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Looking through my old CD's I have found and played the match. Really enjoyed it. Seeing Cyril Kellett's goal kicking and the captaincy of John Newlove. The great try by Mick Smith and the very good tackling. We looked a lot smaller team but the spirit and efficiency was great to see. Jimmy Thompson, Alan Rhodes and Vince Farrer brought back great memories ..All the team were a joy to see.  

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1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Terry Mullaney's brilliant site of old Rovers games has the 1973 CC final, in really good quality, too. One of the few chances we have to see Steve Nash in action, he shows quite a few glimpses of the kind of play that made him arguably Rovers' greatest over the last 50 years.

https://vimeo.com/showcase/6896121

Great rugby. Speed combined with plenty of skill. A joy to watch. Why cant we serve up such rugby today?.

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1 hour ago, saddleworth said:

Great rugby. Speed combined with plenty of skill. A joy to watch. Why cant we serve up such rugby today?.

Not an easy one to answer but I'll have a go...

1 We played really well that day and the guiding hand of Peter Fox was clear to see in much of our attacking play. We were a really good team that year and finished 2nd in the league, and the pack we had in the mid 1970s was the best around, whereas now in terms of ability we are in the 13th to 15th range.

2 Just as importantly...Bradford's defence was an absolute embarrassment even by the standards of the time, let alone modern standards (they had finished 23rd in the league that season). The defensive line looked like a dog's hind leg, and the understanding of defensive positioning when the ball was being passed along the line was sub-schoolboy level. John Newlove's two tries were well worked but owed plenty to to laziness in not covering the inside ball, and the tackling for Vince's try and also for Mick Smith's legendary one was absolutely woeful. That's not to take anything away from our performance, we were fab, but defensive coaching has just improved so much in the last 50 years. Also worth noting that we were at Wembley again the following year and the standard of the game was dreadful, with the game largely remembered for Murphy and the niggling.

As an aside, for another example of a change in the game, check out the tackle on Mel Mason at around 21.07 in that game. That's an instant red card and probably a three or four game ban these days, yet the crowd barely reacted and the ref who was standing right in front of it didn't give a penalty.

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Being bored while in lockdown yesterday i put the 83 Final on.Wonder if Agar told Tex to keep the Hull F.C  Scrum Half quiet.Tex  did the job to the letter with Harkin and Toppo and it disrupted the Hull F.C attack.Crane who was a back row forward made a big difference when he went Scrum Half before getting tired in the last ten minutes.It wasn't the Hull F.C pack that played poorly,our forward totally dominated them and put them off their usual game.Thought the defining moment in the game was when we were 12-5 down and got a penalty 15yds from the Hull FC line.With the crowd booing because they wanted a tap Steve opted for the goal kick which was far from easy and slotted it through the middle.Just being 5 points behind seemed to give us a new lease of life and Hull FC were never in it after that.Paul Rose should have been sent off for his tackle on John Gilbert who i think would have come into the game for us in the second half as  more space was created.Banks and Lyman defied their ages both having sound games.To say he had just come into the side i thought Tim Slatter had a really good game working tirelessly throughout.WHAT A DAY.

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My first ever rovers match (bradford final 73) which set me on the road to rovers obsession lol not even heard of rugby league before then not missed many since that game i will be tuned in on sunday spot on comments Nashy what a player.

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4 hours ago, sentoffagain2 said:

Being bored while in lockdown yesterday i put the 83 Final on.Wonder if Agar told Tex to keep the Hull F.C  Scrum Half quiet.Tex  did the job to the letter with Harkin and Toppo and it disrupted the Hull F.C attack.Crane who was a back row forward made a big difference when he went Scrum Half before getting tired in the last ten minutes.It wasn't the Hull F.C pack that played poorly,our forward totally dominated them and put them off their usual game.Thought the defining moment in the game was when we were 12-5 down and got a penalty 15yds from the Hull FC line.With the crowd booing because they wanted a tap Steve opted for the goal kick which was far from easy and slotted it through the middle.Just being 5 points behind seemed to give us a new lease of life and Hull FC were never in it after that.Paul Rose should have been sent off for his tackle on John Gilbert who i think would have come into the game for us in the second half as  more space was created.Banks and Lyman defied their ages both having sound games.To say he had just come into the side i thought Tim Slatter had a really good game working tirelessly throughout.WHAT A DAY.

I too watched this again the other day and agree with most of what you write. one thing I hadn't picked up before was the sly studs on Terry Hudson's ankle by Charlie Stone in the first few minutes. I'm sure that would be a yellow card these days and should have been at least a penalty then.

"Out of the way,son. Where's my medal?" Alex Murphy's immortal words as David Hobbs scores his 2nd try in the '83 Cup Final!

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