I seem to remember him sliding off the wet surface into the advertising boards at some pace. That pitch was far too small for RL.

My first game @ 12 years old was a league match v Fev Rovers 1964.

Sneaked in through the fencing on the ginnel behind the west stand and sat in front of the wicket fence behind the try line.

Shoey scored a late try under the posts to seal a victory and I was hooked

First big final was the 68 Watersplash final

on the Wally Arnolds coach with nearly the whole class from school.

Spent the most of the seventies till 1977 playing the game at amateur level with 2 years at Headingley in the Leeds U19`s Intermediates under coach Alan Horsfall but couldnt quite get a pro contract.

Honeymoon in London 1978 to watch the CC Final.

80`s and 90`s had a season ticket and went home and away till the advent of SL then moved into coaching and helping run an amatuer team for 12 years.

This past 6 years have been the best in terms of trophy success

This is THE team.

This is the team that will be referred to in the history books. This is the team that has had unprecedented success. This is the team that all others will be measured against.

In a few of decades from now we will be saying “…yes but they’re not as good as the team at the turn of the century.”

No matter how good or great you think teams of the past have been they will never compare to what we have right now. There will be no team in the future that will replicate this success.

This team is the Mohamed Ali of boxing, the Ian Botham of cricket, the Pele of football and there will never be another like it.

Just take a minute to think about how lucky we are right now, to see this happen right in front of us. To be able to say “I was there”.

Feel thankful, feel proud but must of all feel fortunate, for what we have right now comes once in forever.

Well said and here here!

My first game was 1990 against Northern. Used to stand in the old paddock, or on the Eastern terrace.

First final was Regal Trophy v Widnes. 1993? Memory like a seive. It took several years of counselling before I could even talk about it. First "major" final was the 1994 CC final. The first of my 8 Challenge Cup Final Losing Streak having missed '99. How many people can say they've seen their side lose a Challenge Cup final in 4 stadiums (if you count old and new Wembley as different, which I do) without any of them being replays?

Given those time frames, the debate about the best side/era I've seen is barely worth having.

It occurred to me that, inevitably, one day there are going to be a spell of 2 or more years without a championship again. Then we'll be all, like "WTF. Where's our trophy gone?"

True story.

Liking the new banner, very well done!

Love the new banner, those stars are looking mighty impressive.

Starry, starry banner. Good stuff.

Its going to take an awful long time for anyclub to emulate this period,if ever,and don't they know it?6stars and still counting.

Airlie Birds fan here. must say this is one of the best threads I've ever read. Memories, passion and a bit of heartache thrown in for good measure amongst the glories of the recent years you happily recount. For me, a Boulevarder since 65 and a traditionalist who can remember Seabourne, Shoebottom, Bev Risman et al, I really feel something from the words you share with us all. Well done you have a champion team. Enjoy it.

Of course, as you would expect, none of this will count the next time we meet lol

Why have I not got the new banner on my laptop, but I have on my phone???????

Try refreshing the page RR =F5!!

Cheers rhinoms

great new banner

Nice new banner...

.. just a shame RLFANS stick an equally big advert directly below it. I think there are enough adverts on this site already that they could avoid putting on there to be honest

Yup. I'm losing sleep over it.

BTW, Sir Kevin now holds the Leeds record for most points scored in a Championship final, beating Lewis Jones' previous record of 13.

And we are still the only club to have won both the World Club Challenge and the title in the same year, and we've done it twice.

If you would like to pay for the upkeep of the website instead, I'm sure Admin would be more than happy to take the offending advert down.

Yep. And if we win the WCC we'll be the first club to win it back to back.

and we keep getting told we are not very good

I never realised Lewis Jones held the championship final record points scored,considering there have been some high points scoring finals

He held the LEEDS record. I don't know about any others.

I took my info from last season's handbook. Not always the most reliable tome.

