There certainly was, Cos he started them





Apparently he said "you've just signed the Worlds best full back, why not sign the worlds best winger"







Was a very good turnout and it was also a very scorching hot day too

Team photo taken prior to Roy Powell's debut (albeit in a pre-season friendly that doesn't count in any official records) at McLaren Field.



The result was 0-48 to Leeds and Roy featured in the YEP match report that said: [i'And Roy Powell, the coloured second-row recruit from St John Fisher, Dewsbury, did not take long to reveal his awesome potential. He has pace, a treemendous physique and a keen eye for a possible opening, as he showed in backing up Wilkinson's burst to score near the end.' [/i

decent crop of 1st teamers in that photo for a friendly unlike the present. And in what year did the yep stop finding the colour of the skin something to mention

ive been delaying this ,but here go'es

my first game was at the Barley Mow about 1955 we used to go to a cinema called the lido on town street for saturday mattenies ,but we saw all these odl blokes in flat caps walking past so we followed them into the ground .It was Bramley v huddersfield recall them all talking about a player called Billy Banks playing for Fartown.

Next week my mates dad was a big leeds fan and he took us to headingley he said i take you to see a really good player called Lewis Jones.

A lot of our mates were older than us who came onto our estate from burley road and kirkstall road etc leeds rl area's and they took us up to games too .

I think my first game at headingley was against Halifax and it was a loss.

I agree about Ken Thornett.

Old grounds Barley Mow ,Parkside etc ,but once again i agree about Central Park it oozed rugby league. I also liked station road and watersheddings

In those days the pre-season friendly (limited to one or perhaps two at the most) probably had more relevance to the plethera of friendlies to be had these days from boxing day onwards to the start of the campaign proper.



That game at Bramley was the first time the teams had played under the new 6th tackle/handover rule. With Holdsworth twice ordering scrum-downs before being reminded of the new rules by the players and the majority of the crowd.







Pass.











One of my favourite shots with the old master passing on some tips to a young future great.

Especially when Pat Mitchell was in the same team!!!





Wonder whatever happened to him?

Suppose i'd better have a go...



1st game I saw was Leeds vs Australia in 94 I believe. Night time game with 22k in. As a 10 year old it was amazing and we had the Wigan team sat in front of us. I remember walking up the cricket stand and then just seeing this floodlit heaven in front of me as we walked into the North stand. Id never seen grass as green as it looked that night.



Not sure on the import front. Lauitiiti runs close but I loved Iro as a kid even though he was only at Leeds for a couple of seasons from when I started watching.



As I have only been a Leeds fan 16 years I suppose Central Park has to be the ground I enjoyed going to thats no longer around.

The first team training with Oulton Raiders in the summer of 86 at Rothwell Sports Centre.



Getting Peter Fox to sign my autograph book. He signed it "All the best, Peter G Fox"



When I asked him what the G stood for he simply smiled and replied





"The Great young un,the Great!"



Classic!

It seems a bit strange that Powell didn't get more chances in 83-84. That game against Widnes was a classic - usual Widnes brutality aimed at Holmes and Webb but somehow we won.

Speaking of which here is 'Pele' in that game at McLaren Field (including the start of the YEP comment re-Powell's debut):

'The coloured second-row recruit'...



It was a different time.

They'd get slaughtered for that these days