WE WANT A FAIR GO FOR OUR AREA, MORE OPPORTUNITIES AND MORE THAN 4 NRL GAMES AT CAMPBELLTOWN STADIUM
| Hanley, Ellery; 1st Grade No: 906 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 28 2008, 12:42 PM (1,995 Views) | |
| galahs | Jan 28 2008, 12:42 PM Post #1 |
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State of Origin
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Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961 in Leeds) is an English former rugby league player and is now the head coach of National League Two Club Doncaster RLFC. As a player he played most of his games at stand-off and loose forward. Over a period of nineteen years, he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He was capped 34 times by Great Britain and honoured by the Queen in January 1990 for his services to the game. Club career Bradford Northern In 1978, Ellery Hanley signed for Bradford Northern from the junior club Corpus Christi.[1] On the 26th November 1978, he made his professional debut for Bradford against the Rochdale Hornets in a League Division One match. He helped his club to a 30-18 victory, by scoring a try on his debut.[2] He had to wait his time before gaining a regular first team place but in the early eighties he exploded onto the scene as one of the top try scoring non-wing players in the history of the game. In the 1981-82, Bradford made it to the Yorkshire Cup final. They lost the match 18-7 to Castleford, with Hanley scoring a goal for Bradford. In 1984-85, his final season with the club, he became the first man to score more than 50 tries in a season since Billy Boston and the first non-winger to reach this figure for 70 years.[1] He scored a remarkable 55 tries in only 37 appearances, an achievement made even more remarkable as he switched between the several positions of wing, centre and stand-off.[2] For his achievements in the 1984-85 season, he was awarded the Man of Steel award, which is awarded to the personality judged to have made the biggest impact in the season, as well as the First Division Player of the Year. In total, Hanley made 126 appearances for the club, scoring 89 tries.[2] Wigan In 1985 he signed for Wigan for a fee of £150,000, with Steve Donlan and Phil Ford moving to Bradford in exchange for Hanley as part of the deal that saw him move to Wigan. In his Wigan debut, his side had the misfortune of losing two players with broken legs and then going on to lose the game to Widnes. But Hanley's Wigan career was soon looking brighter, as he began scoring tries for Wigan and he finished his first season for the club with 35 tries. During his second season at Wigan he scored an unbelievable 63 tries playing at centre, stand-off and loose forward, an all-time record for a non-winger. In the 1987 season, Hanley was awarded the Man of Steel award for being voted as the player who made the biggest impact during the season. In 1989, Hanley helped the club reach the Challenge Cup Final. He helped guide his side to a 27-0 victory over St Helens in front of a crowd of approximately 78,000 people at Wembley. For his performance in the Final, he was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for the man of the match. For his performances throughout the season he was also awarded the Man of Steel award for the second time as a Wigan player, and the third time in his overall career. 1989 was also the year in which Hanley was awarded the Adidas Golden Boot, which was awarded to the world’s most outstanding player. 1989 was arguably Ellery Hanley's finest ever year as a rugby league footballer. Looking back at the period where he was dubbed the best rugby league player in the world, Hanley remembers that "It was something I always strove for. I wanted to be the best player in the world...Looking back, to be the world’s best player at that time was the biggest honour of my career."[3] In total he spent around five years with the club, making 202 appearances and scoring 189 tries. He was the inspiration behind Wigan's domination of the sport in the late 1980s. In his Wigan career, he won a World Club Championship, 4 Challenge Cup winners medals, 3 Championships, 1 Premiership, 4 John Player Trophy Winners medals and 4 Lancashire Cup winners medals. He was also voted Man of Steel twice as a Wigan player. Balmain (1988) Hanley was lured to Australia in 1988 to sign for the Balmain Tigers in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. In his first season with the club he helped them to the Grand Final in 1988 against Canterbury by defeating Penrith, Manly, Canberra as well as Cronulla in the preliminary finals. The preliminary final against Cronulla was a closely fought battle, until Hanley proved to be the difference setting up the try that would seal the victory for Balmain as they edged out their