Jump to content

Thugs, Nutjobs and Hardmen XIII


Recommended Posts

A distinction should be made between on-field behaviour and off field and also you can’t really compare the modern era where dozens of camera angles and the citing process would mean the thugs of the 70s and earlier would barely manage 5 games a season in between suspension so would have been made to change by coaches or discarded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 123
  • Created
  • Last Reply
1 hour ago, Jim Prendle said:

Not true, well partially.

Yes Boyd was a thug, but to say that was all he had is as wrong as wrong can be. He was an excellent RL player, tough, quick for a prop with a great offload game. He was strong in defence as well.

I'm a Wigan fan, and nobody hated Boyd more than me in the 80's, but to say he couldn't play is way off the mark.

Well said. As a Wire fan I had similar feelings towards Kelvin Skerratt, Barrie Mac, Kurt Sorensen and both Paul Round and Paul Forber in their Saints days

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 As a one off can anybody beat Ben Flowers  first minute  behaviour that , in spite of a tremendous Wigan effort thereafter lost them the Grand  Final against the old enemy ?   Only Adrian Morley against the Aussies springs to mind  .........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, del capo said:

 As a one off can anybody beat Ben Flowers  first minute  behaviour that , in spite of a tremendous Wigan effort thereafter lost them the Grand  Final against the old enemy ?   Only Adrian Morley against the Aussies springs to mind  .........

Jason Smith v Halifax? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/05/2020 at 16:07, Dunbar said:

Is this the incident when Radford was sent off?  I have never really understood the perception of that incident from fans.

Yes, Bailey threw a few elbows in the tackle and caught Radford but then Radford swung three punches at Bailey while he was on all fours and didn't see them coming. 

Radford may be a tough guy but I don't think that incident proved it... if that incident were reversed and it was Bailey throwing punches at a blindsided player on the ground he would have been called all the names under the sun.

Some others have responded well to this already.  I would like to add; it was very much a case of the straw that broke the camel's back.  Deliberate, cheap shots and things that he does all the time and gets away with.  Radford was clearly fed up, had a chance to get back at him and took it.  I don't think anybody is crediting Radford with pulling off the most daring act of all time, but fans who share their frustration definitely appreciated it as it had been a long time coming!

One other thing I love about this incident (yes, I've probably seen it close to 100 times), is how Bailey when he initially got up, made no attempt to get to Radford, then, once there where a dozen players separately them, he started acting like he desperately wanted to get his hands on Radford for 'revenge'.  That right there, sums the guy up I think.

I also agree with those who have said;  Bailey had all the attributes to have been a proper hardman, but sadly, never got close to fulfilling his potential.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/05/2020 at 13:03, Harry Stottle said:

Another very hard man was the Leigh Fullback Mick Hogan not for punching anyone or getting into fights - but for his total disrespect for his own safety when defending,

Your description there reminds me exactly of Martin Lang and Danny Nutley, though more so when they were attacking.  Sadly, these guys never got the credit they deserved but I am happy that both got to play Origin for Qld.  Tough as nails, but I cannot recall either one ever being in a fight, throwing a cheap shot or using dirty tactics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/05/2020 at 13:35, Bring back the Boyd said:

Well said. As a Wire fan I had similar feelings towards Kelvin Skerratt, Barrie Mac, Kurt Sorensen and both Paul Round and Paul Forber in their Saints days

None of whom, apart from maybe Sorenson, were anywhere close to being as good a RL player as Les Boyd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Lowdesert said:

Has Petro Civanoceva been mentioned?  

Has he ever thrown a punch in nearly 400 games - Aussie posters?  Not many props have played at that standard and for so long.  What I would call a ‘hard man’.

Good call!  I remember the time when (wannabe hardman, but more in the 'thug' category) Monty Betham tried cheap-shotting him with a high tackle, only to end up with a broken arm for his troubles!!!  The definition of justice right there!

