351 The Dentists Diary
“We have to improve our attitude”, was how Peter Gentle
summed it up and we can agree on that much Peter, but you’re
the one who has to sort it out and if you can, you’ll be the first
Coach of our last three who has!!!
Cas., Widnes, London and the Dobbins (at both the KC and the
Etiad), were examples this year, but every season we have at
least four of these games where we take the opposition for
granted and just don’t turn up.
I was bitterly disappointed after a game that, quite frankly, I
didn’t enjoy at all. I shouldn’t have been, it was an open exciting
encounter and for the casual observer a spectacle, but for the
fanatic fringe I seem to belong to these days, it was all so
predictable and the ‘same old same old’ we’ve had to endure
for years. Had Holdsworth brought his kicking boots or Tom
Lineham not had cramp when James Clare picks up that loose
ball, it could well have been a different story. However, I don’t
know about you, but I dread it when we score first and early on,
because for me that is the time to cue the ‘Fancy Dan’ stuff and
to lower the intensity, against Rovers a 40/20 and a Whiting try
early on did the same and on Friday an early try started the rot.
We lost, simply because down the middle, in the cut and thrust,
our pack and particularly our rotating bench forwards should
have murdered them but, after that first burst we were listless
and patchy, some clocked off at times and as someone said,
“Our centre was soft!” Our goal kicking really let us down too,
because as the second best team out there on Friday, a greater
success rate could still have got us two points. Once again our
noisy neighbours who are haemorrhaging players, have no
money and exist on poor gates show us the way in the passion
and wanting stakes and for us lot out there on the terraces,
that’s really galling! After another let down the rest of our
season is now made all the more difficult, but we just have to
get on with it don’t we?
.................................................................................................
Firstly this week please indulge me for a moment! Those of you
reading this, who have also read ‘Roamin the Range Together’,
might remember that back in July 1983 I had a life changing
musical catharsis watching Bruce Springsteen in Roundhay
Park, Leeds on his ‘Born to Run’ tour. Last Thursday we went
to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry to re-live the moment, and
witnessed a simply amazing concert in what was for me one of
those ‘another one ticked off the Bucket list’ experiences.
Before you think that you have somehow entered the New
Musical Express site by mistake please read a little further and
you’ll see my point because what do you think is it that makes
Bruce so good? Well, for me it’s the fact that his attitude
towards his job and the fans guarantees a top quality
performance every time he walks on stage. On Thursday the 63
year old gave his all for three and a quarter hours and 35 songs
later left the stage totally and utterly knackered. It doesn’t
matter whether he plays to 50,000 people in a ‘big’ concert at
the San Sero Stadium or 1000 at the Traders National Hall in
New Jersey, he always does the business. Whether it’s
Maddison Square Gardens or Coventry it matters not, he
knows that nothing but his all will do every time he performs
and, for me, there are some strong parallel’s there with our lot
at the KC!
On Friday, still basking in the afterglow of that concert, I went
along to Castleford, but travelled with a deal of foreboding,
because I knew that unlike Springsteen, we ain’t that good at
delivering at the ‘smaller’ gigs and so it was at Castleford. I’ll
talk about goal kickers briefly later, but for me once again some
of our forwards, and I have to say it was again the usual
suspects, didn’t feel they needed to turn up. We didn’t take the
Tigers seriously enough and they beat us down the middle, it
was as simple as that really. I was so disappointed and yet not
too surprised, because we have seen it so many times before
in fact it’s been a failing for years. Now with three centres of
excellence, such great training facilities, a great Stadium, some
big wins under our belts, a deal of hype about and some big
name players, it looks to me as if a few just think that with these
sorts of fixtures, all they have to do to win is just to turn up and
put their kit on.
