Re: Speedsters : Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:16 pm  

Peter Fox, Paul White, Lindsey Rotherforth, Andy Fletcher, Steve Tinker, Andrew Frew, Greg Lennon, Lino Foai, Paul Sampson, David Smith, Fred Smith

We've had a few

Re: Speedsters : Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:35 pm  

The David Jones I was referring to was around at the start of the 90s. Came from Wigam area I think.

Not a great tryscorer but quick. Remember him catching Offiah a couple of times and pulling off trysaving tackles. No mean feat.

Re: Speedsters : Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:35 pm  

The David Jones I was referring to was around at the start of the 90s. Came from Wigam area I think.

Not a great tryscorer but quick. Remember him catching Offiah a couple of times and pulling off trysaving tackles. No mean feat.

Re: Speedsters : Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:44 pm  

Eastern Wildcat wrote:

The David Jones I was referring to was around at the start of the 90s. Came from Wigam area I think.

Not a great tryscorer but quick. Remember him catching Offiah a couple of times and pulling off trysaving tackles. No mean feat.

If only he worked out how to run around the walls instead of through them. Came from Wigan St Pat's.

Re: Speedsters : Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:51 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

Peter Fox, Paul White, Lindsey Rotherforth, Andy Fletcher, Steve Tinker, Andrew Frew, Greg Lennon, Lino Foai, Paul Sampson, David Smith, Fred Smith

We've had a few

Good list. The point being that we've not really had a number of them together, nor have we gotten the best out of them always!

I exclude the 2 Smiths as they are before my time.

Re: Speedsters : Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:35 pm  

Not to be missed out : Ken Hirst, Gert Oupa Coetzer
, Jan Prinsloo, Keith Slater and the fastest of them all Berwyn Jones.The latter , remember, was an Olympic 100m relay medalist and at the time GB 100 m record holder . He went on to become GB international RL player.

Re: Speedsters : Wed Nov 30, 2016 8:09 am  

I think we are starting to go back a bit to far now for genuine comparisons.

All RL positions have changed in the past 30 years and non more so than Winger.

Thirty years ago wingers were dandies who only had one roll and that was to catch and run very fast and this made them crowd pleasers. Now I know there were exception but generally they didn't tackle much, didn't run the ball out or take the high ball - they were generally the least employed player on the pitch. Many were small and slightly built with speed there only weapon.

They were great to watch but most wouldn't last two minutes today. I know it's hard to compare eras but in this case it's very obvious. Obviously a few would make it today but most wouldn't, the day of the small fast wingman finishing off moves is long gone.

The irony is that many of the older players mentioned thrived due to there centre partners - a position that has imho not improved much at all and players like Fox would be worth millions today. Strange.

Re: Speedsters : Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:31 am  

vastman wrote:

the day of the small fast wingman finishing off moves is long gone

Agreed, and at risk of being accused of circular logic, it goes back to your original point about why Johnstone is so special; he's big, strong, agile, athletic *and* fast - both off the mark, and with an extra gear whilst in full flight. If you re-watch some of his performances from our purple patch this season, his tries are rarely just about hugging the line and taking a good pass - he's got the lot.

Re: Speedsters : Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:33 am  

The Avenger wrote:

Peter Fox, Paul White, Lindsey Rotherforth, Andy Fletcher, Steve Tinker, Andrew Frew, Greg Lennon, Lino Foai, Paul Sampson, David Smith, Fred Smith

We've had a few

Steve Tinker? Wasn't he a bit of a one game wonder? 90 metre interception try v Leeds in last game of season but did his hamstring and never came back anything like? Bit foggy recollection but I also thought he was a half back.

Re: Speedsters : Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:18 am  

Yes, he was a half back.

Was that the 1980-81 season. That was my first real season of watching the Trin

If my memory serves me right, we had a pretty good season