You miss my point.

Not saying Roy didn't graft, achieve or wasn't hard. I originally typed 'but he adapted his game to suit his strengths and weaknesses' but thought that was over labouring the point.

What I was saying was a direct response to your comment on players whose aggression doesn't match their physical capabilities. I'd have said with Roy's physique he could have hurt people more in the tackle as well as made more yards but don't think he mentally had enough of the mongrel in him so he adapted his game to become a workhorse.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that had he carried greater aggression his work rate would have fallen.

Fair enough.

I'd described Kirke as playing "without aggression, heart or passion". I thought you were linking those descriptions to Roy. Agression maybe, but he had plenty of heart and passion.

Mebbe, but he's still a soft cock.

Had you mentioned heart and passion I'd not have mentioned the big fella, but in aggression alone I think the point stands - certainly I felt that way at the time that what he was was great but always felt there could be more if he could get some more anger in him.

Mind you, I wouldn't have said Harmon lacked heart or passion either - just that he was too 'nice'.

I know Harmon was a lancastrian, but does anyone know if he still lives around these parts?

I only ask because I have seen him twice now in the last 3 months on Garforth main street.

He used to live in West Park (along with Morley and Nathan Picchi) a few doors down from me but no idea if he's still there.

Doesn't he still own a pub with Robbie Paul in Cleckheaton?

From a Bulls point of view, it's a fairly good thing imo.

At first I thought it shouldn't have been three years but:

- He's home-grown
- He can play a number of positions
- He always gives us 100%

No he's not a sensational player, but he does a good job and always puts the effort in. I'm glad we're now trying to retain our home-grown talent. There's worse players thank Sykes about imo.

Not many and Mcbanana signed most of them!

I did leave myself open to that one tbf.

Big Roy was always Roy Dickinson. It must be me age.

Talking of Ian Kirke, would that be the same Paul Sykes that was caught and driven in to the turf by that well-known Leeds speedster, er ... Ian Kirke, at Odslum the other week ?

Oh, how we laughed ....

Quote ="Tony Soprano"Give us the stats.'" Done on here in case I want to find them later - viewtopic.php?f=17&t=341569&p=15275347#p15275347

Quote ="Tony Soprano"Give us the stats.'" Done on here in case I want to find them later - viewtopic.php?f=17&t=341569&p=15275347#p15275347

And all our backs are superstars I take it? Delaney certainly isn't. And he's an Aussie.

He's certainly a better centre than Sykes imo and younger with room to improve..
The fact he's an aussie is irrellevant we have produced more than enough homegrown players.

I totally disagree.

These average-at-best dead weights are exactly the kind of players Bradford should be scrapping and moving on from. If they want to improve. Keeping the likes of Sykes et al isn't going to assist doing this in the long term.

Sykes is a solid player. I thought he was worth his England call up.

As for the Roy Powell thing and aggression. I have to agree with Puig a little there. However, it wasn't his tackling that was noticable for me (he tackled people, and he did it really well and was seldom knocked backwards - I think in these days of "winning the collision" and wrestling he would have been absolutely sensational), it was his running with the ball. He seldom broke tackles or hurt people as a runner. But in a balanced second row with Paul Medley providing the impact running and big hits he was possibly perfect.

Replacing him with the likes of Richie Eyres and George Mann was bull$!tt.

My mates dad had season tickets in the centre section of the North Stand for ever in the 1960s/70s/80s and in that way that all the old fogeys who inhabit the North Stand think they know everything there ever is to know about RL they could summarise a player within ten seconds of him first pulling on a Loiners shirt.

Roy Powell was always "Dead Ball Powell" because apparently whenever he took the ball he'd run it into a tackle and keep hold of it, the old men in the North Stand had spoken and it was so, "Dead Ball Powell" he was right through his Leeds career.

Old North Stand members know best.

This Ian Kirke fella. Is that the same Ian Kirke that's got 3 grand final rings?

Yup, the same bloke who Peacock gives props to in his autobiography.

Mind you i await the old "so what, blah blah won a challenge cup and he was pony too" argument that is bound to follow.......................

And apart from one notable performance in a JPT/RT Final at Central Park V St Helens in the mud and rain their first impression turned out to be fairly accurate in that regard. As DHM said though there is nothing wrong with a second row pairing where one is a tackling machine and the other is an explosive runner. Graham Eccles and Phil Cookson immediately spring to mind here.

Graham Eccles, just mentioning his name hurts ..... crunch.

Warrington to beat Bulls by 41+ on paddy power anyone? 8/1

You know I was thinking of that game as I was wrtiting. He ran exceptionaly well in that match, broke tackles and offloaded, a rarity. He had that little shuffle thing he did with his feet as he was taking the ball up. I suspect in these days of obsession with landing on knees and elbows to get a quick PTB he would have been well suited.

Roy Powell's standout performance in a Leeds shirt, where he did everything he always did but also a few things you weren't expecting.

A clear Man Of The Match performance which probably explains why they gave it to Paul Loughlin although in fairness he accounted for most of the St Helens points that day (all bar the Neil Holding drop goal) and judges notice that sort of flashy behaviour more.

Poor old Leeds, Garry Schofield, the thickness of a post, so near and yet so far.

I'll roll out your usual pathetic argument on this point.

Kirke has 3 GF winners rings...............................bwahbwahbwahbwah..............

Maybe only fits when you want to use it perhaps?

I think people are under-estimating Roy's ability with ball. He was sensational going forward in the 1987-88 season. Somewhere in the loft I have a motivational video Phil Larder prepared for the 1988 tourists. It's about 90 seconds highlights from that season for each of the tourists with Labbi Siffre's "something inside so strong" as the sound track (the hairs on the back of neck are rising as I type). Some great runs on that video from Roy. If anyone has a scrumdown tape of a match at headingley against Widnes from 88 you can see a dummy and go from Roy that is so good the camera man even takes it.

I admit that after his collapse against Widnes the following season his offensive game suffered somewhat though, strangely, his defence remained spot on.

Whatever, Mal reilly rated him enough and he was right in the thick of a couple of legendary results for English rugby, most noticeably Sydney 1988 and Wembley 1990.