ANDY LAST has paid tribute to the great Hull team of 1991 and the man who helped inspire his own career – Lee Jackson.
Many of the team which sprang a major surprise in the Premiership final against star-studded Widnes were at MKM Stadium for Hull FC’s game against Toulouse Olympique to celebrate the looming 35th anniversary of their famous win.
The Black and Whites came out on top versus a team including Great Britain stars Martin Offiah, Jonathan Davies and Andy Currier plus Kiwi legend Kurt Sorensen.
The Black and Whites, coached by former Australia Test winger Noel Cleal, stormed to a 14-4 win at Old Trafford, a glory which has lived long in the memory, including for current interim boss Last.
He said: “It’s a team which I remember very well.
“I was ten years old, and devastated the year earlier because Widnes beat us there.
“But obviously the returning year, we were able to turn them over at Old Trafford.
“We had Lee Jackson, my boyhood hero and the hooker I aspired to be like.
“I had the headband like him and all that sort of stuff. And then I got the opportunity to train with Jacko.
“He came at the back end of his career after leaving Leeds and I was just on my way up.
“He’s a great man, and was really, really fit. That was one thing what I took from it.
“We’d be doing the hill sessions and I was in the prime of my fitness then, as a 19-year-old running. And he had another gear.
“He was running with me at the front and I always felt like ‘is he going as hard as he can?’
“I always felt he had another gear in him. He was unbelievably fit.”
As Hull bid to reignite such glory days, Hull-born Last continued: “Jon Sharp was someone else who also played in that team.
“He came back to Hull and I’ve got huge respect for John.
“I spent a little bit of time on the coaching staff with John and he was really, really good for me in my coaching career.
“Then we had the likes of Ian Marlow and Russ Walker, the Nolan brothers (Rob and Gary), and the one which obviously sticks out, because he’s no longer here, the legendary Greg Mackey.
“What a player he was. They were just great times, great memories.”