After the game Peter Gentle admitted as much and it’s his job
to sort it. He wouldn’t of course name names, but we know who
they are because they are the usual suspects! A few of our
players simply clock off at times and on Friday it took the ‘old
man’, Mark O’Meley, to get things back on track. He came on
for his second spell, simply drove hard and tackled hard just as
the rest should have done and the whole performance was
raised in his wake. Although attacking wise it was better,
defensively it was too like Widnes and Rovers for me and the
old failings are still there for all to see, aren’t they? We need
someone to get inside some of our player’s heads and sort ‘em
out, oh and now we have signed Paea we need at least one
more ‘big nasty’ prop for next season, because expansive
rugby is fine, but you can’t play it without a big, rolling goforward. You can have all the attacking options you like, but
grunt down the middle from ‘a couple of hairy ar*ed props’ will
always be how you lay the platform with which you win games.
I would cite the left edge as well, because although Arundel
started well he faded and Crookes was pretty ineffective. I
know both have been out for a while, but for me, experimenting
by dropping Yeaman (for the first time in his career) at this point
in the season, was a bold move by Gentle which I think in the
end backfired somewhat. I say that simply because, we might
not have seen too many passes, but we would have got 100%
effort and passion. I also thought, unlike Yeamo, our centre
failed to protect his winger under the high kicks which left
Crookes badly exposed. Gentle obviously has to play Arundel
at times, he signed him and needs to justify that choice, but as
for Yeamo, by all means drop him providing you have someone
better. Arundel might be that person one day, but at present I
don’t think he is! It’s of course just my views and they are
bound to cause some controversy amongst you all, because I
realise that Yeaman is becoming ‘Mr Marmite’ for a lot of FC
fans who either like him or don’t, but he would have at least put
some steel into that ‘edge’, which on Friday was constantly
targeted and on occasions came up wanting.
In the first half we were second best and still, undeservedly, we
led by 10 at the interval. Most of the first 40 minutes were
played in our half, but we were decisive and sharp on the
counter attack and some fine line running from Crooks got us
into the lead. The second half started with three possessions
where we did what we had been told at half time and patiently
played out our sets, then after a ridiculously risky Westerman
pass, the wheel fell off and we conceded three back to back
tries simply because at the other end we couldn’t be arsed to
tackle. Once we were behind and the chips were down, to our
credit it was all go forward and tenacity with Westerman
covering acres of ground, but it shouldn’t take us going behind
for that to happen. Then a fortuitous break out try, that
shouldn’t have mattered, suddenly took on massive proportions
and saw Cas back in the lead. Our inability to convert goal
kicks, or indeed try anyone else kicking, cost us the game but
had say young Miller stepped up and kicked a couple of goals
and been the hero of the night, it would have only papered over
some glaring cracks in our attitude and application.
My pals in the Drum and Monkey accuse me of being too
positive and always trying to see the plus side of things, but
believe me that defeat hurt, I was there and those who were
really felt it. For me, it wasn’t so much the goal kicking but the
lack of taking the opposition seriously that caused the problems
and saw two precious points slip away. We’ll never know, but
had Ellis played and got hold of the team after the initial second
half Cas try, it might have been different, but he wasn’t.
The turnout of 4000 FC fans, was simply amazing and
outnumbered the home support 2 to 1, but unlike the 30,000 at
Bruce Springsteen the night before, the band of FC pilgrims on
Friday all went home disappointed at a lack of passion and
application although in truth, few of us were surprised by the
outcome. It was a poor if not predictable showing and the team
let the travelling fans down, although I guess for the neutral it
was a great game in which, in the end, the best team won. We
have to get this sorted.... and now, before the season slips
away and we have to beat Wakey well and then Huddersfield
too. If we don’t, I’m convinced we will really struggle to progress
in the Cup, because when we play them Catalan certainly won’t
get 4 tries disallowed and miss a hatful of goals as they did on
Saturday.
.
There were however a few positives, Ben Crooks was amazing
and his four tries must add to the increasing portfolio being
amassed in the case for him to be voted Super League Young
Player of the Year. His wedge run for that try in the first half
was a classic! Lineham had a great game and almost won it
late on, Heramaia tried hard and Holdsworth looked good at
times dictating the play. However for me Mark O’Meley was
immense, simply because he did what he is paid to do, he had
a great game and as for Jacob Miller well, ‘Milky’ certainly
showed enough for me to indicate that we have at last got a 7.