Now the dust has settled on another GF victory, it allows you to think of what Leeds have achieved in the last nine years. First games i went to where CC finals in the 1970's being brought up down in London. Started watching Leeds properly since the mid 1980's and god there have been some deep lows with the odd high. One of the best was in i think 92 going to Central Park and i think we turned over Wigan 16-0, but so many defeats to Wigan the destruction of us by Charriots and the last ever Premier Ship final when Wigan and in particular Jason Robinson destroyed us. Semi final defeats in the mid 1990's to Bradford and then in the earl 2000's to Saint Helens. You started to believe that Leeds were never going to be the best, then going to Bradford year after to year to get hammered, only being brightened up by seeing Barry Mac hit Fielden. Buying so called super stars only to find out they were here for one more pay day.

But it changed with Tony Smith, remember saying after losing to Wigan in the play offs in 2003 that i cannot face getting so far and no further. But Tony Smith turned Leeds around he built a wining side, gone were the days of beating a side by 40 points one week and then losing the next week. He was lucky to have a group of young players to build the side around.

This side is on a par with the Wigan side of the late 80's if not a better side as it is a more level playing field with all sides full time and the cap. I think as Leeds supporters we don't actually see what these team has achieved, it has won the league 6 times out of 9 years. In the history of Rugby League not many sides have done that.

If you had said this to me in 2003 this was going to happen, i would have said you need a bed in High Royds.

WELL DONE LEEDS.

Well said.

I remember the Wigan game you mention well (though i think it was actually 19-0, sorry to be a pedant!) as it was the first time i'd been to Central park and seen Leeds win against them. Me and my dad used to go in the Swinley Labour Club near the ground before each game, my dad's mate was a member so we'd meet up and he'd take us in for the banter. They used to play re-runs of all the Challenge Cup wins in the backroom there on matchday so it was always agonising having to listen to their fans drone on and on about how amazing Wigan were and how Leeds would never achieve such greatness (

). Needless to say as we walked out of the ground the guys who'd been crowing about 'amazing Wigan' before the game were now deathly silent, heads bowed not making eye contact with anyone. It was a beautiful moment, we didn't even have to goad them (but we did a bit anyway), you could see the sense of utter disappointment etched on their faces. As Leeds fans we knew [iexactly[/i how that felt which is what made it all the more sweet.
I've thought about that match a lot over the last few years, in the sense that even though it was a lovely feeling to beat them in their own back yard we knew deep down that the following week we'd probably be dreadful again. Not so with this current team. We've been to a dominant Warrington last year and a dominant Wigan this year and beaten them both, and not just in relatively 'meaningless' weekly round games either, but when it [ireally[/i mattered. And then gone on to win the GF as underdogs. Then there are the years Saints were outright favourites, nailed on to win the Grand Final, and we all know what happened then. Such a great team this current lot, and i'm ever so grateful to the players, coaches and staff past and especially present who've given me and my dad such wonderful memories.

saw my first game as a youngster in 91 or 92 against Hull. i think my 2nd game was Salford about 2 or 3 years later Harvey Howard (was that his name?) got sent off on his debut, it was then when i was hooked and my dad bought myself and my brother season tickets the following year and ive had one every season ever since. early good memories include beating wigan for the first time that id seen on my 8th birthday in 94.

so like everyone else on here i have seen a barren spell of 1 trophy in 13 years admittedly not as long as others. the 94 and 95 finals were early memories of disappointment as was the sickening first season of summer rugby. But Dean Bells academy set up was the beginning of the incredible chapter that we are seeing now. the realatively poor seasons of 2000 to 2002 regardless of our record winning streak in 2000 and the play off failure against a lacklustre Wigan side in 2003 had me thinking that i would never see our team be the best. but these past 9 seasons have defied belief with the success that homegrown stars and the odd aussie thrown in have brought. Yes the challenge cup continues to evade us but despite the great players my dad tells me about from the 60's and 70's this is still the finest Leeds side ever!

And i have to ask myself 'Are we watching the greatest side in the history of Rugby League?'

we are all truly lucky to be a part of it!