Quote ="domthebull"jimmy 4 bradford how many games at full back did withers play? first year wing, second year centre, and then some injury prone years I would be surprised if withers actually played 30 games at full back.
=#BF0080Love how even with options provided and suggested as a super league full back - mumby still gets votes in near enough double figuires. For someone who honestly did not see him but has countless times been told how good he was in defence how was keith in attack? bearing in mind we talk of a modern full back how would he have coped?
Still think witers did not have enough games at full back to be voted for above spruce and with Kearney being touted as not played enough games and being signed as a 6.....'"
They were different times, it's true. However the ability to catch the ball, whether bombed or along the ground, and to seemingly 'know' which man to tackle when multiple runners are bearing down, remains the same today and I did allude to the fact that there was less professionalism around back then, and there were many more who regarded the game as a test of virility and were far more likely to get away with being, ermm.. shall we say, over physical. Standing, with eyes on a dropping ball, was infinitely more dangerous then, than now. Though I still remember the old coach, Peter Fox, saying in the T&A how he was 'fed up with his wingers not going back to cover when the ball was put in the air - their excuse? "Keith doesn't drop it"! You could also add in he always seemed to know where it was going too.
Keith wasn't the quickest, though he did get quite a few tries, and I've seen him run then in from half-way more than once. He was also a decent goal kicker for his time, though not as consistent as the best modern day kickers, he was first choice for most of his career and kicked many a goal for Northern.
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