opponents 9-2, the win sending the club to their first Grand Final since 1969. The first half of the Grand Final was a tight contest as Balmain led 6-4 with the Tigers scoring thanks to a mistake from Canterbury fullback Jason Alchin. In the 26th minute, Hanley was wrapped up low by Andrew Farrar and as he want to offload the ball, Terry Lamb hit Hanley with a blatantly illegal elbow to the head that went unnoticed by the referee. He hit the ground in an awkward position and was concussed. He played no further part in the match. His side went on to lose the game 24-12. Many people claim to this day that Lamb intentionally took out Hanley as a ploy for the Bulldogs to win the Grand Final. Lamb said he was only looking to wrap the ball up and there was no intention. Lamb commented in his 1992 book that Balmain had key players such as Wayne Pearce, Ben Elias, Paul Sironen and Garry Jack that there was no chance to target one individual. Speaking to Inside Sport Magazine in August 2005, Hanley was asked: What do you remember about that infamous tackle by Terry Lamb? "I don’t know if it was caused by Terry Lamb, or if it was just my head hitting the ground. I couldn’t tell you because I have never looked at it since. Some people have said Terry got a good shot on me. I suspect, however, it was more a case of my head hitting the ground. I like to think it was accidental. Afterwards, I was concussed and didn’t know where I was. I didn’t regain all my faculties immediately so, from a safety point of view, I had to come off the football field. It was a shame, but it is a physical game and sometimes things like that happen." Have you spoken to Lamb since then? "No, I never have. I have never bumped into him. I have to say I respect him as a footballer. I don’t know him as a person, but by all accounts he is a good guy. Let me be clear that I have no malice towards him, none at all, regardless of the incident being deliberate or accidental."[3] The New South Wales Rugby League despite all the media pressure backed up Lamb's version of events and deemed he had no case to answer. Western Suburbs Magpies In 1989, Hanley moved from Balmain to the Wests. He played a total of thirteen games, scoring four tries for a total of sixteen points in his one and only season for the club. 1989 was also the year in which Hanley was awarded the Adidas Golden Boot, which was awarded to the world’s most outstanding player. Leeds At the age of 30, he joined Leeds in September 1991 for £250,000 as a player and coach. Upon his arrival at the club, he was immediately appointed captain. In his time at Leeds, he not only gave them great service as a player, but he also was a great mentor for the younger players at the club. The 1993-94 season saw Hanley play in the Challenge Cup final for the first time with Leeds. In the previous game, the Challenge Cup semi-final, Leeds faced St Helens at Central Park. Having absorbed a terrific pounding from marshalling heroic last ditch defence, Hanley capped off a magnificent game with two great tries to put the club back on the big stage for the first time in sixteen years. In the Final, the clubs opponents were Hanley's former club Wigan. In front of an official attendance at Wembley of 78,348 Leeds were defeated at the hands of Wigan by 26 points to 16. In the 1994-95 season, Hanley set a new world record for a forward, scoring an incredible 41 tries in a season. During that season, Hanley helped the club reach the Challenge Cup final at Wembley for the second consecutive year. Ironically it was the same opponent that they faced a year earlier in the same competition final. In front of an attendance of 78,550 they were defeated, just as they had been a year earlier by their opponents, this time going down 30-10. Whilst playing for Leeds, the World League of American football was formed in 1991. It was reported that Hanley would play for the London Monarchs but this never materialised. Balmain (1996-97) In 1996 and well past his prime, Hanley returned to the Australian club Balmain on his second spell with the club. Ellery Hanley looks back at the time he spent in Australia and remembers that "I wanted to be respected by the Australians as well, because their game is so superior to ours."