Iro was devastating when he was in the mood. I thought both complimented each other very well as a partnership though, great to watch on a good Leeds day of that era.

when innes was leaving he started scoring tries instead of giving franny walk ins , including short spells back line harris , e.t bell, senior , grothe , holmes , lyons

ET in full flow was a great sight and as others have said had the looks etc, however he did not show up in big matches for Leeds (appreciate he did not play in that many).

Currie and Lyons did.

ET was also a kid when he first played, in an awful Leeds team in 86-87. Had he been amongst better players he would have shone more. Mind you, one of my abiding memories of his spell was being surprised to see him on Noel Edmonds' Christmas show in a live link up with his family on the basis that he was a young Aussie a long way from home. Oddly enough no mention of the fact that he was also a highly paid pro sportsman.

Despite the great memories of ET, I think my abiding memory was him trying to chip the on rushing Widnes defence in a last ditch attempt to help us win a Challenge Cup game against them in his first stint with Leeds. I think it the ball fell nicely into Rick Thackerey's hands and that was all she wrote...........still the man was a genius to me, with a glide across the pitch that I've seen very few others have in all the time I've watched Rugby League.

Loved Lyons, and Currie too, it was such a shame we couldn't get them to Wembley as it was have been amazing watching them grace the Wembley turf in Leeds colours.

Remember that game well, remember fuming at ET for that and costing us the game, but reality it was a last throw of the dice to snatch a win from a much better Widnes team. also remember a fight on st michaels lane afterwards, the first time i ever saw trouble at an RL game. and still only ever seen a handful since then.

Now that is rather funny you should mention that. My old man worked for the Beeb for many years at the studios in Woodhouse Lane and it wasn't unusual for him to work on Christmas Day on these very projects, in fact a 12 year old me appeared on this very programme sat just behind ET and his rather stunning gf!!!

We were well beaten on a miserable, cold icy day. Didn't we absolutely hammer Widnes though at home in the league that season? '86/87 season Widnes only won one more game than us, and we were nearly relegated.

Quote ="DHM"We were well beaten on a miserable, cold icy day. Didn't we absolutely hammer Widnes though at home in the league that season? '86/87 season Widnes only won one more game than us, and we were nearly relegated.'" Yeah i went to this league game against them was one of my first - www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seaso ... mmary.html Note - crowd, a little over 6k must have looked empty!

Quote ="DHM"We were well beaten on a miserable, cold icy day. Didn't we absolutely hammer Widnes though at home in the league that season? '86/87 season Widnes only won one more game than us, and we were nearly relegated.'" Yeah i went to this league game against them was one of my first - www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seaso ... mmary.html Note - crowd, a little over 6k must have looked empty!

Quote ="Biff Tannen"Yeah i went to this league game against them was one of my first - www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seaso ... mmary.html Note - crowd, a little over 6k must have looked empty!'" It never felt empty. Our spot was towards the bottom of the South Stand just to the right of halfway (as you look out at the pitch), or left if you look at the South Stand. I particularly remember we were cheering tackles that day. Roy Powell was incredible.

Quote ="Biff Tannen"Yeah i went to this league game against them was one of my first - www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seaso ... mmary.html Note - crowd, a little over 6k must have looked empty!'" It never felt empty. Our spot was towards the bottom of the South Stand just to the right of halfway (as you look out at the pitch), or left if you look at the South Stand. I particularly remember we were cheering tackles that day. Roy Powell was incredible.

[url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/challenge-cup-1988/game-3/leeds-vs-widnes/summary.html[uThis game[/u[/url was one of the biggest disappointments of the lot. There were such high expectations that afternoon too. Widnes back then were a nightmare for Leeds. Probably why I hold the last-gasp 10-10 draw at Naughton Park and the 5-0 win in the replay at Headingley in 1986 with such affection. Shame about the semi-final and the replay in the very next round though



Over 80K in total attendance for Leeds QF and SF rounds (both went to replays) in the CC that year (1986).

There was an away win in the cup as well. Wayne Heron scored the clincher. Memorable because me and my mates managed to miss the Wally Arnold coach. Instead we had a few in The Grange and then watched it on my B/W portable. The hole in my bedroom ceiling is still there where my mate celebrated Heron's try by bouncing off my bed and sticking his head through it.

Great days

I always forget that win because I didn't attend (rare back then) and didn't see it on TV either for whatever reason which I cannot recall. Probably a tedious wedding to attend instead which I couldn't get out of.

The 80's did involve some great days in spite of all the cruel disappointments in the CC that decade, when it meant so much more. I went mental jumping up and down (as did plenty of others) when Creasser kicked that 2 points in the dying seconds at Widnes for the 10-10 draw.

