Re: Fifty long years : Tue Jan 02, 2018 10:19 pm  

inside man wrote:

The ref topped himself a week after the game I believe.

Yes I believe that was the case.

Re: Fifty long years : Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:01 pm  

I was only 9 at the time so didn’t get there, but my grandmother, bless her, was an avid Trin fan who went home and away was there and I will never forget her words when she told me that she cried all the way home. She also got me onto the Trin roller coaster ride , I went down in 79 hoping to talk about a Wakey win to her when I got home but not to be.

Re: Fifty long years : Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:58 pm  

Blue eyed boys from Leeds got awarded a VERY DODGY penalty try by a VERY DODGY referee which effectively won them the game.
Such "good fortune" has been with them ever since. As mentioned earlier the referee, Hebblethwaite commited suicide shortly after having been involved in a scandal concerning a stolen pork pie.
Not long after the 1968 final Leeds were, for some reason I can't recall banned from the Yorkshire Cup competition for some irregularitgies, and lo and behold the following season when they played Trinity in the YC final they were allowed to play the game on their own pitch. Leeds won very narrowly, which could have been down to home ground advantage.
I also recall a time when John Boyd chaired the Sunday Rugby League programme on Radio Leeds.
He opened the final part of the show by announcing that it had been a very bad day for RL in West Yorkshire because Leeds had lost.
Somebody rang in ask what the hell he was on about becaus 90% of WY hated Leeds, and were pleased that they'd lost. Boydy didn't kno what to say.
Then they wonder why we hate Leeds!!!

Re: Fifty long years : Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:16 am  

Redscat wrote:

Blue eyed boys from Leeds got awarded a VERY DODGY penalty try by a VERY DODGY referee which effectively won them the game.
Then they wonder why we hate Leeds!!!

Actually, every point they got that day came via the Ref.

Re: Fifty long years : Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:26 pm  

first of all best wishes ,but as soon as I saw that rain come down in torrents I thought now we at Wembley and all the millions on TV are going to be Robbed by the weather of seeing A brilliant free flowing side from demonstrated their ball handling skills. Shades of Castleford in 2017

Re: Fifty long years : Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:44 pm  

Hepplethwaite was related to Shoebottom . He did take his own life shortly after the game. I also seem to remember its the only season that no lap around the field.

Re: Fifty long years : Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:42 pm  

Pretty sure they didn’t attend the presentation dinner afterwards. Only team in history not to do so or so I’m told!

Re: Fifty long years : Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:13 pm  

Yeah the last minute try by the late, great Ken Hirst must have been one of the most exciting tries scored at Wembley.
Such a tragedy about the missed kick but the conditions were shocking and I will never blame Don Fox for losing us the game. He was a great player, one of the cleverest I ever saw play. The missed kick wasn't the reason we lost.

Re: Fifty long years : Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:25 am  

Neil Fox talks about it in his interview with TC on Trinity TV, well worth a listen if you haven’t seen it already!

Re: Fifty long years : Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:32 am  

What a shame Don Fox is remembered more for the missed goal than for the great player he was one of the finest scrum halves the game as ever seen at Featherstone Rovers and then a forward at Trinity
I was only 5 but remember my grandfather rattling on for days after the game and his dislike of Leeds until his death years latter
I will never forget the joy on his face at Belle Vue in 1980 then Trinity beat Leeds for the first time at a live game i attended then Steve Diamond raced away for the winning try

The squad this year is probably the best since 78-81 but for me with all due respect to Finn we are missing one thing and thats a scrum half

Who knows what this season will bring 12 very good sides who can beat anybody on their day and cant rule anybody out of top 4 or bottom 4