[3] Representative career Great Britain He made his Great Britain debut as a substitute, whilst still a Bradford Northern player, in January 1984 against the French national rugby league team in Avignon. He was selected in the Great Britain squad in 1984 to tour to Australia, for the Ashes series. He was one of the stars of the 1984 Ashes series, scoring a remarkable twelve tries. In 1988, he became a regular member of the Great Britain squad and was also appointed as the captain of the Great Britain squad. In the 1988 Ashes series, he led his side to victory over Australia for the first time in 10 seasons. Along the way he also scored eight tries. Hanley also toured to Australia in 1992 for the Ashes series. But despite arriving as captain of the British squad, on the field he made only one appearance and played less than fifteen minutes in a minor tour match against Newcastle. In total he was capped 34 times by Great Britain. Coaching career In 1994, Hanley was appointed coach of the Great Britain national rugby league team during the Ashes series of 1994, which was held in Great Britain. His appointment in the coaching role of the Great Britain squad meant he had become the first black person to coach or manage a major national team in Great Britain. In 1999, he was appointed as the coach of St Helens Rugby League Football Club as the successor to Shaun McRae. In his first season as coach, he managed to lead his side to the Super League Grand Final. His side successfully defeated the Bradford Bulls, the club he began his professional playing career at, by 20-12 in October of that year. Whilst he harboured a strong desire to win, he could appear aloof and had several acrimonious disagreements with the St. Helens board of directors, which led to his sacking as the manager of St Helens Rugby League Football Club in 2000. Ian Millward was appointed as his successor for the role of the St Helens coach. He switched to rugby union coaching and took up posts with Bristol Rugby and in the England national set-up. He also got involved in the sport of squash before returning to rugby league as a coaching consultant with Castleford Tigers in 2004. He worked with the Tigers for just two months before leaving. On 14th December 2007 Hanley was unveiled as the coach of National League Two Club Doncaster RLFC.[1] Recognition In January 1990 he was honoured with an MBE by the Queen for his services to rugby league. Fifteen years after he was awarded the MBE, in October 2005, he was inducted into the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. |
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| galahs | Jan 15 2010, 06:10 PM Post #2 |
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State of Origin
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ELLERY HANLEY MAY NOT HAVE PLAYED LEAGUE IN SYDNEY FOR YEARS, BUT HE STILL CALLS AUSTRALIA HOME It is no surprise Ellery Hanley says he always gets a warm welcome as soon as he steps off the plane on his annual trips to Sydney. During two spells in the late ’80s and mid ’90s with Balmain and Wests, Hanley enthralled league fans with his awesome talent. Recognised as the best player in the world, he managed to inspire Balmain all the way to the 1988 grand final. Back in England, Hanley, known as the “Black Pearl”, is also feted for his exploits with Bradford, Wigan and Leeds which saw him win every honour possible and score a sensational 428 tries in 498 appearances. Inside Sport caught up with him in a hotel bar in Leeds to talk about playing in Australia, that tackle by Terry Lamb and his love of rollerblading. How do you look back at your time in Australia? Firstly, I consider myself very lucky to have played with some wonderful players. I have to name a few: “Blocker” Roach, Garry Jack, Benny Elias, Paul Sironen and Wayne Pearce. There were so many others as well, the list could be endless. It was an honour to knock shoulders with those guys, because they made my job a lot easier. Let’s be honest, they made me look good. The other thing is, as an English player, I felt I was under a lot of pressure. It was like I had twice as much to prove all the time. Every game was a private battle between myself and the other team, who I knew would always make things tough for me. All that did was harden my resolve. What do you remember about playing for Balmain against Canterbury in the ’88 grand final? I don’t remember much about it! I have a copy of the game on video, but I have never watched it. It was a sad moment for me. Yes, there was that tackle, but the real sadness was because we lost the game. It would have been a fairytale to win it, but in many ways it still was. We were the underdogs, but we beat teams like Manly and the rest of them. You have to remember, even if I had stayed on the field for the whole game, we still might not have won. What do you remember about that infamous tackle by Terry Lamb? I don’t know if it was caused by Terry Lamb, or if it was just my head hitting the ground. I couldn’t tell you because I have never looked at it since. Some people have said Terry got a good shot on me. I suspect, however, it was more a case of my head hitting the ground. I like to think it was accidental. Afterwards, I was concussed and didn’t know where I was. I didn’t regain all my faculties immediately so, from a safety point of view, I had to come off