Les Boyd...

I can remember seeing the photo of him in a matchday program and we all looked at it and said "wow imagine that running at you .."

We had no idea how good he was going to be, or what he was going to do to a struggling wire side....

We knew about his two long term bans.... and still to this day I have never read anything about his gouging ban (which can never be good) but i saw the elbow on Darryl Browman and I've seen much worse go unpunished since. It was widely regarded he was victim of a crusade to rid the game of "players like him".
Even in the 82 invincible's tour, John Dalgreen, after being tackled lay on the floor and kicked Boyd with both feet, Boyd reacted with a boot of his own and was red carded Dalgreen got off Scott free.

But in a wire shirt Boyd was something else, aggressive to levels I've never seen but never an idiot. he was often targeted by players not fit to lace his boots, but they never put him off his game.

He was an incredibly skillful player and worked astonishingly hard for a player of his physique. He was a superb leader, I can remember a game at wilderspool and Blocker Roach was being his usual idiotic non Challenge cup game self, and was picking fights and Boyd gave him a proper clip on the back of the head to tell him to calm down it worked ...you can bet no one ever did that to Roach before or after.

Boyd was a player I was totally in awe of ...my saddest moment as a wire fan was watching him trudge off the main road pitch with his shirt off, draped over his shoulders.....he deserved to play at wembley....

and Blake... I liked Phil Blake lots...

Thanks for the memories and I completely agree with both players. The Boyd - Sorenson match ups were worth the more than the entrance fee alone. It is exactly this which is missing in todays sanitised game.

Between 1946 and 1962 Brian Bevan consistently transformed a generally average team into one of the top teams in the world. No Warrington fan who saw him in his prime could possibly have any other favourite player

Can't disagree with a word of that.

On the whole, I've never had a single favourite Wire player, just lots of em, for varying reasons.

Bar Boyd and Blake, mentions to, for

Mike Greg... commitment
Dessie excitement
Kelly Shelford entertainment
Johnny Davies....everything
Henare...excitement
John Bevan power, my first Wire hero
Penny excitement
Duanne Mann.... Tireless

and not forgetting my man crush...Mark Roberts... those runs of his

There's a few more

Some great memories! Parry Gordon going quietly but skilfully about his business, Ken Kelly, John Wood who managed to carry the ball in one hand and not drop it... Bateman who would tackle a truck...Jiffy for conjuring something out of nothing...Les Boyd for terrorising Sironen...

John Bevan brought real excitement to the side, but I have to agree that the classiest player was John Woods. What would GB give now to have a half-back of his quality? He could run, swerve, sidestep, pass both ways, make a gap out of nothing, accelerate like Speedy Gonzales, kick in general play, kick fifty yard conversions and generally outclass any other half-back on the field with him. The pity was that we only had him for two seasons.

Bobby Fulton was a genius, but could not play for the club for long enough to qualify, in my view. Sadly I'm too young to have seen Brian Bevan play ( though he went out with my mum back in the day ).

I remember a game at Wilderspool when we were playing Leeds. I recall watching from the railway end (God only knows why i was up there when were attacking the Fletcher Street end), anyhow the Leeds pack was trying to rough Les up all day. I think Les was getting a bit cheesed off and decided to start dishing it back. I recall Warrington were given a penalty on the 20m line roughly 5-10m in from the nightclub touch line. The Leeds defence was set when Sir Les came crashing onto a ball like nothing I had ever seen from a prop before. The startled Leeds defence went flying in all directions as the big man hit the defensive line. There was no stopping him as he crashed over the whitwash. This man was everything i wanted in a Wire. Class act on and off the field, a true gentleman.

Great memory of a true Wire great. I will counter the "true gentleman" label however as anyone who is found guilty of gouging would struggle to qualify.

Jack Steel was a name I remember. Reporter and more?? Are you that man?

