Proper rugby. What a great Leeds pack that was and Holmes the maestro.

Even Willie Oulton looked a threat from the back (I don't recall thinking that at the time), Neil Hague, how tough did he play the game.

There were a lot of calls for John Holmes being cheated out of the Lance Todd but Graham Eccles was the man of the match for me, back then and still today on review. Incredible.

Eccles for mine too, though Holmes was brilliant.

Oulton posed almost as much of a threat for the opposition as he did for us. I remember in the build up, everyone knew he was going to drop the first bomb that came his way and sure enough...God only knows how Brian Murrell must've felt (the guy Oulton was signed to replace).

DHM - how was it our problem that Queensland dominated Origin and got most players in the side? Wally lewis was some replacement for Kenny. The point is whilst we didn't look like winning a game we didn't get hammered in any of them, and compared to 82 were miles more competitive. In NZ the wheels did indeed come off. IIRC I remember Noble saying that he and another player agreed they were knackered after only a few minutes of the first test against NZ.

IIRC, John Atkinson took the rap for the opening try after Syd Hynes had hatched a plan for the wingers to mop up the expected Oulton blunders under the high ball at the back.

I'd have to check the sequence of events but I do recall Bryan Murrell staying away from Headingley and handing in a transfer request in '78. How that timed in with Oulton arriving from Trinity for £750 I'm not sure. I'll have a look.

Did Murrell ever resurface in the semi pro game?

Neil Hague - how poor was his defense, Holmes a genius but he had or created so much time for himself.

Still only 3 points for try - can't have been much after they changed to four

My dad sat next to Neil Hagues mum in the North Stand at the time that he made his debut season at Leeds. To say that she was vocal about his game would be rather an understatement and every time he was tackled the tackle-ee would be roundly lambasted and left in no doubt that that was her child he was roughing up, I'm sure it was sitting there for a season that made him deaf in his right ear.

Well she certainly would not be shouting when tackled anyone - it never happened

You can't be comepetitive while never looking like winning. We kept the score down a bit on '82- which frankly you would expect from a touring side. If we had consistant selection back in '82 then we might have done the same. 3 different sets of half backs in 3 tests? 3 different hookers? 3 different 13's? Queensland dominating Origin meant that Kenny didn't even get a look in - and while it wasn't a "bad" Australian side, it wasn't their best - no Peter Sterling? Astonishing.

It would be interesting to see stats for that game.

Things that stood out for me,
Speed of the game - I know it was an exceptional game for the era, but boy was it fast.
Fitness of the forwards - especially the big front rowers, who always ran hard.
Pace. Where has it gone in our game? Why don't we have guys pace anymore? There were four wingers out there who could all really shift, and as for Dyl, fast, strong, hard.
Wardy, took the ball a lot at first receiver and hit it up like a prop.
Holmes and his defensive covering. Always moving looking for gaps in the line to plug (like halves used to). Then there was the move that led to his drop goal. He saw the pass go behind Hague and ran backwards to get himslef behind Hague ( a huge effort at that time in the match) and read the run and pass perfectly.
Eddie Waring: if you listen to what he's saying then he clearly knows his stuff, and does a good commentary, but the accent makes it really difficult - even for a Northerner.

Above all, it was just fantastically entertaining.

How much did Syd Hynes look like Tosh from The Bill?

i might be wrong here..but wasnt it sanderson who died during a game by getting a bad injury..(i seem to remember this from years ago)..remember the game being abandoned..wasn't it against salford?

That was Chris Sanderson, not Sammy. You're right about it being at Salford though.

Amazing that it didn't receive a mention in the commentary, given it had happened only a few weeks previously.

i thought that meself..thanks

A few weeks and 12 months previously, Chris's death was towards the end of the 1976-77 season which culminated in Leeds winning the Cup against Widnes.

I planned to watch 10 minutes or so before bedtime, ended up watching all the game. Hugely entertaining, and seemed much faster than games of the 80's I have on tape.

Some thoughts :

The number of tackles looked much less than a Super League game, as the ball was moved around plenty. Not much scooting from acting half either, which was good to see.

John Holmes looked a bit useful with ball in hand, although I thought he overplayed the pass to inside runner. I'd think a coach nowadays would pick up on that.

Didn't see much variation in the kicking game from either team, up and under was about it.

Scrums, play the balls, and facials in the tackle were an eye opener

How good would small, fast players from today look in that game, with the defensive line being all over the place ?

What an effort from Steve Pitchford - Eddie and Stevo used to wet themselves over Fielden occasionally playing the full 80 minutes. Who was the Saints number 8 that put a high shot on Pitchford early in the game? Didn't put him off !

And now I know where Scott Donald learnt the 'in and out' to skin the full back - by watching John Atkinson ....