the football field. It was a shame, but it is a physical game and sometimes things like that happen. Have you spoken to Lamb since then? No, I never have. I have never bumped into him. I have to say I respect him as a footballer. I don’t know him as a person, but by all accounts he is a good guy. Let me be clear that I have no malice towards him, none at all, regardless of the incident being deliberate or accidental. Back in ’88, you were arguably the best rugby league player in the world. What was it like to live through that? It was something I always strove for. I wanted to be the best player in the world. I wanted to be respected by the Australians as well, because their game is so superior to ours. Looking back, to be the world’s best player at that time was the biggest honour of my career. Did you enjoy all the fame and the adulation? I didn’t really think about it. I have always kept my feet on the ground. I concentrated on the games and made sure I always strove for consistency. I like to think I got the rewards for that. But all the praise I got was down to the guys around me. What did you enjoy most about your time in Australia? I loved the lifestyle, the people and the weather. It was one of the best periods of my career. I found it easy to adapt because I was so welcomed. I still get goose bumps when I talk about it. I now actually live in Australia for about three months of the year; I’ve got a place in Darling Harbour. I go there to enjoy myself. I spend a lot of my time rollerblading through the streets of the city at night with a big bunch of people. I also love playing chess at cafes around the eastern beaches. Eventually, I’d like to emigrate there and make it my permanent home. Are you still in contact with any of your old Australian team-mates? No, I don’t see that much of them. I might bump into a few from time to time, so I know they’re all doing alright these days. What did you find was the main difference playing in Australia? The standard was much higher. Even if you’re playing a team at the bottom, you can’t take them for granted – you really can’t. In England if you played a smaller team, you could maybe get away with it. I was playing under pressure every week in Australia because the competition there is so much fiercer and intense. If you don’t play well, you’re in second grade, it is as simple as that, but in England the squads aren’t big enough for that to happen on a regular basis. When will Great Britain finally beat Australia? The problem for us is our league isn’t as good, and that isn’t a slight on the players playing in it. Our players don’t play as many high-intensity games as the Australians. We will beat Australia from time to time, but not consistently over a period of time. The British players need to be exposed to continuous pressure before that can happen. There are only a few British players who could fit into the Australian system. At the moment, they have to get mentally a lot tougher. What did you make of Great Britain’s Andy Farrell swapping codes recently? He’s 30, he hasn’t got much longer left in the game, so, of course, he has to look after himself. Only time will tell if he has made the right decision. He’s a very good player, so he’s got a great chance. What he may find difficult is he’s now among guys who have played rugby union since they were kids. They have all the expertise. He has to quickly pick up all the technical points. It was easier for a back like Jason Robinson to go from league to union, but it will be harder for a forward like Andy to do it. However, for all the potential problems, I expect Andy to thrive in rugby union. Were you ever tempted to move to rugby union? No, I was always happy to play league. I have no regrets. I had a great career. Having said that, if a big offer had come along I would have listened to it – it would have been foolish not to, but it wasn’t something I ever sought. What are your plans for the future? I’m just looking to enjoy the rest of my time on planet Earth. I have worked hard so far. My property business is doing well and fortunately it doesn’t require much of my time. This allows me the time to play tennis, squash, racquetball, go cycling, play chess, travel the world. I’m having a good time. This article appeared in the August 2005 issue of Inside Sport magazine. |
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| galahs | Jan 15 2010, 06:14 PM Post #3 |
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State of Origin
