Was it Vievers & Connolly who made the tackle?

TBH I think the idea that Gallagher would ever have been that good is a bit of wishful thinking. He was very good at reading the play and hitting the line (his score vs the touring Aussies being a highlight), but I wouldn't have him in the top 5 Leeds full backs of the last 30 years. His defence was poor and kick returns poor to average even before the spear tackle.

Gallagher's misfortune was stepping into a Leeds side where nobody really gave a monkeys about anything other than how quick they could get to the pub after training.

Must have been quite a shock coming from the background of the professional (in all senses of the word) environment of the All Blacks.

From what I'm given to understand, he was the victim of pretty serious resentment from some senior members of the ruling dressing room clique at Headingley at that time, none of which was of his own making.

Gallagher was a great Union fullback, he struggled with fullback play in league. He would however suit the more modern fullback role. He did as said above read the play very well and linked into the line superbly, and again as above never recovered and confidence shot from a terrible totally illegal spear tackle, A hefty ban would be Inflicted nowadays. He looked much better a centre, but dougie pretty much binned him when he took over. Think he still could have made it.

In 1991 we were leading Hull in the premiership semi final by a small margin going into the dying minutes, and my Abiding memory of Gallagher is of him dropping the bomb which led to a try that cost us a place in the final.

Yep think he was partly tackled in the air again now illegal.

Wouldn't know I'm far too young *ahem*



But my Grandad used to always talk to us about that tour, he always said Schoey was a world beater. When I've met Schoey he always seemed sound. He's an uncle to a lad from my year at school. That's about as far as my knowledge of him goes I'm afraid, wona talk about cake?

I listen and read from a certain big cheerful local lad who played for leeds many years when he reminisces about him and his mates drinking sessions pre and post training Stoggy's and Smyth's etc.As fans sometimes we weren't getting value for money

A semi-final we very nearly weren't in due to Schofield getting himself binned for an enormous dummy spit against Cas the previous week, if I remember rightly?

And IIRC, Schoey got binned for arguing when an interception try was chalked off for a non-existent knock on. It was said that the ref apologised after the game once he saw the replay.

And Schoey won the game with a late try. It was under the sticks, I think, but it was a long time ago.

bit harsh , different era. I've had chats post match with him in the skyrack where he'd share his opinions freely. back in the 80s and part of 90s most players drank though schoey poss kept stoggys going .

there was players from different clubs doing smiths and Richmond on a sunday when it was matchday.

david ward or dougie used to make the players circulate all the supporters bars when you didn't need an extra ticket for the event.

Think his best days were at centre.

favourite stand offs ahead of him would be john holmes , cliff lyons and iestyn

Gallagher was certainly not welcome with the Town Hall Tavern drinkers clique ,Schoey,Crooksie and Maskill.
I remember when Leeds won the JP trophy in 1983 all the team were celebrating in the Smiths Arms,reserve hooker and general hanger-on Sean Miller started throwing his weight around ( all 9stone ) my mate decked him and we were promptly thrown out

Spot on. Leeds got a penalty to level it right in front of sticks to send it into extra time and carl Gibson went himself, instead o going for kick. Schofield then scored from dummy half. Great game.

I wasn't referring to Schoey then ,but whoever I meant doesn't matter that's how it was in those days

Great thread this! Been a while since I've contributed - sorry.

Schoey is a real legend. One of those leeds players who you could truly say was a great of the game. I remember gettin peeved at the time that Edwards got so much more credit than him purely because he was wigan - great player too but not comparable to schoey.

I used to have loads of arguments with ar'kid about who'd you want more in your 13 schoey or Hanley (before Hanley joined leeds!). Great times. I argued schoey but was proved wrong I reckon!

Anyone remember schoeys length of the field interception try at cas which ruled out for a phantom knock on in the first half? He had pace then at centre.

Good old days?! I reckon so, we were so desperate to be the best werent we and always came up way short!

John Bentleys try at Central park anyone?! Think it finished 19-0 I think. Brilliant days.
Night.

The 'no try' at Cas has been mentioned on previous pages. Jim Smith made a tremendous howler! For the record, Schoey was at Stand Off by then. Maybe not the pace of previous years but his reading of the game gave him an extra few yards.

The Bentley try? Outstanding, plus 2 from Fordy - another great display from Schoey that game. Iirc 11 first teamers out injured - nobody would have possibly imagined a 0-19 win

What a random game that was and me and my old man and others who watched every game home and away missed it.that night i remember (i was only about 13) my dad saying that it was a night game and leeds have loads of players out so cos your gran has just got sky sports we will watch it there.fair to say we all regreted it after

Ha ha. Similar circumstances to me. My Mum & Dad didn't fancy it either. Thankfully Sky were showing games by then - their first being our famous Premiership victory away at Cas I think. I watched the VHS recording of both games on numerous occasions afterwards.

It's debateable whether we'd have won at Wigan had Hanley been fit. Yes, he was a better player than whoever played 13 that night (Divorty?). But did we ever show such team spirit under his leadership?

It was Gary Divorty at loose-forward that night but how many remember Matt Shaw in the second-row ?
A tremendous win in Dougie's first season.

A few beers before that game, a trip across the Pennines in a bit of snow, team p!$$ on the M62, my mate mooning the Wigan fans after Bentos scored and then the innevitable pitch invasion at the end. Good night at Central Park had by all.
Simon Irving goal kicking?