The Beeb has a video interview with Kate Hardcastle and Jay Willey - during which there is footage of a vintage Hanley Special against Fev. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/21843804

The Beeb has a video interview with Kate Hardcastle and Jay Willey - during which there is footage of a vintage Hanley Special against Fev. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/21843804

I was just checking if you are all paying attention

I cannot think of that try without thinking of the second half that followed and the one of the most miserable journey's home of my life.

Spent h/t at Headingley that afternoon trying to decide with my mate whether to drive to Wembley, or go by coach or rail. Nuff said.

I agree the final result was very disappointing - but I was standing by the corner he scored in and watching Ellery weave and jink his way past the defence and vary his speed you just knew you had been priviledged to see a great piece of individual skill.

Some years latter I was at a super 12 match at Eden Park and a couple of ex-all blacks rated that try as one of the top individual tries ever - praise indeed

I was told by a coach that if you run at top speed you have only one change of pace - down.
If you run at 90% of top speed you have two changes of pace. Just make sure you look as though you are running at top pace.
Ellery was a master at this.

One of my first games as a nipper.....great memory, especially seeing the Northern fans going crackers at the scoreboard end. Did'nt last when the teams changed ends unfortunately.

Ell could run as fast sideways as he could forwards, as shown in cup finals for Wigoon. He had a devastating handoff. A freak of an athlete!

Berwyn Jones was the fastest thing I saw in rugby boots.
No side step, no hand off, just one pace - like a bat out of hell

was it Richard Francis that took part in one of the RL pace merchant races who fell at the start and still won? he was lightening quick but couldn't catch for toffee

Francis was our quickest player for a few years but he was 20m slower than Offiah when they did a 100m sprint challenge at Headingley in the late 80s.

Interesting Richard Francis fact, my mate who worked in the middle east met him a few times out there on business, last I heard he was doing very well for himself.

I had not been watching RL long but was at that game. I remember thinking it was a good try but took a while to appreciate the enormity of it. It's not just running 100m but the effort that is involved in handing off 3 defenders as well. What's scary is that Hanely was not at his peak by a distance at that stage.

I know, it should be 100% illegal to ever lose a game after a try of that magnitude.

Aye, I think Ellery's peak was around 87-89. That season he got 63 tries (87 I think) he was unstoppable.

Best player I have had the privilage to see.

Though latter in his career when he tried to combine playing loose forward and referring he lost a few marks. Seem to remember him taking an early bath playing for the pies against us at Odsal after providing the ref with some unwanted advice.