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Ellery Hanley MBE is a shining example for all that is best in British sport. Mental toughness, physical toughness and an unshakeable will to win and belief in his own ability made him the leading player of his generation. He is the only man to have won the Man of Steel three times (1984/85, 1986/87, 1988/89) and he was Golden Boot winner as the world's best player in 1989. A player with the most incredible physique, Hanley had explosive speed and great upper body strength which allowed him to bust tackles, make breaks and do his trademark crabbing sideways across the field whilst palming away tacklers to the floor with his hand off. He played in a variety of positions during his career, from wing to stand off to loose forward. Ellery was born in Leeds in 1961. He signed professionally with Bradford Northern in 1978 and scored 89 tries in 126 games between 1978-85. Wigan paid £150000 plus Steve Donlan and Phil Ford to sign Hanley for the 1985/86 season. In his second year he led Wigan to their first title in 27 years, and went on to win 3 Championships, 4 Challenge Cups, a Premiership, 4 John Player trophies, 4 Lancashire Cups and a World Club Challenge during his time at Central Park. During this time he spent two off-seasons playing in Australia, signing with Balmain Tigers in 1988. He was the dominant player in the Australian competition and took the Tigers to the Grand Final only to be taken out by an elbow to the head from Terry Lamb, in one of Australian rugby league's most notorious incidents. In 1989 he signed for Western Suburbs Magpies, and won the Golden Boot. Hanley signed for his hometown Leeds in 1991 for £250000. Twice he took Leeds to Wembley, and set a world record for the number of tries in a season from a forward (41) in 1994/95, the year he turned 34. The last act in his great career was to do a final season with Balmain in 1996, before retiring. He won 34 caps for Great Britain, debuting in 1984, and coached Great Britain during the 1994 Ashes series. Hanley has often been a controversial figure, and was frequently at the centre of disputes with Wigan management during his incredibly successful time at the club. He was appointed St Helens coach for the 1999 season and sacked halfway through the year after a disagreement with the board, only to be reinstated shortly afterwards, and led the Saints to Grand Final success, winning Super League in his first season as coach. However the board dismissed him weeks into the 2000 season. He left rugby league for a while to take up positions with England and Bristol RU before returning for a brief stint as coaching consultant to Castleford in 2004. He made his full return to coaching with Doncaster in the 2008 season. He took a team who had finished bottom of National League Two in 2007, to the final of the Northern Rail Cup and fourth in the table in 2008 |
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| galahs | Jan 15 2010, 06:26 PM Post #4 |
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State of Origin
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| galahs | Jan 15 2010, 06:32 PM Post #5 |
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State of Origin
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Hanley hammered Canterbury v Balmain 1988 “Ellery eats celery!” was what Balmain - and probably rugby league’s - best-known fan Laurie Nicholls would yell from the sideline when Ellery Hanley received the ball during his guest stint with the Tigers. He may have eaten celery, but the Great Britain star was seeing stars after being hit with a high shot by Canterbury’s Terry Lamb in the 1988 grand final. Hanley, who had been in scintillating form during the Tigers’ run to the decider, was helped from the field suffering concussion before 30 minutes was completed and never returned. Lamb scored a try and kicked four goals in the 24-12 win.
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| galahs | Jun 8 2012, 02:32 PM Post #6 |
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State of Origin
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| Old Magpie Lad | Jun 21 2012, 04:04 PM Post #7 |
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NYC U20's
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Ellery's apparently appearing on the NRL Game Plan show tonight. Fingers crossed its mentioned he also played and was captain of the WESTERN SUBURBS MAGPIES instead of saying he's just a Balmain or Tigers legend. |
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| Old Magpie Lad | Jun 21 2012, 09:34 PM Post #8 |
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NYC U20's
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Just watch the Ellery Hanley segment of the Game Plan show and was very disappointed in that NOT ONCE was it mentioned that he played for Western Suburbs yet numerous references to Balmain, Leichhardt oval and film of him playing for Balmain. NOTHING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about his stint at Western Suburbs. |
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