I'd say he mastered the skill perfectly in terms of making the decision of whether to tackle or not.
Pure coincidence that it happened to be the negative every time

Denny Solomona, now thats a good looking winger (according to my grandaughter)

Seriously I'd like to see TJ and Denny in a footrace, I think it would be close.

Going back many years I'm sure I can remember an occasion when each team put forward their fastest player for a one off race. I think it was either before or at half time during a final or a test match. Any oldies on here remember?

I'm not that old

but I also recall these 'races'. In the deep dark past at BV, they held sprint challenges on match days and I think invited non rl sprinters. I seem to recall 'powderhall' sprinters (whatever/whoever they were/are) also being included and they ran diagonally corner to corner. Not sure but Ernie Holmes seems to ring a bell as a contender, perhaps Keith Slater?

Didn't they used to do Super League's fastest man at the 9's competitions a few years ago?

Aye the did bring it back for the 9's. Remember Broughton and Caro winning it a couple of the years and that young Leeds lad Jamel Chisholm won it twice who now plays for Oldham.

I think Berwyn Jones used to enter the Powderhall Sprint competition before he signed for us.

He did indeed and according to old work mates was incredibly quick. Then again, keep it quiet or Betts will want him retrospectively drugs tested!

Powderhall rings a bell. I think it allowed professionals to compete when athletics was still amateur. Think Berwyn held the British record for 100 yards or metres at one time.

Berwyn was incredibly quick with that gym shoe on my rear end when he was P.E. Teacher at Snapethorpe.

You may have to explain what a gym shoe is to some of the younger posters on here as the Saville inquiry is still ongoing.

By the way what is a gym shoe?

I don't think the word or the footware "trainers" had been invented then. Maybe pumps or plimsolls??

We also had another powderhall sprinter sign for us Eddie McDonagh a scottish wing man in the middle late sixties

Is that the lad we got from Huddersfield St Joseph's?

It was a pump when I was at Snapethorpe; on reflection, saying you got pumped by the PE teacher is probably unwise in the post-Saville era.

Berwyn was bronze medal winner in 1962 in GB 4 x100 m relay team at Euro Champipnships and at one time our 100 m record holder with 10. 3 secs.

Berwyn was indeed fast but like many good players wasn't always appreciated by opposition fans.I remember seeing him at Warrington. He was the greyhound, whilst the Wire's Brian Glover was the bulldog. Unfortunately for Berwyn the Wakefield laundry man had left a brown iron burn on his shorts and this was quickly noticed - with the to expected calls of "look he's sh@tting himself" soon ringing in his ears.

Didn't realise you went there as well Bren.
What era are we talking, late 70's when Nigel Bell was there ?

At the time, the games teacher (Mallard) was like the guy from Kes.
We'd be out all through dinner, if his team were losing.

He once accused Nigel's brother of diving, after he'd tripped him and the lad broke his arm, happy days.

Yep - I was there in the 70's and have equally fond memories of Ducky Mallard; his special move was to catch you when you were walking past a puddle and shove you in face first - I guess it was character building.

Mallard was a richard head and a bully. He broke a lads arm firing a penalty at him in the nets when he really didnt want to be there.

You must remember Clarke and Smithson, Mr Wray was the only decent teacher there for me.

Johnny Beardsal? Is the only man to ever cane me, wasnt half as bad as i had feared, the worst part was a grinning slavering smkthson pearing over his specs in glee.

Wray was our form tutor for a while, thoroughly decent bloke and teacher, although art was never going to be too testing.
Clarke, Smithson and Evans seemed to compete in the "pumping" stakes
In the modern world, it's hard to believe some of that stuff went on although, as you say, it was the fear before the act that was actually worse.
I can remember Mrs (or Miss) Wright slapping one of the girls across the face for answering back, again, unbelievable nowadays.
Despite all this stuff, I enjoyed being there

Frank Wray was my best mate from the day he threw a board rubber at me and cut my head open. Didn't dare tell my parents as I would've been in bigger trouble with them. Been a good claim these days.
He used to teach art at Flockton Detention Centre too, hence his endless supply of "prison pencils" as he called them'

I remember Clarke and Evans seemed to take a perverse delight in slippering young boys; and I do recall Mr Wray throwing the board rubber at my mates head - I pulled off a copybook interception on instinct, and got rewarded with a slipper.

Mr Daley was a good bloke - "Hells bells and buckets of blood!" was his catchphrase; I remember seeing him break up a fight using only strong language and a deftly wielded flat cap.

Dave Lambert was also a top teacher; I was one of a paltry 3 or 4 members of his after school running club - something that's stuck with me ever since, and I'm very grateful for that.

Despite the slipshod teaching methods and casual abuse, they were happy days.

Love the phrase "casual abuse", I'll use that in my book

I can't think of a better way to describe it; 70's childhood was punctuated by the certain knowledge that there were things you could and couldn't get away with - and if you stepped over the line and were caught, justice was summary, and would hurt. It certainly kept things simple - I'd rather have had a sore head, than been grounded or lost the use of my Raleigh Chopper for a period of time, which seems to be the modern, namby-pamby way of disciplining children.

Given what was going in in the world of media and entertainment, and the Catholic Church, in the 1970's, I think I just consider myself lucky to have escaped with clipped ears, a tanned backside and the occasional belt.

And Tom Johnstone features exactly where in this "Ashes to Ashes" sequel ???