He started tentatively, was a bit scratchy and dropped a couple
of clangers, (which were typical for a young player), but grew
into the role as the game wore on. His turning point came when
he juggled and held one ridiculous pass that 9 out of 10
debutants would have dropped and then his confidence grew.
By the second half he was barking out orders, organising the
line and his expansive intelligent play set up two tries. His step
for the first was great to watch, while his long looping pass to
the wing for the second, showed great vision and despite some
obvious defensive frailties; at 20 he’ll do for me. If I have one
question mark however it’s that he looks to me at first glance to
be a lot like Holdsworth in his style of play with more creating
and passing and less running on show. There is little doubt that
we have delivered our best rugby this season when Richard
Horne has played, because he contrasts Holdsworth’s style.
However even though it’s early days, the message for me is,
watch Miller, he’s going places and I’m quite excited.
So folks, as I seem to say on a regular basis in here, for me it’s
about time some of our players take a long hard look at
themselves in the mirror and learn to stop believing their own
publicity! We are nothing more than an improving team who
needs to show the same commitment every week, whoever the
opposition is. They must learn (and quickly) that they will only
be what they appear to believe they are, a good team, when
they respect everyone they play. However, all that said, we are
still not that far off and there are still 8 games to go and 16
points at stake. In my opinion we need to take 12 of them which
is now a big ask, credit to Cas, but those 2 at the weekend
should have been a gimme!
So, to last week and the way that Rovers play in adversity week
in week out should fill their Chairman with pride, but although I
am sure it does, at times he’s still a bitter man! What a showing
up that article in Tuesday’s Mail was and how must Micky Paea
have felt about that betrayal? Even our own players seemed to
know about the signing in advance of the Rovers Chairman’s
rant, simply because Micky, being an honest decent character,
had addressed the Rovers players and their Board in
confidence and explained what was happening. This is a small
City and I would be wrong if I didn’t now admit that some of the
Whiffs I quoted in the past about Micky, might just have
originally come from the direction of our Club and of course on
this occasion those sources and I got it spot on. However we all
respected the situation the player was in.
It’s a long time since I have heard such a blinkered tirade as
the Rovers Chairman produced in that Mail article. Hull, Paea
and his agent had obviously got a plan to release the news
after the end of the season, if only to limit the possible collateral
damage caused to the player in the short term. Sadly, under
the prefabricated pretext of keeping the fans informed, Hudge’s
jealousy got the better of him and he blew Paea’s cover and
more worryingly in my opinion prostituted his position of trust, to
throw him to ‘the wolves’. The ‘Caravaning’ boo boys will have
a field day, which I'm sure is what everybody, except Hugell,
was trying to avoid. It’s quite ironic really as he said, "He needs
to show some respect for the people who pay his wages, albeit
I think, that respect has already been damaged by his agent
stating Mickey wants to move to a bigger club”. Now that really
made me laugh, talk about stirring the fans up!
I know we should never live in the past but how many of you
reading this, if your brutally honest, still remember the
circumstances surrounding Paul Cooke’s abdication. The days
of meetings in local restaurants, stage managed by the media
behind Cooke’s Club’s back, when there certainly didn't seem
to be much respect or coming clean being shown to anyone. It
all smacks a bit of double standards to me, doesn’t it to you?
From another angle too, Mr Hudgell indicates that Paea told the
Club in confidence what was happening and who he was
signing for. Yet despite Micky’s honesty as an employee, in
telling his employer in confidence what was happening, when it
comes to old prejudices employer confidentiality flies out of the
window. I don’t think it will impress any future Dobbins signings
when they realise that things said in private, could in the end,
see the Chairman running to the local rag.
