The son of Norman Turley, whom we interviewed last week, Neil was released by Wigan in 2000 and went on to become a record-breaking try scorer with his beloved Leigh.
As the tries mounted up between 2001 and 2004, Leigh got ever nearer the promised land before they finally won a Grand Final and were promoted. Along with way, Turley played for Lancashire and the England Under-21s. His brother, Warren, is a Super League touch judge.
If you could relive one day from your career, which would it be?
I had a pretty short career, especially compared to my dad’s. I’m proud to have done what I did, and I have a few to choose from. Equalling Jack Wood’s tries-in-a-match record for Leigh with six against Workington in 2001. I scored 42 points against Chorley in 2004, which broke my own record. I’d already broken the legendary John Woods’ record of 36, but it was nice to get into the 40s. Playing for Lancashire against Yorkshire in 2001 as the only Northern Ford Premiership player was fantastic. I came off the bench onto the wing and scored on my debut. And then beating Whitehaven in the 2004 Grand Final, which got us promoted.
Who did you support as a kid?
I watched my dad as much as I could. He was my hero. I went to training sessions at Whitehaven and Trafford Borough. I played in the morning then watched his team in the afternoon. I was a mascot in the mid-80s when Blackpool played an American Football team. That’s my earliest memory of him playing. I have a photo of me as the mascot flanked with lads in their shoulder pads and helmets. I mainly remember him at Trafford. I’d often be in the dressing room, but when he wanted to give the players a bollocking, he’d give me the eyes, and I had to leave because of the language that was about to come!
When did you start playing and when did you realise you had a future in the game?
I started at five at Leigh Rangers. My son is now five and is probably better than I was! I captained the town teams. We wore the Leigh shirt, which was great, but I also supported Wigan, and I signed for them at 15. By the time I was at Wigan, I was still watching Leigh home and away. About 16 of us on the Wigan YTS went full time. We cleaned the first-team’s boots and the grandstands on the Monday morning after a Sunday fixture. We coached the school kids and went to college.
I played Academy and ‘A’ Team and one first-team friendly against Halifax. We lost the 1998 Academy Grand Final to a Leeds team that included Kevin Sinfield, Danny Ward and Garreth Carvell. Leeds always had the better of us back then.
What were the first-teamers like?
We trained with them all. If they played on the Sunday, we’d have a team run against them on the Saturday morning. We got the better of them sometimes, and they got some bollockings from John Monie for letting that happen. We got a few bashings if we got cocky, but they were very approachable. It helped with Andy Farrell’s brothers, Chris and Phil, playing for us. It was a very good environment. Kris Radlinski was the standout. He was great. I played a lot of scrum-half but I knew my best position was fullback.
Was it a wrench to leave, even though you signed for Leigh?
I nearly jacked the game after four or five knee operations. Someone would give me training exercises, then someone else said it was wrong and I was weakening the knee. Dean Bell told me they were releasing me. I sat in the car park and cried. I thought my career was over, but my dad suggested training with Leigh’s ‘A’ Team, where I had loads of mates. Ian Millward was coaching the first team and my dad was the assistant. I did some training, played some ‘A’ Team matches, scored a few tries, although nothing spectacular. Ian left, and Paul Terzis came in. I did a full pre-season. I was on the bench for the friendly with South Sydney, happy to be a fullback or a halfback. I was just glad to be back playing at a decent level. Simon Svabic got injured, I went on at fullback, and the rest is history. You need one chance, and I got it. Simon came back into the halves, and I stayed at fullback.
How on earth did you rack up 55 tries in one season?
Sometimes I got the ball near enough over the line, but you have to be in those positions. As a Wigan fan, I’d watched Shaun Edwards go straight up the middle with his support play. I knew where the breaks would come, and I did what Shaun used to do. It became a knack of knowing where the break would come. My pace helped me. My first away try was at Whitehaven. I got the ball in my own half, beat a couple of players and went in under the posts. It was memorable because their fans had given my dad a hard time when he was there, and they were suggesting I was only in the Leigh team because of him.
What do you remember of the Roses match?
I got a call to say I’d made the team and couldn’t believe it. I travelled in my dad’s work car, an H-reg Astra Belmont and pulled up to next to all these amazing cars the other players had. I thought, “Wow, I shouldn’t be here,” but they made me feel really welcome. [Coach] Andy Gregory was amazing. I was so nervous on the way to the game. He knew there was something wrong, so he sat next to me and told me about his experiences. I was so wrapped in his stories that I forgot about the game! He put me totally at ease. Dom Peters got injured after about 18 minutes, and I was on. I scored a try. It felt surreal and crazy to be playing with Faz, Rads, Keiron Cunningham, Chris Joynt, Kevin Sinfield and Longy. It was mad.
