Bernie was massively into league - If kids wanted to play for the football team but not the rugby (and were good) he wouldn't let them. They either played for both teams or neither. Mindst with only 2 classes of kids to choose from he couldn't afford to reduce the talent pool! I'm sure the team 3/4 years above me went to wembley although I stand corrected on that could be an urban myth he told us!

Bernie coached the Wakefield Schools team. He had the u15/16 team but some of the players in his school team played in the Wakefield City side that played the curtain raiser in 79.
He is still watching Trin. Often stand with him. Good guy.

He could in all sense and purposes be groomed to fill Sam Tomkins boots if Wigan ever decide to cash in on him from the RU world or the NRL. Im not saying he is going to be as good a player as Sam, but in terms of quick, good feet and very good with ball in hand his attributes mirror in a way what Sam has. He could well start at 6 in a couple of years and then eventually move to full back in the same way Sam has done.

Pity Glover wasnt in charge a few years ago as Ryan might have joined us instead. A shame at the time we were only offering sherbert fountains and 20p mix ups to the best young talents in the area,

Going back to the Outwood Grange selections. I know nowadays they are up there in terms of RL talent in the UK, nevermind West Yorkshire, but was that always the case. Id have said 1990-1995 around that era as much as Ossett didnt play RL I didnt really know that Outwood did to be honest. But to be fair, whenever you went to Outwood Grange away whether it be football, cricket or even basketball you knew you were going there for a test. The walk over the dual carraigeway onto the playing fields was the schools equivelent of This Is Anfield sign at Liverpool !

They're doing a lot better now - it's a specialist sports college and they have a PE teacher who loves RL; Jay Pitts went there I believe, and they have another lad who's currently in the WTW junior system. My son plays for their yr 7 team and they're doing ok, although they will insist on making them play both codes.

I went to Thornes House - it was a RL hotbed, but I only recall Gary Price from our year group making it as a pro; I'm sure there must have been others before him.

I was also at college with Alan Hunte - wasn't he an Eastmoor lad?

my lads in yr 9 at Outwood and played today against fryston losing 22-10 which will be most of the players that will be playing this weekend in the Barla quarter final,
They are trained by young Milner from Cas

from what I have heard and seen on one game its far from a good school to bring on talent.

at one stage players picking where they would like to play irrespectable whether they fit the position and teachers swapping players to give game time to all ruining the flow of play

the one game I did see last yr three tries was run in five mins down a very weak side, out of rage I went to the coaching staff (if you can call it) to tell them move a stronger player over in which they did but the damage was done.

so not all is bright within the schools, my faith is with the coaching staff at clubs

Milner was a pupil at Outwood so thats probably why he coaches them. In my experience it the local amateur side that makes and does all the ground work for a good school side. When I was at school the core of our years school team played together at Stanley Rangers and just carried on playing together at school level and even the Wakefield schools team or Wakefield service team what ever it's called now

I can't give you loads of names but I'd have thought Eastmoor would have churned out a few.

Johnny Miller

Would think so. Good lad Jonny. Good player as well, had a half decent chance of making the step up to pro.

jordan thompson-freeston
ben cockayne-freeston
ben westwood-freeston
rob burrow-st wilfreds
oliver holmes-outwood
adam milner-outwood
ryan hudson-royds
joe westerman-airdale
liam watts-airdale
richard owen-airdale
daz clarke-airdale
craig huby-airdale
keal carlisle-airdale
brett ferres-castleford
joe-arundel-castleford
greg eden-castleford
dale ferguson-kings
tom briscoe-featherstone
nathen massey-crofton


im sure others could add to the list but it does go to show the strength in depth in the wakefield schools area,imo the area has even more potential to come through has it has only in the past 5 years been taken seriously by the local super league clubs.

im lucky enough to see what talent their is coming through the junior and schools ranks first hand and i see a very bright future for both castleford and wakefield if the talent is nurtured correctly which i believe to be the case now,i can only vouch for the players i coach and see but the commitment and will to succeed is their to see.

The issue for me is, did the schools develop these players or were they developed at a club and just happened to be at this school.
Rob Burrow as an example......when i was there Wilfs was a Rugby Union School. Has it changed or did he just learn his RL at an amateur club?

Ask Mopsey for his views!

QEGS were an awesome RU school when I was playing Union for Cas Grammar but I only got to play against them in 7's because at 15 a side we were way below them (socio/educationally as well I suspect)....despite the fact our back division included Gary Hetherington,Terry Day, Les Dyl, Derek Parker, John Kear, Terry Richardson and Keith Worsley during the two years I played in the 1st XV.

IIRC the Rayne twins played the season after I left.

Which school did Rocky Turner Attend