However all that aside, from our point of view Paea is a great
acquisition and just what we need, a real go-forward player who
up to a week or so ago was, along with Eorl Crabtree, the only
forward to make 2000 metres this year. Make no mistake about
it Micky Paea was much coveted by other Clubs and probably
with Briscoe the best available player in the British game. I’m
told there were 5 Clubs after him, but we outbid them. However
that action once again proves that Pearson is a man of his
word, in that he always said, after we signed Ellis, that when
there is a need to strengthen in any position then we will bid
against anyone for the best. Adam’s certainly got the ‘Cross
City’ idea too and after all Hudgell’s smug posturing in the past
over grabbing our players and, “The balance of power swinging
to the east” Pearson has taken McDonnell, Galea, Watts and
now Paea across the great divide and a lot of Dobbins fans will
no doubt be wondering, who will be next?
Well its Whiffs time again and last week, as the news of Micky
Paea was emerging through our new Press Officer, Neil
Hudgell, I was hearing a new name for a second prop forward
recruit. Someone close to the Club, a journalist and an ex
player have all told me separately, in the last 7 days, that we
are talking to the 30 year old Canberra Raiders, Origin and
International Prop, David Shillington. It’s said that this deal has
been bubbling for months and we only actually moved for Paea
when we withdrew from the Briscoe offer on 1st May. It’ll be a
hard signing to pull off and I think it’s a long shot, but I have
also been told that we have looked at lining up Karl Amor at
Wakey, if the deal falls through. It’s also said in some circles
that as the two year deal that Shaun McRae signed in
September 2011 comes to an end, he may well already be
working his notice as he prepares, it’s rumoured, to move onto
pastures new. Still, that’s just a whiff of course and Bomber has
certainly done a good job for us these past 2 years. Shillington
is a good player though and would be a hell of a coupe!
Over at the Darkside it was said last week that Dobson has
turned down the offer of contract extension talks at Hull KR and
wants away at the end of the 2014 campaign. It’s also said by
insiders that the Clubs financial status has prompted them to
invite Salford to make a cash bid for him for next season, so
that the Dobbins will at least get a fee. That’s a rumour that has
been qualified this morning in the RL press. It’s also said that
they are meeting with Cory Patterson this week and that he is
also said to be intent on going home at the end of the season.
Whiffs all of course..... but interesting just the same!
Talking of signings, it was great to see the FC dynasty idea
extended this week, as two familiar faces returned to the fold
with former players Mike Burnett and Liam Cunningham taking
up new roles in conjunction with the Hull FC Community
Foundation. Burnett had to retire from the game at the age of
just 23 through injury, having made 37 appearances for us, as
well as spending a year with the London Broncos. Now he is to
be the Director of Rugby at Hull FC partner school St Mary’s
College. Meanwhile, after making just one first-team
appearance for Hull, as well as spells with Doncaster and York,
former Hull FC U20’s Captain Liam Cunningham has been
appointed to the role of Community Sports Officer. He will play
a lead role in delivering projects in primary schools across East
Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, as well as driving a new
initiative which will be launched in September alongside club
partner Sanctuary Housing. I don’t know about you but I think
it’s great to see both lads who were honest hard working squad
members, returning to the fold.
Now here’s a thing! I saw a few Ladies and some kids in these
new pink sports shirts at Cas. They look really good so went to
investigate them on Saturday morning at the town shop!
So how did Peter Gentle spend Fathers Day this year? The
answer to that one is, sat in his front room for 4 hours with
Daniel Holdsworth and Jacob Miller going through videos to
start the process of fast tracking our new number 7 into the
team. Our coach may not be perfect but you can’t fault his
commitment. In fact Peter is putting up Jacob and his girlfriend
while they find somewhere to live and already ‘Milky’ has
settled right into the Gentle household.
However while I’m talking of our Coach, has anyone else
noticed a shift in his approach towards upcoming games?
