THE DEWSBURY POINTS MACHINE
If you could relive one day from your career, which would it be? Winning the Championship Final in 1973 with Dewsbury against Leeds. Their one to seven – John Holmes, Alan Smith, Syd Hynes, Les Dyl, John Atkinson, Alan Hardisty and Keith Hepworth – were all icons, but on the day, we stuffed them. We were a good team. We also got to a Yorkshire Cup Final, a Challenge Cup semi-final and a Floodlit Trophy Final.
You joined Dewsbury in 1968. What were your first impressions of Mike Stephenson and how often did people think you were related? He was an exceptional talent. He had loads of pace for a hooker and he was a great captain. Lots of our moves involved him. We still get on well. Eddie Waring often called us brothers!
In that 1972-73 season, you scored 26 tries and 145 goals. Was that your peak form? Yes. Confidence is a massive thing. I knew where to be to score tries. I kicked goals from everywhere. I fractured the scaphoid on my wrist and missed 12 games. I’d have been close to Lewis Jones’s record for points in a season otherwise. Unfortunately, they weren’t picking a touring side then as I think I’d have been in. I dipped a bit over the next year and just missed out. I remember listening on the radio. “Two Dewsbury lads have been picked for the tour,” I heard them say. I briefly got excited, but it was John and Alan Bates!
Where did the team’s big improvement in 1973 come from? We signed six or seven local players from Shaw Cross Boys. Harry Beverley and Jeff Grayshon came in. Suddenly the team gelled. Tommy Smales was the coach, and he was excellent. He was a thinker not a shouter. We finished eighth. We beat Oldham, who had Phil Larder. Then we played Featherstone. Keith Bridges and Steve Nash were on the bench because they thought they’d win. We started really well. Featherstone brought them on. Stevo went under the posts, and they took them straight back off!