You went on the England Under-21s tour of South Africa at the end of the season.
It was fantastic to go on that. An NFP team had beaten the Super League in an Under-21 match, which was a trial for the tour, and I was chosen along with Rob Purdham, Danny Sculthorpe and Paul Salmon. John Kear and Mike Gregory were the coaches. John was a good motivator and Mike was very approachable. I room-shared with Mickey Higham. It was a good tour. We went on safari and we were woken by lions. It was a bit rough at times. We couldn’t stop in various places, even at red lights, but it was a great experience. Mickey and I played Rob [Burrow] and Danny [McGuire] at golf, and I’ve never seen rain like it. We had one buggy between us! We won both Tests, and I scored five tries in the first.
What do you remember of Leigh’s titanic cup match against Wigan in early 2002?
We should have won that. We were robbed! Stuart Cummings came and apologised and when I’ve raised it since, tongue in cheek, he’s apologised again! Wigan kicked the ball into the in-goal area. I put one foot out of play and knocked it out, which should have been a tap restart, but he gave a drop-out and they scored off the back of it.
You may have been tongue in cheek with Stuart but do attitudes to referees need to change?
I was a pain when I was playing. I could backchat a little bit because I was often targeted by the opposition. But since I finished and my brother Warren went into reffing, I do appreciate what they do. They’re human beings and you’ve just got to get on with it. You might think you are being hard done to in some games, but you have to deal with it, and things will go your way in other games. The respect for officials is much better in rugby than football.
Have you been angered by abuse hurled at Warren in the past?
Yes, and I can’t keep a lid on it. He’s my little brother, and he’s giving what he thinks is the right decision. I’d be sitting in the stands, listening to real abuse. I’d end up staring at them. I should be able to take it. People will say the abuse is part and parcel of the job, but it shouldn’t be. It’s always easier to blame someone else. Sometimes they do get it completely wrong, but it’s still the easy option to take.
You lost Grand Finals to Huddersfield in 2002 and Salford in 2003. Both sides had been relegated with parachute payments. Were the odds always stacked against you?
Massively. The Huddersfield side was outstanding, and they did very well in Super League with virtually the same squad a year later. Looking back, we didn’t stand a chance. I thought we had more chance against Salford, but they still had a bit more quality than us.
You had a great rivalry with Whitehaven in 2004 and beat them in the Grand Final. Were Leigh really upset that Haven won all the individual awards the week before the final?
The players certainly weren’t. I think that came from the coaches. The final was very memorable, and I’ve watched it back a few times. I missed a late penalty that would have taken us a point ahead, and I thought I’d let the whole of Leigh down and let down my father, who was assistant coach. But we went back up the field, and I dropped a goal. We then blew them apart in extra time.
How influential was Tommy Martyn?
He had everything, all the tricks in the book. It’s very easy to play with someone like him. It was the same when we had Bobbie Goulding, Vila Mata’utia and Sonny Nickle a year or so earlier. My game was following people like that.
You regularly featured on the award-winning programme Rugby League Raw. What did you make of it?
Looking back, it was a bit cringeworthy, but it was great publicity at the time. Some of the stuff Paul Terzis came out with – wow! I’m sure some was just for the cameras. He had his ten commandments. He was trying to make everything work around ‘Centurions’, and we did buy into it, to be fair. He was a very good coach and he brought over ideas from the NRL, which we really benefited from.
Why did Leigh fail to make an impression on Super League in 2005?
The recruitment was a problem. It was done so late because of the timing of the Grand Final. We couldn’t get the cream of the crop because when those players were available, we didn’t know for certain we’d be going up. You need a year to prepare. I’d have kept the team together and just signed a couple. We bought too many players and it upset the applecart. We started pre-season too late as well.
Your dad played for several clubs, whereas you only played for Leigh. Did you have chances to leave?
Sale Sharks were mentioned at one point, and if I’d got an offer with the rumoured money, let’s just say I’d have been very tempted. It was crazy money but only a rumour! There was a three-year deal with Warrington on the table at the end of the 2001 season. People say I made a mistake in not going, but I was really enjoying my rugby and I’d just had that 55-try season. My ambition was getting to Super League with Leigh and I’m made up that I achieved that.
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