It shouldn't be difficult to work out why I always reserved more dread of Widnes than I've ever done for Wigan when you look at these CC results from that decade.

81-82 lost to Widnes 8-11, Semi Final, Swinton, Crossbar Job in last minute (utter devastation).
82-83 beat Widnes 12-6 at Naughton Pk, I didn't see it therefore no recollection.
83-84 lost to Widnes 4-15, Semi Final, Swinton.
84-85 lost to Widnes 4-14 at Headingley, Round 1.
85-86 drew 10-10, then beat Widnes 5-0 at Headingley in replay.
86-87 lost to Widnes 7-14 at Headingley, Quarter Final.
88-89 lost to Widnes 4-24 at Headingley, Quarter Final.

And if you thought you were getting over Widnes in the 90's... no chance!

92-93 lost to Widnes 4-39 in Semi Final at Wigan.

You drank in The Grange, eh?


I'm guessing you're a Gipton or Hollin Park lad then?

That game in 88/89 was soon after I started to regularly follow Leeds RL in person when I took both my lads as well. We stood in the old paddock area.
WE is correct we had such high hopes for the game but they were dashed by Widnes playing some of the best RL I've ever seen.
It was the result of seeing that style of play that I was so excited when we appointed Laughton to be our coach not long after. Or so it seems to me now looking back.
Sadly, Laughton's Leeds could never emulate the performance of Widnes we saw that afternoon, despite him bringing so many players from that team over to Leeds.
It was the biggest crowd I've ever witnessed at Headingley, though some of the games vs Bradford Northern got close to it.
Great memories despite the result.

I was excited also at Laughton's appointment especially when he brought Tait basnett eyres faimalo o'neill to us. Problem was we were runner's up to Wigan in everything then as opposed to widnes. Despite his nose picking I liked Doug in charge!

John Bassett was with us a little before Dougies tenure.

Yes. Basnett was in the late 80's. Widnes got rid of him and signed some bloke called Offiah, IIRC. Not sure how he worked out for them, but Basnett never did much at Leeds.

Until recently i still had nightmares about some of these horrific days. I finally get over it and you then go and bring them up again!!!

The 39-4 and the 24-0 Regal Trophy Final loss was as bad as it gets.

Im not going to sleep tonight now!!!

I went to all of them. The first semi at Elland Road is one of my favourite games of the 80s. The less said about the replay, the better.



My first ever experience of a major defeat and just to rub it in, we made it home in time to see the last try again on TV.
Games like that one stay with you forever, for all the wrong reasons.

Not sure Offiah did much for them , i think they managed to offload him to Wigan where he played out an ordinary career . May have only scored a few tries for them , i seem to remember a figure of ten being mentioned .

I remember day Offiah signed for Wigan being at Headingley for an A Team game and saying to a guy who used to run his own coaches Ronnie Robinson that i wish we had signed him. "We dont want him all he can do is score tries" he said. I reminded him the day the flyer Offiah scored 10 against us!!!

He was right, all he could do was score tries, not many only 500 or so.

I wish we had signed him instead of Ellery, imagine how many offiah would have scored playeing outside Innes and with echoey throwing the long balls out wide, reckon he would have poutdone his own tally for wigan.

I remember being at the 10-10 Naughton Park game in the Cup. My Uncle told me he'd never seen me looking so ashen faced as David Creasser came across to take the kick. I missed the replay as my Dad worked nights and couldn't take me, but I went to both semi final games, although I hardly saw any of the replay as I was only 10 at the time and the Kop at Elland Road being busy to the point it was quite dangerous.

The cross bar semi final was the first time I had ever cried at a game of rugby, that was real pain, and I still get wound up about it now





I used to quite like Neil Hunt when he played for Leeds, although not sure he could be classed in the "best of" category.....I also quite liked Carl Gibson when he played on the wing, I very much enjoyed his 2 tries in the Yorkshire Cup final against Castleford....which being a fan at that time meant it was quite exciting to see Leeds lift a trophy, even if it wasn't any of the one's we really craved.

Can't say I "drank" in the Grange. My Gran lived on the end of Hollin Park Mount, we moved to Fearnville road when I was 4 from up near East End Park (where my Dad grew up). I spent many a summer lunchtime up the Grange with my Gran when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time at my Gran's when my Mum went back to work.
When I started going to pubs it was the Mansion, mainly because I went to Roundhay and that's where everyone we knew went. I decided that a CSE in metalwork was not the limit of my academic ambitions so dodged the Foxwood bullet.

Dear old Ronnie and his missus Margaret. Mr Leeds Rugby League Travel. Many happy memories on the Briardon Bezzer over't hill in the late '80s.