Also, Scott Lewis. I recall when we signed their kid, Wally Lewis, he came out with the remark.; "If you thought I was good you want to see my younger brother". Another big disappointment.

Did'nt cost us owt! Wally paid his wages.

Ryan Horsley, what a player he was, so much potential.

The club treated him really badly at the time moving him on.

Could have been a great player for Trinity for many years.

My next door neighbour who’s family were heavily involved with the amateur game always raved about him. Never saw it when he played but he was young. Who was the coach at the time or was it one of Teds fireplace sales?

Think he would have been in Andy Kelly's team.

He was an England Academy 6 or 13, just had so much ability.

Was then played on the wing as his introduction to first team rugby.

Rumour is there was a clause in his contract that if he played X amount of games he would get a significant bonus.

As I understand it he played 1 game less than would have activated that payment and had sent on loan due to financial issues never to return.

I’ve been lucky enough to play with some outstanding players in my time. Played with and against players who went on to win World Cups. Ryan was up there on ability at a similar age.

Few years ago I was watching Super Rugby and come across a lad called Ryan Tongia, he looked class.

In the few games he played for us he seemed to have the X Factor, shame though he was playing in a poor side and looking at his career he never seems to stick around long wherever he goes.

Danny Cowling was another young lad that we wanted to keep at the club, I think he wanted to play part time to pursue studies or something but I thought he had some real potential at centre and was just one of those players that seemed to transition very well into the first team.

Think its fair out all of the players mentioned apart from gilmour and peacock (unless i missed a anyone)havent gone on and achieved anythingbi the game since keaving our youth which to shows there is a hell of a difference between junior rugby and the elite .ive watched alot of junior rugby over the last 8 or 9 years due to both my lads playing and ill be intrested to see if any lads i know /recognise go onto do anything game has i have seen sone good ones

Correct.

It is incredibly difficult to spot a potential pro, its incredibly easy to spot a talented player but they are not the same thing. You have to be able to turn a talent for a sport you enjoy at a youth level into a full-time job and that's not easy. The minute something becomes truly serious ie your career then being gifted isn't always enough.

There are players who are spotted really young and everybody knows they will make it because basically, they are men in boys bodies. Paul Sculthorpe, Andy Farrell and Kevin Sinfield
to name three but they are rare. In their cases, it would have taken a monumental set of cock-ups to stop them progressing. The rest are in degrees, Gareth Ellis had the mentality, what was in doubt was his ability and it happens the other way around.

I'm going to name drop here, I knew the Speak family very well in the '90s. Their son Andy played for Leeds, Cas and ourselves before dropping out of the limelight for good at a ridiculously young age. What some on here may know is that as a junior at Stanley Rangers he was for his age the most sort after player in the game. Incredibly strong, hard as nails and aggressive with an engine that wouldn't stop and great skill.

Leeds paid a fortune to sign him, I know this because I saw the green BMW he spent his signing fee on, a car he promptly crashed!

Years later I asked him why he stopped so young when everyone was certain he'd be an international. Being Andy he wasn't very direct but between the lines, he basically said it was too much like work but not the work he wanted to do and he just didn't enjoy it anymore. It just wasn't what he wanted to do. What he also didn't say but was clearly evident was that as a kid it had all come so easy to a 15-year-old with the body of a 21-year-old. Now things were more equal and to be fair that can drain you when you're used to being top dog.

It wasn't a lack of ticker or ability or anything like that, it simply wasn't what he wanted to do for the next 10 years, nobody saw that coming. I don't think it helped that he suffered some personal tragedies but many of us do. Deep down he just didn't want it whilst less talented players did. He was a landscape gardener with a young daughter I think the last time I saw him and seemed way happier and far more approachable, I think he made the right choice.

I can believe it what once was somthing you did for fun but it becomes a life...through buiness i know a guy who coached junior rugby at east leeds and as my lads played
Alot of junior rugby we used to discuss things and he alsways said he had players he knew would definitely make it in danny mcguire but he had many lads that he thought would go onto big things but didnt but at the opposite of that he talked about 1 lad that never looked like he would go anywhere in the game but went on to play a fare few sl games for few different clubs

Interesting this because over the last 3/4 years there has been a lot of moaning about different players not being offerred contracts by the Club and being let go, and yet I cant think of that many that have actually stayed in Super League after us, never mind actually going on to bigger and better things, which to me, shows someone is getting most of these calls correct?