I can`t believe no-one has mentioned Tom Amone ....OUTSTANDING every game he`s played.

B&B with his Masters dissertation on Leigh Centurions, 2022 vintage

No pretence here about being a master, merely a very enthused fan, you guys. Furthermore, have never read "War & Peace" (true Sep, Jack was very succinct) but once knew a guy in St Richards club in Bent who was painstakingly teaching himself Russian so that he could read Tolstoy's ramble in cyrillic. He was brainy (as well as having oodles of increasingly uncommon sense) but was also knocking on a bit and suddenly disappeared. Hope he achieved his dream!

Excellent analysis Bongser. Agree with everything you said about all the players listed.

Watching the team this year has given me tremendous enjoyment, in fact it has been unlike any other previous season, and, yes, I was around when we won the old 1st division with that great side of Alec Murphy. What pleasure this year's team have given. Every player to don the cherry and white shirt has contributed and many of the team have been regular standout performers.

Choices for player of the year is always subjective. For me, any of my fellow contributors' choices would be well deserved 'winners' but, in a season of absolute highs there has been one man in this Leigh team who has regularly got this particular miserable old git off his feet and smiling in anticipation of something special happening and that player is our Edwin.

Players who have the ability to empty a bar and who cause an audible stir of anticipation in the crowd every time they trot onto the pitch are very few and far between and Leigh do not get players like that very often which is why we treasure them when we do. For me Edwin falls very comfortably in to that category.

Yes, we love all his qualities of pace, balanced running, eye for a gap and destructive tackling but the abiding memory for me is how many times - as Bongser has alluded - that he has just exploded with pace near the line from a standing start either through a gap or through a defender or two to touch down. For me, in those moments he is reminiscent of a champagne cork exploding from a magnum. Rare, exclusive, quality product is champagne and that for me just about sums up our Edwin..

Have to say I loved reading it and you clearly put a lot of thought in to it!

And in this of all seasons, picking the best amongst this bunch is extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Cheers, Mick. Yes it was too hard a task for Bongser and that prompted the ramble. Bottled it in the end and went with sentiment as this corner hates goodbyes - especially if they are not of a player's choosing.

To Jack: Yup everyone's choice within reason is good enough here too.

Your analogy was cleverly structured and well merited by Edwin. Despite Bongser just about being able to down champagne when forced to drink a toast at some occasion or another, your words still stand. This doesn't have the explosiveness of your comparison but Bongser (as a nipper) was in heaven if he managed to get three of the Coffee Creams in a Milk Tray box before Ol' Pa Bongser got said majority of the four. That is the feeling for Bongser whenever Ipape gets the ball!


Yours can't be trumped, Jack but another analogy from Bongser's corner is inspired by The Spice Girls of all people (they didn't pop this cork). It does involve Ipape's runs that are not weaving, more like articulated lorries turning sharp corners at speed and leaving devastation in their wake! The explosion here comes later.

The Spice Girls got where water couldn't in the 90s including a Q&A on children's TV. Question from a (possibly disingenuous) lad from the floor: "What's a 'Zig-a-Zag'?" Wide eyes from the "ladies" before Scary Spice chipped in with, "Well, I suppose it's anything that you really, really like."

Whenever Edwin get's his paws on the pill, the whole Leigh crowd

"Wanna, wanna, really, really, really wanna have a Zig-a-Zag....AAAAaaaaaaaahhhh".

Sounds like we're both too long in the tooth. Enjoy your champers, Bongser will scour the chocolatiers in Manchester for a bag exclusively filled with coffee creams with which to toast the team whatever happens on the 2nd of next month!