Woodhead is proving a breeding ground for star names
HOW could you even consider swapping Benidorm for the heat of the battle at the Galpharm Stadium on Sunday?
But that is what Leeds Rhinos finance director Peter Hirst and Huddersfield Giants football director Mel Green have chosen as they take part in the 30th and final Old Brodleians Vets annual tour, which means they will miss Sunday's Super League game.
They will have played their second and final game over in Spain before the players walk out on to the Huddersfield pitch and will no doubt have arranged for text messages to be fired off to keep them up to date.
The first Vets game took place on October 18, 1980 against Sheffield Tigers and the following March, the first of the 30 European tours went to Amsterdam.
Dennis Carney, Michael Hey and Stuart Lawlor have been the driving force behind the Vets development and their tours. Of the tourists who made their first trip, only three will be making this sojourn to Benidorm, namely Dennis Carney, Stuart Lawlor and Mel Green.
From next year they will be handing over to the Brods Beavers manager and club secretary Harry Hill, who will be on this trip, and John Ketteringham, himself a veteran of many a tour.
STILL with Brods and, as they are still linked with Sale Sharks and former England fly-half Charlie Hodgson, they now find themselves linked to Gareth Widdop, who is now a fully signed up Melbourne Storm full-back or winger.
Amateur rugby league enthusiasts in Halifax have been claiming he was a product of King Cross Park until emigrating along with his parents, four years ago, but his last game of rugby on English soil was for Brods' U-16s in a Yorkshire Cup final.
He had played for King Cross Park as a junior and been on the Halifax RLFC scholarship scheme at the age of 12, but it looked as though he was heading for a career in the 15-a-side code until the life-changing emigration.
While he has Australian full-back Billy Slater in front of him at the Storm, Gareth has also proved he has great utility value and he has age on his side.
He played for Storm in their warm-up game at Harlequins but was not thrown into the Elland Road cauldron of a World Club Challenge against the Rhinos.
I know his dad well and he was a Royal Marine boxer at one time and also a good amateur rugby league player who could have done with a break. He did play some trials at Keighley but it looks as though his professional kicks will come from watching his son over the next 10 to 15 years and in certainly much warmer climes than round these parts.
LAST week I saw one of these flashbacks which featured the wedding in 1953 on the day of a Huddersfield Town match of the late soccer player and manager Don and Doreen McEvoy, also mine hosts for a long time at the Crown on Lightcliffe Road, Waring Green, Brighouse.
It would never happen in this current age of football but Don and Doreen were allowed to tie the knot just two hours before Town entertained Birmingham City in front of a 28,636 crowd.
Not only that, a good slice of their squad was present at the ceremony and held a mock set of goalposts for the couple to walk through.
Doreen didn't go to watch her new hubby that afternoon, instead going to the hospital to see her grandma who had been too unwell to attend the wedding.
The players did okay and ended up with a 1-1 draw.
Now even for home games in the Premiership and the top end of the Championship they can be brought together on a Friday for a stay in a local hotel or be at their training ground for a light session and light meal ahead of a game.
Weddings during the season would be frowned upon or I would say banned in a player's contract and so this is a unique inside into what happened some 57 years ago.
LAST week I said Siddal Amateur RL Club had a good chance of knocking Doncaster over at the Keepmoat Stadium in the third round of the RL Challenge Cup and they duly did, nilling the professionals in the process and earning another home draw with Batley Bulldogs at the Shay in mid-April.
The Siddal players couldn't believe the size of the away dressing room and the facilities at the Keepmoat which in the past two years has played host to Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Greece U21s and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to name just a few major clubs in the round and oval ball games.
They now have a month under their coach Lee Greenwood, who also plays for Batley, to get extra fit and even more sharp to possibly claim another professional scalp.
They will get an early look at the Bulldogs if they tune to Sky Sports this evening (7.30) (Thursday) as they host Halifax at their ages-old but now modernised Mount Pleasant ground.
HUDDERSFIELD Town fans must have been left feeling very flat come Saturday night after two huge setbacks on the road last week at Southampton and Gillingham.
Town's plans to leave on Monday and stay until Saturday evening for the long journey home from Kent – and it would be after shipping in seven goals in the two games – well and truly back fired.
Six days is a long time to be away from home as no doubt they found out, yet with the fixtures as they were it would also have meant a long hike there and back for Southampton over Monday, Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday morning and then come Friday again down to Gillingham with training also curtailed as a result.
If this was going to be the blip before they go in earnest of the all important play-off spot then these two results will soon be forgotten.
Town's players need to be really positive now because they have a great chance and apart from leaders Norwich City it really is a division where right now anybody can beat anybody. Look what happened to the Saints after two five goal victories, a 2-1 reverse to lowly Tranmere Rovers last Saturday.
Leeds United broke their poor run in style with a 4-1 win at Tranmere on Tuesday but even when they weren't winning they still picked up draws and are handily placed to still take an automatic spot once they start firing again on better playing surfaces.
l victory by Grimsby Town over Shrewsbury Town-their first in 35 games-must have put the wind up Cheltenham Town.
All the draws that the Mariners have been accumulating have at least provided them with a launch pad if they can now go on and win some more and at least keep more Football League in the north of England.
I would say it is good night Vienna to Darlington and with them to the Blue Square Conference a stadium that holds some 28,000. That is no use to man nor beast when come next year they will only get crowds of 2,000 at best.
NAME dropping here but on Tuesday night at Deepdale I had Sir Alex Fergsuon sat just to the right of me in the director's box and in front was Ian Holloway, the jovial Blackpool manager.
While no doubt Sir Alex got a pass out from the wife saying he was going to see young son Darren's team, Preston North End, perform, at least we know what he did to relax ahead of last night's second leg game with AC Milan at Old Trafford.
He looked totally relaxed and talked and joked with Preston and Doncaster directors and even ran off with the Donaster chairman's coat, taking the wrong one off the coat hanger as he went outside for the first half.
JUST heard from Paul Ramsden of the Lightcliffe Cricket Club that they have only 25 tickets left now for the Evening with Brian Close next Thursday, March 16 (7.30) at the Old Brods.
It is 10 with supper thrown in and you can book your tickets by ringing John Brooke on 0788 4410690.
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Weather for Halifax
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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