Since the first day of his reign at the KC, Peter has always
been consistent in that he has majored on the need to look no
further than the next game, but last weekend, all of a sudden,
he changed tack and stated, “We have a big game coming up
in 4 weeks time”, indicating just how much emphasis the Club
is already placing on the Cup game in Catalan. That is a
complete change of approach for the Club and I suspect
Pearson is behind the pressure on that fixture myself, as he
strives to win something for the fans...and the season ticket
sales next year! It can be a bad thing of course because it’s
never good to let any player start thinking any further forward
than the next weekend, so it will be interesting to see just how it
pans out!
Well at first it seemed like the same old ‘Blue Sky thinking’,
head up our backsides rubbish about Rugby in London.
However suddenly last week, Rugby Football League Chairman
Brian Barwick, having talked to the Independent newspaper
about his desire to help increase the popularity of Rugby
League in London, (that old chestnut) said if progress is not
made then Super League may be better off without any
London-based clubs. How refreshing that is, at last someone in
Red Hall has a bit of an idea about what all of us have been
thinking for years. This revelation however was probably put
out there to put us off the scent of what is really happening
behind the scenes, under the banner of re-organising the
game.
For me, the advent of all this three divisions split after 12
games stuff, that I explained a few weeks ago in detail in here,
was possibly the biggest threat that there has been to our
game. Why? Well for me it threatened to alienate a lot of the
fans who have simply had enough of the RL tinkering about
with our game. One thing’s for sure, the players in the game
are not keen on this with only 3% of those questioned thinking it
was a good idea. Last Monday all the Super League Clubs
attended a restructuring meeting with the RL at Salford, when it
was soon obvious that Saints, Hull FC, Rovers, Wigan Bradford
and Warrington would not wear the original proposal of two 12
team leagues and a split after the first 12 games. So, an
alternative proposal was put on the table, in which the 12 teams
in the top flight will face each other home and away and at
Magic Weekend, making 23 games. Then the two 12-team
divisions will split into three groups of eight and they will play
each other once. The top four of each pool will then play semifinals and the Grand Final – meaning a team will face 32
matches to win the competition. Plus of course a few Cup
games too. At the end of all this, the top four ‘middle’ division
teams will join the next Super league and the bottom 4 will join
the second division for the following campaign. This proposal,
which to me looks just to be using the principle of an extended
end of season premiership competition, will eventually be voted
on by all Clubs in August. I have to say I think this new one
might just have some legs as the Clubs will certainly see a
couple of extra home games in it for them!
For me personally there are still several worrying issues, with
the new proposal though. Clubs will be signing players left right
and centre to avoid the drop at the end of the 25 games and at
the death, no doubt to the detriment of the development of our
own young players. However what I worry about most is that it
could be an excuse for some clubs to push forward with
scrapping licensing, which I believe is dangerous for the game.
Although we are still only half way through the second round of
licensing, some Clubs are feeling the pinch because they seem
unable or not wanting to implement the licensing principles,
whereas at the rest of the Clubs the benefits of that system are
there for all to see.
We are now seeing the fruits of the safety-net that brought all
Clubs in Super League that got a license, tenure in the top
division for three years. That scenario has meant Clubs didn’t
have to panic but could take time and develop their own players
through enhanced and underpinned youth development
structures. That’s also why we need a parachute type payment
for any Clubs that go down. If we now move to any three
division format and re-introduce promotion and relegation
without any safeguards, much of what has gone before in the
last 5 years will be wasted. We will, I believe, see a system that
brings back the anxiety that used to ensue at the bottom of the
League and we will be back, as I say, to Clubs panicking and
buying old, has-been, holiday making Aussies often with
‘baggage’, in an attempt to avoid the bottom 4 split in the top
division or to avoid relegation.
Let me say that for this fan the retention of licensing should not
be up for consultation, its continuation should be a gimmee,
simply because it’s just common sense. Richard Lewis saw the
benefits of it, pushed it through and I believe the game is a
better place for it. It ensures that the Clubs are fit for purpose
and monitored throughout the 3 year period before being
assessed at the end of it. No one should be overspending or
playing in poor facilities, young players should be coming
through and foreign imports restricted to emphasise the
strengths of junior rugby in this country. Even with licensing we
have seen 3 Clubs in trouble recently, imagine what that could
have been like had we not had the franchise system’s financial
safeguards in place.