I was taken to my first ever Wire game on a Wednesday night for a cup match against Widnes because my Dad was working nights and my Nan was at Bingo so as my Mum and Grandad were season ticket holders i had to go.....From memory i think it was the 83/84 season and at 6 years old i had no idea what to expect......

30 odd years later im still going to watch the Wire.... my favourite player from that game....Phil Blake! What a legend my first ever Wire man crush! The way he glided through the defence or his mastery of that 'chip over the top' then touching down with the trademark puffed out cheeks! Sheer genius!

He's always remained my favourite to this day...all because of that first match/season.....

I know it wont get many in agreement but i have to say after the first 7 games last season i was beginning to see some of that similar magic in the way Sandow wore the P&B .....unfortunately it didnt last any further than 7 days and the rest is history

Amen to your last sentence, brother.

Woods never ran.......he glided. Superb, and such a pity that he decided to drop a division, when he left us. He'd've still done more than a job in the early 90's.

People who only started watching RL in the early 90's don't realise how lucky they are. Nowadays, with advent of 2 live games per.week, you get to see great players, several times a season. Previously, you'd get to see some the nations best players when they were on Grandstand, or the times you'd play that team home and away. Woods, and the idolised Myler at the Smellies (now there was a player who liked the physio's table, think Vincent Kompany).

I await morrisseyisawire's opinions of Woods with baited breath.

Friend of mine idolises "that" Myler, I struggle to remember him...but I was living darn Sarf at the time and there was next to no coverage on telly and none at all in the press!

On the basis of the question "WHY is X.....? John Bevan for me every time as he had the X factor before it was invented. I suppose it all depends on your Wire memories, mine goes back to the early 70's but some great names on this thread, a much better read than the "worst" thread.

i agree wholeheartedly about les boyd,he was a magnificent world class player,we were lucky to have him in the team,he was a legend in oz before he came,perhaps for the wrong reasons,but for us,it was for the right reason.i had the invitation one wigan game,to visit the players lounge after the game,les boyd played(mid week game)and we stuffed em.it was a packed room,the room was half lit,the locals were enjoying the food and drink,it was a lovely ambience chatting to the players of both teams.the wigan fans were downish but very decent in defeat.in the left corner was the door down to the dressing rooms.it opened slowly,a shaft of white light lit the edge of the room,first the shadow appeared,the room hushed as the great man slowly walked in.the room which was full,parted,like in biblical times,a passage through the throng straight to the bar opened.and as he landed at the bar,the barman handed les.a pint he took without breaking stride(without paying too)and sat at one of tables. the chatter of nervous people started again.they knew that here was a true legend.my companion a former wigan capt.said"bloody hell,if he wants two pies he can have 'em."such things add to the legend that was les boyd.

JP his professional manner throughout his RL career...a model sportsman and a great player. John Woods could have been a contender had he has not lied to me in the Pepperhill pub in Moss Side and said he was staying at Wire another season, following our exit at Main Road...sorry to bring that day back up.

PB his ability to do the impossible...and make it look a piece of cake! The most skillful player I've ever seen with my own eyes.

That could well be Jack from the WG. It's certainly the right era and he knows the players well, he must be around 90.
I think he started off the commentaries for the hospital in Warrington after getting permission from the club. If it is Jack then thanks for all the reports and a happy retirement in Oz.

sir les for me skill, controlled aggression,and never ever did he take a backward step,,his finest hour at elland road leeds in the 86 prem final was boyd and wire at there finest..mark roberts what a 2nd rower power and pace in abundance mike greg if there was an award for effort he`d win it hands down.be here all night with my list so i`ll name em dessie, johnno,ken kelly,bob eccles phil blake,johnny woods,greg mackey matt king,lee briers, nat wood,mozza hodgson,fozzie,,

I know it didn't end well but Brett Hodgson was a joy to watch. He would glide across the field, he had no pace, no strength and no sidestep but he found half a gap every time. The way he could catch and deliver a pass in the same stride and hit the winger with a cut out was just superb. Brilliant goal kicker as well.

