Part 3 He Remembers His Former Salford Teammates From Those Days
Limited as his opportunities in the first team might have been, John still had sufficiently frequent involvement with the players to get to know them all really well, and the very first name to his lips was that of the player who has so frequently been regarded as rugby league’s best ever fullback, Paul Charlton (RLQSG#9).
“Paul would come to training and without speaking to anyone would just start running, and it was only when we got to the moves we happened to be working on that session, that he would actually join in with what everyone else was doing. Because of that though he became so fit that he must have been the fittest player in the team, by far. He would try anything, fitness-wise, to get the best out of himself.
“On the field he was phenomenal. He always had the happy knack of being in the right place at the right time, and he always seemed to be in control of everything, no matter what happened. He never panicked at all. His change of pace was exceptional and players who thought they were going to tackle him were just left totally in his wake. I can’t, in the foreseeable future, see any player matching him in what he was able to do.
“I used to do quite a lot of training with Colin Dixon. He was such a really nice person who never even thought about how good he was. He just used to think of helping other players along, especially the younger ones. No-one ever had a bad word to say about him.”
The two players, who, between them were responsible for John’s constant struggle to get that extended run in the first team were the two incumbent half backs, Peter Banner (RLQSG#4)and Kenny Gill (RLQSG#10).
“Peter was the quiet man of the team but on the field he was incredibly good. His service from the scrum with his wide passing was a considerable asset to the team because it gave them extra time and space in which to work. He was also a clever, tricky runner with a good turn of acceleration and pace to get him through the gaps.
“Kenny was an incredible passer of the ball, who was able to put players through gaps that no-one else even realised existed. I had the pleasure of playing scrum half to him, on one occasion, and I remember him saying to me before the game to just get on with what we had to do, and not worry about anything else. I found that most reassuring, just as we were leaving the dressing room.”
Another of the team’s stars also features very highly in John’s memory.
“Keith Fielding (RLQSG#6) was a fantastic person to know. He and I used to train together, which he always took really seriously and worked himself extremely hard because he always wanted to be the fastest on the field. I used to try to keep up with him and even overtake him. The best I managed was finishing within a yard of him over the hundred metres. I shall never forget him and, in fact, a few years ago, he invited me down to visit him at his home in Cornwall.”
When not commanding a place in the first team, John was still happy to be playing at ‘A’ team level, because the Salford ‘A’ team was as good as any first team, and, in their own way, equally as entertaining to watch as their senior counterparts.
“We had a lot of really good players in that team, and we really were something extra special at the time. Jimmy Hardacre is the first of those who come to mind; he was an absolutely cracking bloke. I remember him giving me a lift to an evening away match in Cumbria, and I’ve never been so frightened in all my life. We flew there, despite the fact that the only stretch of motorway was around Preston.
“In fact, we were pulled up by the police, who, once they realised the reason behind our haste ended up giving us an escort to ensure that we got there in time.”
“Iain MacCorquodale was another player similar to myself in that he was often drafted into the first team, when required, usually on the wing. His great asset was his goalkicking, which he showed to the full when he moved on to play for Workington.
“Sammy Turnbull started off in the ‘A’ team before cementing a place in the first team, at centre, later on, and he wasn’t the only one. Alan Grice (RLQSG#11) started off there as did John Knighton, who had to use his time there to adapt from union to playing league, but then became a first choice second rower.
“Ellis Devlin (RLQSG#12) was possibly the most under-rated player in the club, because he never got a really extended run in the first team, despite the number of other hookers who came and went during his time. For some reason, the club never fully gained the benefit from having such really talented players in reserve, ready to step into the void, at virtually no cost, when first team players moved on or had lengthy injuries. They always seemed to splash out a lot of money on star names, not all of whom fitted in that well.
“Like Alan Grice, Peter Frodsham was a prop forward who also had a spell in the first team, whilst fullback, Frank Stead, would have benefitted any first team, as previously had Kenny Gwilliam, who was our fullback in the Wembley Cup Final before transferring to St Helens.
“Paul Jackson had been our left winger at Wembley but had lost his place to Maurice Richards, when he came, but continued in the ‘A’ team for a while.
“With first David Watkins and Jack Brennan, and then Kenny Gill and Peter Banner, holding the half back slot, there was seldom the opportunity for David’s former rugby union stand-off half, Bob Prosser, and he, too, made most of his appearances in the ‘A’ team, in his later years with us.”
With such talented players on which to draw, it is therefore little wonder that Salford swept all before them, at ‘A’ team level, nor also that the entertainment value of that side was a widely recognised attraction to fans to come and watch them.
