Hull and Rovers will contest the 250th Hull derby on Good Friday. Hull Live will be building up to that clash over the next three months with a look at some famous derby games gone by. First up: the John Player Trophy final of 1982.
Hull FC only got their hands on the John Player Trophy once. To no surprise then, they won it in their all-conquering year of 1982, and it happened to be the finest moment Ronnie Wileman had in a Black and White shirt. It just happened that the opposition was also Hull KR, with the final taking place at Headingley on January 23, 1982.
In possession on the North Stand side, the old ground was about to erupt. Mick Crane had been tackled just shy of half way and out on the far side. Up stepped the little pocket battleship Ronnie. He scooped the ball up from dummy half with around 50-yards standing between him and the try-line, but nothing seemed to faze the little lad from Featherstone, especially on this afternoon.
Down the blindside, things started to open up, and Ronnie kept going. On and on he went, faster and faster, until George Fairbairn was the line of what was a scramble defence. But the contact from the Rovers fullback wasn’t enough, and Ronnie dived over in the corner to the jubilation of the Hull crowd.
An outstanding try, Hull were soon to be at their peak of their powers having started perhaps the greatest ever year in their entire history – a year where they would win the John Player Trophy, the Challenge Cup, the Yorkshire Cup, go halfway to winning the League Championship of 1982/83, and of course, push the ‘Invincible’ Kangaroo side all the way. This was the year where Hull were on top of the rugby league world.
This January afternoon at Headingley, though, was all about Ronnie Wileman. His try was the only try of a 12-4 cup final victory, avenging the Players No6 defeat to Widnes in ‘76 when Hull were just a Second Division side.
That if anything showed what Hull had now become. Under Arthur Bunting, inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame this January, the Airlie Birds were now one of the game’s big powers, with derby games regularly having silverware on the line. This was their golden era and perhaps the most talented squad of players they have ever assembled.
A side that would go to greatness, Hull got through the whole tournament without playing a game at the Boulevard, the place that was packed to the rafters every other week as the Black and Whites ran supreme. Playing on the road, they got past Halifax, Castleford, Barrow and Oldham to set up a final against Hull KR in front of 25,245.
Here, Hull had a score to settle. After their Floodlit Trophy win in 1979, they had been beaten by Rovers in cup finals in 1980 and 1981. With some fears of a third consecutive defeat, Hull were missing a few of their stars, David Topliss, Gary Kemble et al, for a game where a lot was at stake.
It was to be a sweet day for those in the Black and White corner, though, with Charlie Stone, earlier sent off in the match alongside Rovers’ Roy Holdstock, lifting the trophy to the team’s delight. It was also made even sweeter for them as at least half a dozen Rovers players refused to go up and get their losers medals, leaving a sour taste in the air as Hull got back in the winners circle.
Charlie Stone, meanwhile, was never far from the action. An enforcer not to be messed with, he partnered Trevor Skerrett in the front row with the latter receiving the Man of the Match award after a fine performance.
Both Hull and Rovers in the early 80s were packed with stars: Knocker. Crooks. Leuluai. Fairbairn. Casey. Hubbard. And many, many more.
On a heavy pitch that restricted movement, it was your typical derby affair – plenty of aggression and at times it was brutal. Hull posted points through four Lee Crooks goals and a Tony Dean drop-goal with Ronnie Wileman stepping up to score that try. Rovers responded with a couple of penalty goals.
With the result in the bag, the game finished in red hot proportions with Stone and Holdstock swinging and certainly not missing. Both were given their marching orders and that was that. Hull celebrated as they always did when they won a final, with Stone emerging again from the dressing room to raise the trophy as Hull’s captain.
Ronnie, meanwhile, wasn’t done for the day and after the team got back to Hull for a night on the town, the little hooker, who obviously had been celebrating hard all the way back, hung the little trophy out of the coach’s rear emergency exit window and was seen to be swinging it around as they drove along Ferensway.
Ronnie signed for Hull from York. Playing 87 times for the club and scoring 23 tries, he was a proper old school hooker in the days of contested scrums and who always punched above his weight.
A real character, this was his moment and they don’t come much bigger. In the words of Arthur Bunting, “You couldn’t stop Ronnie when he wanted to play.”
Hull: Barry Banks; Dane O’Hara, Chris Harrison, James Leuluai, Paul Prendiville; Terry Day, Tony Dean; Trevor Skerrett, Ronnie Wileman, Charlie Stone; Mick Crane, Lee Crooks; Steve Norton. Bench: Kevin Harkin.
Rovers: George Fairbairn; Steve Hubbard, Mike Smith, Phil Hogan, Peter Muscroft; Steve Hartley, Paul Harkin; Roy Holdstock, David Watkinson, Steve Crooks; Phil Lowe, Len Casey; Dave Hall. Bench: Chris Burton, John Millington.