Today the great rugby league city of Kingston upon Hull, so often divided by intercity rivalries between the east and west, the red and whites and the black and whites, will stand together to mourn the passing of a true rugby league legend.
Roger Millward MBE has passed away, at the age of just 68.
Poetically, it is 36 years to the day that Millward was celebrating his greatest professional triumph and giving Hull Kingston Rovers, the club and fans, the greatest day they have ever had.
May 3, 1980, will forever be remembered as the greatest day in the club’s history as Millward captained Hull KR to a 10-5 victory over fierce local rivals Hull FC in the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in front of the Queen Mother, over 90,000 fans inside the stadium, and millions watching on TV.
Although winger Steve Hubbard scored nine of Rovers’ ten points, and prop forward Brian Lockwood took home the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match, Millward typically performed his own heroics and played the majority of the match with a broken jaw and even dropped a goal.
It was his last first team match in his adopted red and white.
Leap forward 36 years and May 3, 2016, will be remembered as one of the saddest days in the club’s history.
Without a doubt, ‘Roger the Dodger’ was the club’s greatest ever player, captain and coach.
Never before or since has or will any player or coach bestride the club in the way that Roger has.
Be it the club record 207 tries in just 406 games, that magical day at Wembley that he had craved throughout his career, the three league titles, one John Player Trophy, two Premiership titles, one Floodlit Trophy, one Yorkshire Cup and the second division title – no man will come close to what he achieved for Hull Kingston Rovers.
Millward took Hull KR to the greatest heights in its history and gave supporters, myself included, innumerable memories.
But if you saw a photograph of Roger, or met him face to face, you would never have thought that this man was one of the greatest rugby league players of all time.
More than anyone, Millward proved that a good little ‘un will always beat a good big ‘un.
He was short in stature and lightweight, yet he had the heart of a lion.
He thought nothing of throwing himself at opposition forwards, his tackling technique was superb, he had the speed of a gazelle that would take him through the smallest of gaps without a hand being laid upon him, and he had one of the best rugby brains. A brain that had him one step ahead of his opponents and, sometimes, his teammates as well.
It was this rugby brain that made him one of the best coaches of his time too.
Roger won 46 international caps (29 for Great Britain and 17 for England) to be one of the most-capped players in the history of the game, he was awarded the MBE in 1983 for his services to rugby league, and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2000.
Roger joined Hull KR in 1966, as an 18-year-old who showed tremendous skill and ability when playing scrumhalf for Castleford as they won the inaugural BBC2 Floodlit Trophy the previous year.
Rovers paid only £6000 to take him from his hometown club – a decent sum in those days for a young player – but, over the next 25 years he would repay that figure handsomely.
To the supporters of Hull Kingston Rovers he is seen as a legend, pure and simple, but he was also a gentleman who played the game in the right spirit and did his best to ensure his teams did also – although with players such as Len Casey, Mark Broadhurst and Chris Burton that wasn’t always possible.
The club was relegated in 1989, something that he could never have comprehended, and although he won promotion straight back in record-breaking style the next year, it was the beginning of the end and he left the club in 1991.
After a short spell as coach at Halifax, he left the game for good.
Speak to any Hull Kingston Rovers fan, young or old, and they will have nothing but good things to say about Roger.
Even if they did not see him play, the stories and memories have been passed down from generation to generation.
Roger Millward, MBE, will forever be remembered not just in East Hull but in the world of rugby league.
Roger also had a short 14 game spell in Australia in 1976 with Cronulla Sutherland.
My condolences to his family and close friends.
RIP Roger – it is a sad day.
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