Martin Gleeson was another one. I'm still not convinced he ever tried hard, but a traffic cone could score 20 tries outside of him.

Some players just get rugby league, they just understand it and make it look simple.

My favourite was a story my old rugby coach told me. He knew a few ex players and this tale came from them.
It was a half time team talk by a coach whose side had been on the end of a first half railroading by wires and Boyd in particular. (Saints spring to mind but i can't be sure ). the tale goes that the coach was going nuts saying we have to stop that Boyd I want him hit. I don't care how you do it I want him hit hard and I don't want him to get up.

The changing room remained quiet until a player spoke up and said
" and who do you suggest does this boss ?? ".....

As well as being Olivia Newton John to Sir Les' John Travolta, such was my devotion, I also loved watching Les Davidson play for the season he was here. Playing alongside the sweat-averse Steve Roach probably helped, but I have nothing but glorious memories of him.

My particular favourite Davo moment was when we played Leeds at Headingley and Leeds had Sam Backo, then the current Aussie test prop and darling of the RL press, as well as Leeds faithful in their ranks. Backo took the ball up, and hared towards Davidson full of fire and brimstone. Davo stood his ground, dipped his shoulder slightly and nonchalantly put Backo straight on his derrière.

As for Mr Woods (yes, I'm off again), not long after his Wires Locker Cup debut V Wigan in which John shimmied past Ellery Hanley with effortless grace and class straight from a scrum, Open Rugby did a colour picture of aforementioned try. The look of "Where did he go?" on Hanley's face will stay with me forever.

The picture adorned my bedroom wall for many years, alongside my Debbie Harry circa 1980 poster. And that, as I'm sure many on here will testify, is about as good as it gets.

Nobody from recent years then, surely 2009 onwards is a golden age?

We have had some fantastic players since 2009:

King
Hicks
Morley
M Monaghan

But for me the mid to late 80s were my golden generation. Boyd, Tamati, Jackson, Roberts, Gregory et al they were the best team around bar the Wigan team and certainly the best Wire team that i watched for a long time. The battles between the two sides were unreal. If i could jump in a time machine, I would go back to these times. Sunday dinner at the Postern Gate, Walk over the Causeway bridge and an afternoon of standing in the Fletcher Street watching mayhem.

That was my point in starting this topic xx. My suspicion was that your favourite player will reflect the period when you were most in love with the game. Probably your mid to late teens.
Those people who fell into this category 2009 onwards are probably doing things other than posting on this forum.
I deliberately didn't ask for who you thought the "best" player was as I would definitely give a different answer to that.
(John Wood or Jiffy for what it's worth!)

Sadly I only got into the game about 5 years ago, quite by accident, when I was in my late thirties, so I’ve clearly missed out! I absolutely love it now and can’t wait for a new season watching Warrington, they’re a great club to follow. I’m sure it’s a lot more disappointing for the real fans, how last season ended, but there are a lot of good players in the squad and hopefully it’ll be another cracker next year!

Well, I've waited 5 pages and still not seen one of my all time favourites.........ladies & gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you

STEVE HESFORD

That guy could kick goals from anywhere (from what I can remember) and always looked the most unruffled player on the pitch. He was also a man crush of mine - a good looking fella with flowing locks and some of the shortest shorts I have ever seen outside of an episode of Alan Partridge. He came to us from RU in Blackpool I think and his brother was the Blackpool goalie.

And there's all the usual suspects too - Phil (the ghost) Blake, Allan Bateman (awesome player), Bob (the binman) Jackson, (Sir) Les Boyd, Duane Mann (he could pass, tackle, run, sidestep and kick like very few I've seen), Andrew Johns (it was an honour to see him in the P n B & try his heart out), Brian Johnson (such a balanced runner and a fine fullback)....... the more I think about it, the more I could name!

I'll throw one more name in from my youth...

Joe Ropati