Visiting Castleford at the weekend makes it perfectly apparent
why some Clubs don’t want to retain the franchise system and
Rovers won’t be far behind Cas. in wanting it gone either,
because it doesn’t suit them or their facilities. It forces Clubs to
improve their stadia, business practise and service to their fans
when some would prefer to concentrate on spending everything
they’ve got and sometimes what they haven’t got, on players.
You see for me some Clubs fear the next round of Licensing
because despite all the safeguards it puts in place, they have
gone backwards as far as commercial and off the field
development is concerned. They refuse to conform choosing
instead to fiddle along and see the new three division proposal
as an ideal smokescreen to get rid of the safeguards that
licensing brings, so that no doubt, they can go back to their old
boom and bust days.
The new proposal certainly better than the original 12 games
then split system, but what is wrong with a system that sees 12
teams in each of two Super League divisions with relegation
and promotion and with the relegated team getting decreasing
parachute payments for the next 3 years. That gives excitement
at both ends of the tables throughout the season. If there’s any
money still floating around then I’d get rid of the stupid duel
registration business and get back to an old fashioned Alliance
League on a Thursday night! That overall package is for me
easy to understand, very traditional and proven to work in other
games like Football, Rugby Union and Cricket. It’s so simple
but it appears, our lot don’t want anything that simple do they?
Strong words I know and just of course as usual my thoughts,
but if I’m painfully honest my main concern is that splitting into
3 leagues early in the season and the possible demise of the
franchise system might just have seen the end of me as a fan
and possibly the game too, so perhaps the new proposal might
just save the day.
So to Codgers Corner and this week in direct response to Harry
Richardson, who is 83 next week and still goes to home games,
here’s a look back at one of his all time favourite forwards.
Regular readers of this drivel will know that I was born in
Aylesford Street (the little street at the bottom of Airlie Street),
and lived there, in the shadow of Hull FC until I was 16 years
old. The whole of my upbringing was steeped in FC; Mum was
a pass holder and Dad (who was a butcher and worked on
Saturdays, so missing most games), was secretary of the
supporters club for a short time. In fact my bedroom window
overlooked the car park of the Boulevard, and everyone down
our alley took in bikes on match days!! When I was too young
to attend myself, Mum used to return from the game to regale
me with stories of the match, and the hero’s of the day across
the road at the Boulevard. She used to regularly mention the
Drakes, ‘Bomber’ Harris and Johnny Whiteley. Another of her
hero’s and one of Harry Richardsons too was the late Bob
Coverdale, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. I
actually saw him play on several occasions in the early 60’s but
by then it was in the colours of the Dobbins, and I found it hard,
as a kid, to see what all the fuss was about.
When my mother spoke of Bob it was in the context of him
being a solid dependable hard working Prop Forward, who was
ideally suited to the unlimited tackle game back in the early
50’s. He was a torrid, hard player and someone who would, if
asked, cart the ball up field for you all day. Back then a lot of
the players had nicknames and Bob was no different, his being
‘The Mayor of Dunswell' because he was proud to hail from that
village and in fact lived there right until his death.
Bob started his career at two of the now long past, local
amateur clubs, Electricity and Boulevard Athletic, and was
signed for Hull in August 1951, before making his debut at the
Boulevard against Wakey on 22nd September. He was at times
an unsung hero; something that is not surprising when you
consider the nature of the game back then and the stars that
surrounded him in the great ‘Panzer’ pack. Roy Francis
recognised Bob for the way that his grafting style complimented
that of the flashier Bill Drake, Tommy Harris, Harry Markham,
Johnny Whiteley and Mick Scott, but Bob was still a big
favourite with the fans.
