Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:07 am  

am going to blubber like mad when the curtain comes down and the fat lady sings for the last time. Since 1985 my dad has been taking me to the willows and the memorys are endless. Salford rlfc and the willows have been a very large part of both our lives and as i do this a tear builds up. Highlights include meeting many players and officials in the lifeline bar as a kid my autograph book was top class. Autographed programmes by some of the worlds best players and coaches. Aged either 9 or 10 on my birthday was invited into the dressing room for photos with garry jack. Darren bloor. Mick mctigue. Peter glynn. Kevin ashcroft and many others. As a kid member of junior red devils with cap scarf and real rugby shirts hardly missed a game and all for around £5 for the season. Remember watching paul shaw a great aboriginie lad mesmerising defences. The rivalry with swinton, the old scoreboard. Stands being burnt down the parachutist hitting the north stand. Going on the pitch to take pics of ian blease and co picking up a trophy. Doing a rugby league coaching course at the willows with players doing the same course including batley bob. Watching the reds beat wigan in the cup was amazing even had a bet on us that day as part of a treble we were large outsiders. More recently had many sponsors doo's at the willows and have picked man of the match and watched dad do the presentation. So many memorys more will come before end of season. lovin love the place. Salford rugby never die.

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:05 am  

Scoring my first try at the Willows against Bramley Academy. We went on to win 86 - 0 if I recall.

Visiting the Willows for the first time as a kid versus Wigan. We lost, but what a game.

Butchersdad nearly knocking the block off a Yorkshire TV cameraman for elbowing my younger Brother in the head. Said Cameraman was then pelted with pennies from the shed.

Many many great games and players. Almost too many memories to pick from. I'll have a think and add some more later...

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:22 am  

The funniest incident I can remember at the Willows was a few years back when Ron Tierney the PA announcer left his microphone switched on after announcing a try scorer. Ron was having a conversation with the scoreboard operator for about 5 minutes before someone was sent to the box on top of the club roof to tell him to turn it off.

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:31 am  

I remember that try Butcher! I think by the time you got out of the bar it had turned into a 90 yarder hadn't it Great days tho mate even if the training did make us throw up eh?

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:43 am  

Have vague memories from when I first started going in the early 80s but can't really remember specific games or tries other than me uncle always saying we'd win if we were attacking the club end in the 2nd half

So from the Super League era from which I can remember most, though I've probably missed some out

Memorable Wins

Some great wins in the first season in SL notably against Sheffield, Wigan & Saints
Against Adelaide in the World Club Challenge
Then there was the 11-10 v Bradford in 1998
31-30 v Wigan in 2001
The National League game & play-off matches v Leigh
35-34 v Warrington in 2006, remember Warrington starting with an aggressive defensive set and we responded by bundling them into touch when returning our kick
2 consecutive nillings over Catalans
Warrington on Good Friday with a late missed kick handing us the win

Memorable Tries

Team try v HKR earlier this season
1st minute try v Saints in the Challenge Cup when we were in NL and the Saints fans we boasting about how they would "score in a minute" as the game kicked off
Michael Hancock v Wakefield
The successive tries v Leeds which nearly gave us an unlikely comeback in 1999
Joel Caine's length of the field effort v Widnes
The 2 very late tries to force a draw with Wakefield in 2002
Castleford's length of the field team try against us in 2002


Memorable Goals
Ian Watson's winner v Sheffield in 1997
All of Martin Offiah's
Graham Holroyd v Wigan in 2001
Everyone from the Funbus nailing a kick similar to one missed at Featherstone in 2003 which would've given us a draw

Other bits
The reaction in The Shed to Bobbie Goulding's sin-binning v Saints in 1997
The atmosphere in The Shed and in The Tavern after the win over Wigan in 2001
The impromptu game on the pitch after we'd got back from Featherstone in 2003
The Shed giving it to some fat French forward in a Cup match against Toulouse(?)
The atmosphere in The Tavern after the Grand Final v Leigh in 2003
The defensive set v Huddersfield which drove them back and forced a knock-on from which Coley scored
Flags at the back of The Shed
The Cheeky Girls
Bullman getting battered
Salford City v FC United
Trevor
Rooftop Reds

All I can think of at the moment

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:19 pm  

red13pjb wrote:

I remember that try Butcher! I think by the time you got out of the bar it had turned into a 90 yarder hadn't it Great days tho mate even if the training did make us throw up eh?

