Hiya mate.

Players fully paid I think.

Ok.I would love to be able to answer this fully but i don't know if for 100% truth, and am not as in the know as some may be on here. From what i have heard and read Wigan were the first to become fully professional sometime in the 80's with Maurice Lindsay on board. I'm sure Leeds did follow suit circa 1990...maybe before that but i'm not sure it ever became official knowledge. Obviously the whole of SL became full time with the advent of the new structure in 1996.

I hope this helps a little, i'm sure there are older posters who can give you more accurate info

It was whichever season John Bentley left for Halifax as he wasn't prepared to give up his career in the Police force to turn full time professional.

According to the Tinter Webs, John Bentley left Leeds and signed for Halifax in 1992.

rlhttp://www.therhinos.co.uk/club/history/#.WDbaK_mLSUkrl

Last paragraph for 1896-97 if it helps?

Or I have got the wrong end of the stick,

You mean when they didnt have to work on building sites etc through the week as in 60's and 70's players,

Oh really you walk up to lads like Roy Dickinson and say that ! nice lad though he is he wont be able to contain himself.

According to urban legend (particularly among fans in places like Leeds and St Helens), Wigan were the first club to turn fully pro, hence why they won all those trophies circa mid-80's to mid-90's because they bought them all.

The psychological damage among the fans from that era (alluded to above) is still clearly evident even today, even after two decades of Stupor League.

If Leeds were the first club to become fully pro, it would be an understatement to suggest it puts a different complexion on how and why Wigan were so dominant for a whole decade.

I am made of scars.

I do recall Leeds were the first to officially go full time pro (required all first team playing squad to not have a second job) and '92 would seem to be about right. Of course, by then most of the first team were entirely employed by Leeds RLFC anyway. There was no requirement to have a second job prior to that.

Whatever your belief, and we will probably never know full facts so it matters not, its hard to argue that Wigan were chucking big cash at the majority of their squad. same at Leeds of course...not to the same degree of success unfortunately Wigan of that era deserved their glory they were a great side to watch and ruthless with it..them cup win bonuses were an addiction

DHM- i agree 91/92 start of Laughton era would be when Leeds went full pro.

Oh yes I will never begrudge that Wigan side their glory .They were a great RL side and a credit to the game wether full time or not

In terms of accumulated psychological scar tissue, it's not easy to pinpoint any particular defeat as causing the most long-lasting damage. There were the two successive CC Final defeats of course, the Offiah 10 try urine-extraction and the deliberate score of 69 in a Premiership Trophy Final at the Theatre of Dreams. It's probably more of a cumulative effect of repeated hidings resulting in outbreaks of PTSD during a period when Leeds should have competed with Wigan, especially when considering the financial clout both clubs enjoyed over everyone else. What would Leeds have given for beating Wigan in a Final back then, like Castleford did for instance? The Leeds fanbase wouldn't have been as deranged and damaged, that's for sure.