He played in all three Yorkshire Cup finals that we featured in
during the early years of the decade and in one, the drawn final
of 1955, there was an incident that was remembered by my
Mother, Harry Rigg and everyone else that was there to witness
it! The game was against what was then our big adversary
Halifax, who themselves had a mighty pack and against whom
tempers often used to flair and fights soon followed. Halifax
were the masters of frustrating back then as they put the ball
‘Up their jumpers’ and ploughing forward for sometimes ten
minutes before they made a mistake. In this particular game
they did just that, frustrating the FC pack until after a 7 minute
spell of Fax possession a scrum was called for a knock on.
Before the ball had even been put into the front row Coverdale
emerged with blood streaming from a large gash on his head.
He wiped it with his hand and then, as there was no such thing
as a blood bin, just packed down again. There was a mighty
push from the FC front row and before the ball could be put in
Halifax’s prop Jack Wilkinson emerged with his face covered in
blood as retribution was served for the previous incident. The
referee just laughed and ordered the scrum down again, but the
following Tuesday both players were called to a special RL
enquiry and although nothing came of it, the incident was talked
about by many of the ‘Faithful’ for years afterwards.
Actually though, this occurrence was quite out of character for
Bob who was a happy go lucky sort of fellow, with close
cropped hair a craggy face, gapped teeth and who always
sported a scrum cap! In fact that day at Headingley many
though that the ‘tough but fair’ Coverdale had been blamed for
the action of one of his colleagues in that scrum, but that’s
something that we will probably now never know!
Bobs dogged displays and solid consistency earned him three
appearances for Yorkshire, on one of which he scored a try.
That score was one of only 13 in a career of over 210 games.
However on the representative side of things, his main claim to
fame was when he featured in the GB team that won the
inaugural World Cup in 1954. There was a deal of dissension
about the whole idea of a World Cup and several of the top line
players pulled out, which lead to Bob’s inclusion. His style
epitomised the spirit of a squad that upset the odds after being
written off by many pundits. He played in all 4 tests including
the famous defeat of France at the Parc Des Princes Stadium
in Paris. However that World Cup was sadly his only taste of
International RL.
In the 1955/56 season Bob missed only 5 of Hulls 45 games. It
was the season when the black and whites went on to win the
Championship and he appeared in the play-off final against
Halifax at Maine Road, when Hutton kicked the winning goal
from way out on the wing in a tremendous 10-9 victory! Sadly
though the emergence of Jim Drake as a more mobile and
flamboyant prop saw Bob replaced early in the next campaign,
and he left for Wakefield Trinity, for a fee of £1,625. He later
had several seasons at Rovers, for whom I saw him play a
couple of games against us before he retired in 1963.
People like Bob Coverdale put their bodies on the line week in
week out for our club and they did it for little pay and no help
with injuries and the like. If they got a knock they just got on
with it and played on!! They were really tough characters. Bob
was a solid dependable clubman who gave his all for the FC.
He was never going to be a big name star player, but was
without doubt the stuff that our great club is built on! We could
certainly do with a few Bob Coverdale’s today and no mistake!
Thanks Harry for a chance to talk about him again!
So a week without a game until we face Wakey at the KC on
Monday, in what is now simply a must win game. The next
Diary will be out on TUESDAY 2ND JULY so that I can cover
that game and thanks as always for your support and help
which continues to flow in. It was also good to meet so many
readers at Cas especially the ‘Selby Contingent’ and to hear
this week from so many of you in the aftermath of last week’s
350th edition.
So what will this week will bring? Well who knows, besides a lot
of hard work for the players (I hope). I’ll no doubt see some of
you at Yeamo’s last testimonial event at the KC on Tuesday,
when I’ll be giving him the final instalment of the £2200 which
has been raised, thanks to all of you who so kindly bought my
last book!!! What a week that was eh? The ups and downs of
an FC fan certainly prepare you for anything and yet some
things come as no real surprise do they? That was a poor
showing and a game we should have won, now we must beat
Wakefield. See you all at the KC next Monday.
Try to Keep Believing!
Faithfully Yours
Wilf