Good times, but Tamati's pre-season training was hell on earth. I can say with ease, after joining the Military a few years later, Salford's pre-season training made Basic Military training look like a gentle walk in the park!

I also doff my cap to you sir, for providing me with the inside pass for that try.

Do you remember the First team versus Academy 'touch' session where the first team were embarrassed by the Academy lads beating them? You made a break, drew in gibbo (I think it was) and slipped a pass for me to score. On walking back I just remember Gibbo coming over to me and saying "You wont do that again you little B&stard!"

Good times.

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:43 pm  

Too many memories I guess , not mentioning the obvious ones,

Early memories , the Salford - Widnes Centenary Game in 79 , having a argument in the North Stand with a Harridan Widnes Supporter who took exception to me accusing Reggie Bowden of being a ' Dirty Bar-steward ', she was knitted out of black & white.

The Salford team of the late 70's running on the pitch to the 'Radetzky March' ( Theme to Monty Pythons Flying Circus ) . bizzarre then, appropriate now.

A Match in the late 80's 88 I think ( still the Era of the Biff ) HKR's David Bishop's debut Game the self proclaimed ' Worlds Best Scrum Half ' getting a ' Nose Job for free from Darren Bloor.

Warringtons Steve Roach being sent from the Field 10 mins' into a match after an ' altercation with Stevie Herbert in the scrum , I suspect Mr Herbert introduced himself first , Roach retaliated and was sent packing with Herbert grining from ear to ear.

Alan hunte's 89Min winning try for Warrington after a brilliant CC cup game , that's how you lose a game , busting a gut amidst controversy not capitulating after 18mins !

Neil Baynes lambasting his teamates after a humiliating battering aginst Cas

Awesome Toulouse Bearded Prop Olivier Pramil 'raising his game' after the Shed raised the subject of his salad avoidance.

London Bronco's Ritchie Barnett incredulous reaction as his team were applauded off the field by the Shed after showing our side how to play entertaining attacking rugby. More poignant to show respect to a good winning team than to verbally abuse your own .

Re: The Willows : Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:54 pm  

Gutted we couldn't be the last game at the willows! The stadium deserves a good send off with a great game and top atmosphere. Not sure that will happen with Catalans playing.

Re: The Willows : Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:17 am  

middleman wrote:

The Salford team of the late 70's running on the pitch to the 'Radetzky March' ( Theme to Monty Pythons Flying Circus ) . bizzarre then, appropriate now.

Indeed, strangely enough as someone who was deemed too young to be able to stay up & watch Monty Python but old enough to have been taken to The Willows every week that music will always mean Salford to me & on watching Python repeats these days I'm always transported back to cold winter nights sat in the North Stand with a cup of Bovril & the smell of linament in the air.

With regards to Salford players with a 100% goal-kicking record, didn't Mike Coulman pop over a late conversion in his swan-song for us at the North Stand end? I definitely remember him taking it & I'm almost certain he was succesful.

One memory for me was of the dreadful refereeing performance from Ronnie Campbell (IIRC) against Cardiff in the early 80's. I remember an elderly mainstander coming onto the pitch at one point to remonstrate with the official after yet another dubiously disallowed Salford try. The pelting that he received on his way to the dressing rooms is the reason that we now have a covered tunnel (by order of the RFL) and I recall a radio report saying that he was refused entry to the Variety Club after the game & then needed a police escort back to the motorway to avoid the baying locals. To those whio criticise today's referees believe me you've never seen anything like that man's dodgy display that night.

Re: The Willows : Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:59 am  

Whilst Wigan in the cup is obviously my greatest Willows memory i thought i'd put some of the least obvious ones.

My very first game against Whitehaven in the 1988/89 season.

Being Steve Gibson's pen-pal.

Hull in around 2001/02. We were losing by around 14-16 points with around 10 minutes to go but ended winning thanks to 3 converted scores. One of which was a full length effort from Offiah who left a young Brian Carney in his wake.

Fata Sini's performance against Saints in 97.

The reaction to Chris Hicks missed last minute conversion attempt on Good Friday in 09.

My step-mum chasing Russel Smith back to his dressing room after a particulary poor reffing performance against London in 97/98ish.

Steve Kerry being carried off the pitch after a win. Pretty sure it was against Leigh in the late 80's and it was on tv.