agree - his running and passing improved so much but he was a tackling machine- never thought would be an international seeing his lazenby cup debut

Don’t get me wrong, he was a good player, but he lacked the brutal instinct needed in that era in my opinion - he did a very good job, but didn’t strike fear into the opposition, either through brutality or offensively. I actually think he’d have been a better player in the modern era where you don’t so much need enforcers.

that was going to be my original reply re any criticism of him , needed to be a bit more moz like

They might not have feared him but i guarantee they respected him and i doubt they did for many of our pack for most of Roys Leeds career.

This was one of the reason doug Laughton got rid if Roy thought he was not fearsome enough, then spent years trying to replace him with past it, never was, and pure e like mick Worrel, that Scot bloke from Workington, Mike o Neil and some forgettable others, all proper hard men (sarcasm ) Only Ellery plugged the gap tackling down the middle that Roy used to do, and Ellery was not signed to just do 40 tackles a game.

Bet they all would have had him in their team as well.

Every successful team has a Roy Powell.

It does but if you have too many of them your team is no longer successful. There is a place for hard work and toil but there is no substitute for class and talent.

Yep its called balance, but both types of player can still be greats, after we could have an entire thread on players who had class and talent, but still never really made it, either from bad career choices, injury, bad attitude, laziness or just plain bottle. Been by a few mention in here who fit into the latter category.
For every Roy Powell there’s Paul medley
JJB theres Chris feather etc.

For every JJB there's a Sinfield, McGuire, Ali, Senior and Webb - that is about the right balance - 5:1

Mal Reilly picked Roy Powell to tour down under twice. He was a regular in the Test team in the late 80s and 1990. Reilly knew all about how tough you needed to be in the pack.

Powell's job wasn't to intimidate. It was to be rock solid in defence and take the ball up strongly. If there was an occasional offload then all the better.

In the 80s he was the best and most consistent forward at Leeds. Laughton won bugger all at Leeds so letting Powell go was hardly a master stroke and he was sight better than a lot of those he brought in.

harmon, howard, faimolo , mann, eyres seemed to leave something back in lancashire

Faimalo, Mann, arguably Eyres yes; Harmon and Howard were good, effective signings.

None of them particularly deserve to be mentioned on this thread though.

he did bring sinfield in as well - forgot goodway in list of dodgy lancastrians

Is that Lancastrians with a silent W?

they certainly don't apart from the context of being inadequate replacements for roy

where were you on the medley / dixon debate , guessing a dixon fan --also good in the 1990 test , played above his weight but medley had the touchline tries returning kick offs

Medley was that era for Leeds in a nutshell. Could do some sensational things but had no heart and when things got tough was nowhere to be seen. He would make 3 tackles from marker and then do zilch for an hour. Soft but he could score from 60m and make an impact from bench too. Not exactly a grafter wasnt the lad tho.

Dixon was a much better player than Medley in my opinion but they was totally different players. Dixon had heart and fight. He played mainly at prop while Medley was a wide running 2nd rower and an even wider running defender.

Medley had Box Office, but also taught Leon Pryce all he knows about hide and seek. Dixon on the other hand used to lamp his cows if they we’re misbehaving. Totally different creatures.

Dave Heron was my favourite Leeds player from that era.

as a player to watch would pick ahead of sinfield but the fallow years may
stop him getting in hall of fame

Heron was crying out for a pack with some enforcers in it. Remember him doing OK at six too. On a slightly different note I think Craig Izzard (sadly briefly) made the biggest instant impression of any of our imported forwards. He was a belter.

It really frustrates me that the club don't have the finger on the pulse of what fans would like to see - at least Stuart Duffy knew enough about Leeds to get some of the retro stuff, albeit he was lacking in other areas.

Get Craig Izzard on a plane over here, announce he's going to stand in front of the South Stand for ten minutes and you'd have the place full of people come to hero worship!

This is also the reason why I still can't see that Phil Ford-Offiah tackle on Youtube, one of the most talked-about Leeds moments of the entire decade!

Quote ="The Ghost of '99"It really frustrates me that the club don't have the finger on the pulse of what fans would like to see - at least Stuart Duffy knew enough about Leeds to get some of the retro stuff, albeit he was lacking in other areas. Get Craig Izzard on a plane over here, announce he's going to stand in front of the South Stand for ten minutes and you'd have the place full of people come to hero worship! This is also the reason why I still can't see that Phil Ford-Offiah tackle on Youtube, one of the most talked-about Leeds moments of the entire decade!'" don't think there's enough of us left that saw his 13 appearances https://www.therhinos.co.uk/timeline/1980s/1989-1990/ -- strange year of signings and surprised creasser lasted that many years

Quote ="The Ghost of '99"It really frustrates me that the club don't have the finger on the pulse of what fans would like to see - at least Stuart Duffy knew enough about Leeds to get some of the retro stuff, albeit he was lacking in other areas. Get Craig Izzard on a plane over here, announce he's going to stand in front of the South Stand for ten minutes and you'd have the place full of people come to hero worship! This is also the reason why I still can't see that Phil Ford-Offiah tackle on Youtube, one of the most talked-about Leeds moments of the entire decade!'" don't think there's enough of us left that saw his 13 appearances https://www.therhinos.co.uk/timeline/1980s/1989-1990/ -- strange year of signings and surprised creasser lasted that many years

One of my favourite Izzard appearances was at Salford, when he wasn't playing, but was responsible for bringing and removing the kicking tee.

Everytime he came on the pitch, he got a fantastic reception. By the end, he looked a bit embarrassed.

Also Morley, Goodway was past his best but he he was not a dodgy Lancastrian, he comes from Cas.