In recent years it has to be Kearney. Just a presence about him, I put a lot of the cup run down to SK. The away game at Wakey which got very physical and then the semi against Saints, in both those games he initimidated them, you don't see that opften in souch a tough sport. Before that, I think Terry Regan was the toughest I've seen and I include the 80s pack there.

As an outsider looking in for 40+ years I think the hardest FC player I saw was Paul Woods.

I remember Warrington coming to the Boulevard and Steve Hesford made a break, from full-back, down the right wing (Threepenny Stand), he looked up and saw all there was between him and the line was Paul Woods. He STOPPED, I kid you not. He stopped and waited for support. Unfortunately (for him), it never got there in time.

Rose, Crooks and Skerret in that same 80's pack was awesome and a concern for any opposing forwards.

For sheer lunacy and hard as nails intimidation , it has to be Paul Woods.

My dad says the Drake brothers who were nutters apparently and Grandad who apparently played a few times but I think for only the reserves or A team was a lunatic in the 30's 40's.

Was there a player who played for Wigan years ago who had a name similar to Skerret? Everytime I hear his name mentioned it reminds me of someone who played for Wigan? (Tbh might not of even been wigan).

Its a different game now and many those pre 1990's hard men simply wouldn't have had a career now thanks to the always present cameras so we'll never see another Paul Woods. Great memories of him though.

A mistake many people make is equating dirty play with hardness. Some players will dish it out but hide from the consequences (Ryan Bailey is of course the poster boy for this) and others will only target the smaller opponents (Len Casey made his "hard man" name taking out opposing scrum halfs, which backfired spectacularly on him when he tried Fred Ah Koui). The real hard men take on anyone and are prepared to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Two genuinely hard men who played for Hull and perhaps didn't get the full recognition they deserved because they destroyed their opponents in a usually legal manner were Trevor Skerrett and Karl Harrison.

Kelvin Skerret, Trevor's nephew I believe. Tough indeed but much dirtier than Trevor - though since he played for Wigan he always got soft treatment when on disciplinary charges.

There's some footage of Kelvin on you chube, he was a rite nut bar.

Graham Walters was another one who was a hard sod...remember him flattening someone in front of threepennys...well assaulting more like.

Ah no wonder I always got confused.

Although Kelvin played for Wigan, therfore probably got more recognition. Who was the better player of the two?

He also wore a cocoa tin lid on a chain around his neck, shirt unbuttoned to the waist, tight, white flares (with obligatory clenched buttocks) and made the fatal mistake (fatal to my lugholes anyway), of believing that everyone from Wales could sing

Alan McGlone was as hard as they came, he and Frank Foster probably the other mobs hardest I've seen were always at each others heads. After him it's gotta be Paul Rose.

The hardest player I have seen is Paul Woods no one else comes even close, the guy was legend.

Cas away 1980 we where getting beat by Cas and the Hyde decided to take on the line with only Paul Woods to beat, we all knew what was going to happen. Dropped him and just walked off I do not think the ref actually sent him off. The same Paul Woods who was banned before the 1980 Wembley final for 8 matches and had it reduced to six so he could play in the final.

Knocker was a bloody hard bloke as well lets not forget that, he could and did mix it with the best of them but he was not a nut Like Woodsy.

I think Radford has a reputation for being hard as well and rarely gets much aggro on the field as his reputation precedes him.