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/suspension-adds-insult-to-injury-for-betham-and-gallen-20040316-gdijpo.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Lowdesert said:

Has Petro Civanoceva been mentioned?  

Has he ever thrown a punch in nearly 400 games - Aussie posters?  Not many props have played at that standard and for so long.  What I would call a ‘hard man’.

Good call.

Talent is secondary to whether players are confident.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/05/2020 at 20:43, Jim Prendle said:

Not true, well partially.

Yes Boyd was a thug, but to say that was all he had is as wrong as wrong can be. He was an excellent RL player, tough, quick for a prop with a great offload game. He was strong in defence as well.

I'm a Wigan fan, and nobody hated Boyd more than me in the 80's, but to say he couldn't play is way off the mark.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ....... well Autumn 1978 at the now demolished Castleford hospital there was a 14 year old lad nursing a fractured collar bone sat in a waiting room that was just big enough for four munchkins on the Atkins diet.

A large figure approached the room, silhouetted by the frosted glass, he opened the door and walked in.  I was face to face with Les Boyd in his Aussie tracksuit.  He somehow managed to close the door and fit onto the plastic chair.

He looked at me ..... I looked back  ..... I must have had the same expression on my face just like Rodney from Only Fools and Horses episode when Del tells him that Raquel has given birth to a boy.

He asked why I was at the hospital.  I told him that I had fractured my collar bone playing for the school rugby team - I didn’t dare tell him our school played Rugby Union.  We then ended up chatting for a few minutes until I was called to see the Doctor.  Good, sensible, likeable bloke don’t know why some people have a different view of him ??

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ....... well Autumn 1978 at the now demolished Castleford hospital there was a 14 year old lad nursing a fractured shoulder sat in a waiting room that was just big enough for four munchkins on the Atkins diet.

A large figure approached the room, silhouetted by the frosted glass, he opened the door and walked in.  I was face to face with Les Boyd in his Aussie tracksuit.  He somehow managed to close the door and fit onto the plastic chair.

He looked at me ..... I looked back  ..... I must have had the same expression on my face just like Rodney from Only Fools and Horses episode when Del tells him that Raquel has given birth to a boy.

He asked why I was at the hospital.  I told him that I had fractured my collar bone playing for the school rugby team - I didn’t dare tell him our school played Rugby Union.  We then ended up chatting for a few minutes until I was called to see the Doctor.  Good, sensible, likeable bloke don’t know why some people have a different view of him ??

 

Why am I thinking of that episode of Porridge with Fletch’s sore knee ...‘  if you’re shoulder isn’t really fractured and you want some time off school I can help you there ...’

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 27/05/2020 at 20:27, Rhinoferg said:

Baby faced assassin, not baby assassin lol

Les Boyd was also called this

Talent is secondary to whether players are confident.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/05/2020 at 11:56, Mumby Magic said:

Karl Fairbank. Remember him clothes lining the Warrington full back at Wilderspool. Apparently at the disciplinary he said "the sun got in my eyes" ????

Well he would being a farmer ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 22/05/2020 at 19:57, del capo said:

And two of the daftest and toughest ( but you would want them in your corner)  have to be Tim Street  and Ian Gormley , who once famously took on the Salford terraces  when he literally jumped into them....

Gormley jumped into the crowd at Thrum Hall 

"Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice, socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality" - Mikhail Bakunin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vila Matautia now theres a choice. and if Brian McDermott is not near the starting XIII, then the steely eyed ex-Royal Marine is most definately Coach of this outfit.

Quote

When the pinch comes the common people will turn out to be more intelligent than the clever ones. I certainly hope so.

George Orwell
 
image.png.5fe5424fdf31c5004e2aad945309f68e.png

You either own NFTs or women’s phone numbers but not both

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Phil said:

Gormley jumped into the crowd at Thrum Hall 

 Salford game  at Halifax  - not sure who Ian  had decided  to argue with on being sent off  - Halifax or his own supporters.  Didn't really matter when Goose saw the  mist.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.