The post from Bulliac mentioning Leigh reminded me of a cup match at Hilton Park in the mid 1970's. Northern were coasting to a comfortable win when Leigh forward Allan Rowley (Paul's dad) took a drive up but promptly had his shorts ripped apart in a tackle. Whilst waiting for a fresh pair, he lifted his shirt up towards the crowded main stand to reveal a fully developed beer belly and a battleship-grey "elastic support".

It raised a laugh but God forbid anyone doing that now in these enlightened times, even though there was no question of Allan actually flashing! Son Paul must have got the "moral and integrity" sound bites from the maternal side of the Rowley household.

Quite right. It's a complement paid to high achievers in Leigh.

Does anyone remember the chap that used to shout "give it to corgle" (that's how he pronounced it) whether Gerald Cordle was playing or not.

My personal epic adventure was when me and my mate were at scout camp in Bramhope and decided we'd go watch us play Bramley in the Yorkshire cup. We were only young so the graffiti on the airport underpass kept us entertained for a bloody long time. We trudged on for a bit until the entire sole of my shoe literally fell off. Somehow we got to the outskirts of Bradford and found a newsagent open where I bought a roll of sellotape and managed to fashion some sort of cave man foot covering. We also managed to get the fella to sell us a Sunday sport and that helped us finish the journey. Breasts and London buses on the moon can cure all ills.

If we're into epics, then this is a pretty good one.

From being around seventeen I had a motorbike, a Triumph Tiger Cub, and I once went on it to Oldham, on a lovely, early spring Sunday afternoon. Northern were there that day, and though neither of us went to all the away games, my mate Ray and I decided, that as it was so nice, we’d go on the bike to watch the match. It actually stayed pleasant enough until we were approaching Halifax, when we spotted a few dark clouds on the horizon, these seemed to follow us, and intensify, as we rode up into the hills, until eventually the clouds burst and it absolutely bucketed it down all the rest of the way to Oldham, relenting only as we arrived at the appropriately named Watersheddings.

We were, as you might expect, dressed in casual jackets, T-shirt and jeans, more than a bit damp by this time, and since, not only couldn’t we have got much wetter, but in any case, the rain actually seemed to have stopped, I still wonder just why we decided to pay extra to stand under cover to watch the match. The pointless folly of this waste of brass was brought home straight after the game when, for some reason, the storm clouds returned, and let us have it, full pelt, all the way home.

thats the law of having a motorbike in the UK; if I just open my garage to wheel my motorbike out the clouds start gathering overhead - its like bikes are magnets to rain clouds

A young sub for Northern that day was a player called Kevin Morgan, who a few years later, about 1988 ish, joined us at West Bowling and we became very good mates and still are. He told me that at half time that day it was agreed in the changing rooms, if there was to be anymore thuggish tactics the players were to be brought off and that came from the directors. Not long into the second half it started again and big Jeff was sent off. He was very surprised that afterwards the directors said it was nothing to do with them and they knew nothing about it

I'm not shocked to hear that it came from the directors - I've never seen a game like that in all my life, and the weak, bloody awful referee ought to have curled up in shame and resigned his commission at the end of it. The fact that the RFL backed that man sums them up too, imo.

Not surprised the directors thought twice about admitting it though, I suspect they would have been banned and fined by the RFL, if they had. Thugby league had nothing on that day, an utter disgrace to the game.

The directors taking no responsibility? Never. That wouldn't happen these days...

Ha yes who would of believed the directors saying it was nowt to do with them

Didn't we have a luvverly time when we visted the McApline for a Cup Semi final in 1996?bDLbRkZK2VQ[/youtube

or watching Paul Anderson hand off Gary Connolly in 2003

Ha, brilliant - those were the days when we used to win over there!