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The Roar

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When Rovers and Leeds met in the in 1986 Challenge Cup...

Albert Kelly's Hull KR want to do better than the Challenge Cup this season. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
Roar Guru
28th August, 2015
1

The last time Hull Kingston Rovers and Leeds (before they became the Rhinos) met in a major Challenge Cup tie was 1986, and the rugby league world was a very different beast to the one that we now take for granted.

In the UK we still had a winter comp, cash-strapped clubs (that’s not changed too much), two divisions, County Cups, the John Player Trophy, Kangaroo and British Lions tours, and no Sky TV, which meant no Eddie and Stevo.

Plus Hull KR won more trophies than Leeds did, which might surprise current supporters of both teams.

Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister and would be for another five years, while Alex Ferguson was winning trophies with Aberdeen in Scotland, making a name for himself before his move to Manchester United later in the year.

In Australia the team of the early to mid-80s, the Parramatta Eels, were heading for their fourth grand final win in six years (they haven’t won any since). The new Parramatta Stadium was christened with a 36-6 hammering of St George Dragons on March 16, and they had players of the calibre of Ray Price, Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe.

Balmain Tigers fullback Garry Jack took the Golden Boot award as the best player in the world, after some great performances for his club and on the undefeated Kangaroos tour.

Bob Hawke was the Australian Prime Minister, the country gained legal independence from the UK, Lindy Chamberlain was released from prison, Paul Hogan starred in Crocodile Dundee and Neighbours made its debut on Network Ten.

Ronald Reagan was President of the USA, a country still coming to terms with the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion, and Britain and France announced plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.

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In other sport Joe Johnson unexpectedly won the World Snooker Championship, defeating the legendary Steve Davis, Eric Bristow had won his fifth and final World Darts Championship, the Chicago Bears won the Superbowl, and a certain Mike Tyson was on his way to becoming the youngest ever heavyweight champion.

At the time of the classic 1986 semi-final and replay between the two sides, Rovers were gunning for a third successive league title. They were still led by the legendary Roger Millward, who had become the club’s most successful coach with three league titles, two premiership trophies, one Challenge Cup, one John Player Trophy, one Floodlit Trophy and one Yorkshire Cup.

They had quality players like George Fairbairn, Mike Smith, and Australians John Dorahy and Gavin Miller – who would go on to win the Man of Steel Award at the end of the season – as well as New Zealand internationals Gary Prohm and Gordon Smith.

Leeds had a new coach in former Bradford Northern and Great Britain coach Peter Fox and were superbly led by Cliff Lyons, who showed some fine form inside his fellow Australian Tony Currie.

Young forwards Roy Powell and Paul Medley were putting in powerful performances, veteran forward Jeff Grayshon had followed Fox from Bradford, and they had brought in young Batley three quarter Carl Gibson for a fee of £50,000.

The Headingley side had not won the League Championship since 1972 or the Challenge Cup since 1978 and were desperate to halt that run.

Hull KR had already won the Yorkshire Cup earlier in the season, defeating Castleford 22-18, and had lost the John Player Trophy final 11-8 to Wigan in January.

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Winning the semi-final meant they would play every game possible in the 85-86 season – for which they would pay a high price for at the end of the season.

On Easter Saturday a crowd in excess of 23,000 filed into Elland Road and were treated to a wonderful, ebbing and flowing game of rugby league.

David Creasser and John Dorahy traded early penalty goals and Leeds three quarter Creasser scored the first try of the match, diving over in the corner away from a despairing Fairbairn cover tackle.

After Terry Webb had extended the lead with a drop goal, his fellow Australian Tony Currie powered through the Rovers defence and scrum half Paul Harkin led with his legs in attempt to stop Currie from scoring, but could not stop Currie from crashing over the line to extend the lead.

The try was awarded, then referee Robin Whitfield sent Harkin off – Rovers would have to play a significant part of the match with 12 men.

Creasser’s conversion hit the post but Lyons was successful with another drop goal and Leeds led 12-2.

Rovers had also lost international forward Chris Burton with a broken arm and they had a real fight on to regain their composure and discipline and get back in the game. Unsung winger David Laws helped them do just that when he swooped on a Leeds error and scored in the corner just before half time. Rovers were back in it and trailed by 6 at the break.

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Rovers brought on Gordon Smith after halftime, and he brought greater control, but it was the other Smith – long-serving international Mike – who was instrumental in powering Rovers in front.

Unbelievably, by the 60-minute mark Hull KR’s 12 men led 24-14. Laws scored his second try before Mike Smith cut a swathe through the Leeds defence twice to score tries on both occasions.

Fox had instilled some steel into a previously flimsy Leeds team and they played some fantastic rugby to add to this epic semi-final.

Currie scored his second try, converted by Creasser, to leave Leeds just 4 points down against a tiring Rovers defence. It was left to the powerful 19-year-old second rower Paul Medley to level the scores as he crashed over the line with just a few minutes left. Creasser could not win the game for Leeds and the final hooter sounded with the scores locked at 24-24.

The teams did it all again five days later in a match that reached an even higher level in front of a jam-packed crowd of 32,485 at the same venue.

The first 40 minutes passed in a flash as both teams played brilliant rugby with hardly a scrum, penalty or handling error interrupting the flow. Both defences were outstanding and could not be breached, so the tie was still level after an exhilarating first 40 minutes.

Then Hull KR took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half.

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Paul Harkin put the first point on the board with a drop goal before Australian prop Peter Johnston scored the first try of the game – his only try of the season and probably the most important of his career. Dorahy missed a simple conversion, but added a penalty soon after to give Rovers a 7-0 lead.

Rovers were in control and Miller, Dorahy, Harkin and Phil Hogan were causing all sorts of problems for the Leeds defence.

Substitute John Lydiat scored Rovers’ second try and the Rovers fans, along with Lydiat, roared and danced with delight – they had finally broken the spirit of a strong Leeds side.

Second rower Andy Kelly added a further try, converted by Dorahy, close to the end of the game to confirm Rovers as Challenge Cup finalists with a 17-0 victory that Millward described as “the most complete performance in my time as coach”.

However Rovers’ hopes of landing a third successive league title were ruined by their success in Cup competitions.

After the semi-final replay, Rovers still had nine league games (nearly a third of their entire league fixtures) to complete before the end of April.

They managed to win just three more league games as they were forced to play those nine league games in a 16-day period from April 6 to 22, including five successive homes games in seven days.

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The defending Champions slid to seventh in the league table and went on to lose the Challenge Cup Final 15-14 to Castleford – a last-minute Lydiat try could not be converted from the touchline by Dorahy. Rovers had struggled all match because the inspirational Gavin Miller was clearly not fully fit after suffering a thigh injury just prior to the final.

It was the beginning of the end of the golden period in the history of Hull Kingston Rovers, and the last time that Hull KR played at Wembley.

This Saturday they take on massive task of preventing the Rhinos from winning a second successive Challenge Cup final.

There are parallels with the 1986 final in that Hull KR’s 2015 talisman, Albert Kelly, has not played for four weeks, since the brilliant semi-final defeat of Warrington Wolves.

A knee injury suffered in that game has prevented Kelly from playing since, but he has been named in the Rovers squad of 19 and will undoubtedly take his place in Rovers starting line-up.

Can Rovers upset the odds and defeat a Leeds Rhinos team intent on sending off club legends Kevin Sinfield and Jamie Peacock in the best possible way?

It will be tough, but let’s hope the calibre of the match is up to the standards of the 1986 semi-final and replay.

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