Ellery was simply unbelievable as a player. He could do things no one else ever could. Skills wise and in doing those 'impossible' plays the nearest modern equivalent was probably Rangi Chase, though he was never quite the complete player that Ellery was. That said, it was a different game in played in different times. Ellery truly was 'worth the admission money on his own'.

I agree

I agree. I still try to coach some of the things that Hanley did. Although of course some of it was simple physical ability learned over thousands of hours of practice.
My favourite and it's so simple; not many refs were bright enough to pick up on it. Hanley would watch the ball go say from the centre of the park out to the right say from the half way, he would track ahead, walk/jog quietly 15/20meters ahead of the ball, way offside, as the ref looks to his left and at the defence, not seeing Hanley ahead of the ball, He worked out that the breaking centre/2nd row would, on the 4th tackle on the 25ish and need an inside ball. Hanley would already be way ahead of his other players, and be there before anyone else. The Refs hardly ever picked up on it.
Brilliant, but simple. He was not just an amazing physical player, he was a brilliant, patient, thinker and tactician, like Edwards. (another we missed off the list!)

Not saying Ellery should be No 1 in the list, but the one piece of action from 40 years of watching Bradford that I can still recall in every detail is his try at the semi-final where he touched down in the corner just below where we were sitting. Classic

And he's still going and he's still going....

I was stood behind the goal that day, about 15 metres in from the touch line and had a brilliant view of it. When he scored that try me and my mate were planning to go up to Odsal the next day to get our Wembley tickets, we were 2 very excited 14 year olds. Realised at a young age dreams don't always come true

Was that the one against Fev in the semi?

Yeah that's the one

Some great names/memories there guys cheers.It's difficult coming up with one player but to me it has to be someone you've seen with your own eyes.They all had different talents and don't forget back in the day they had a full time job as well.How good does that make Keith Mumby?I have come up with my best team that I have seen with my own eyes and what they did at Bradford,for Bradford.
1.Mumby--best tackler I have ever seen.
2.Berwyn Jones---fastest winger I have ever seen and that includes Offiah.
3.Bradley--Leader extraordinaire
4.Newlove--Class
5.Vainakolo--Unstoppable
6.John Woods-Mercurial with speed,great hands and an incredible goal kicker
7.Seabourne-Incredible playmaker and carried Northern on his own at times.
8.Kelvyn Skerret--Powerhouse.
9)Keith Bridges--Best proper hooker I ever saw.He won the ball whoever's head and feed it was.
10)Peacock-Another great leader and inspiration.
11)Grayshon--All time great in any team.
12)Fairbank--Toughest forward and non stop worker.A must have.
13)Hanley--The most naturally gifted player I ever saw right from when he was in his early teens.

Such as Henry/Robbie Paul,Harkin,Wolford,Stephenson,Lowes,Forsyth,Thompson,Price,Fielden,Burgess,Noble,Withers etc etc were very hard to leave out.But I would travel a long way to watch the above team play.

Great times/memories,let's hope we can get back to where this great club belongs.

Can't argue with that much, although I'm struggling to leave Sam Burgess out.

Maybe a bench of
14. Robbie Paul
15. Henry Paul
16. Sam Burgess
17. Stuart Fielden

PS why aren't you doing the Quiz? (Button at the top of the page). Very good questions. Thought it'd be right up your street!

Some great names there. That's very good selection. There are so many to name. I like you inclusion of Graeme Bradley and Seaborne. The latter being a true Bradford Northern stalwart and hero. On and Off the pitch.

Mick, this was a great idea. It will remind some that Bradford CAN produce great players and teams.

In the end Sir Keith Mumby rules I think ! But I am biased.

Happy New Year.
Burgess was full of promise at the BULLS,but played his best rugby at Souths imo.Still, he was hard to leave out.Bench looks good.
I'll have a look at the quiz,hadn't noticed it.

Decent team there aardvark but I would have to swap bridges with lowes, he would guarantee you tries; and defo get you plenty of penalties from scooting any acting half,and think both the redfearn brothers deserve a mention, as does jimmy Thompson and len Casey