Rugby league positions
A rugby league team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Each of the thirteen players is assigned a position with a standardised number, which reflects their role in attack and defence, although players can take up any position at any time. Players are divided into two general types and backs. Forwards are chosen for their size and strength, they are expected to run with the ball, to attack, to make tackles. Forwards are required to improve the team's field position thus creating space and time for the backs. Backs are smaller and faster, though a big, fast player can be of advantage in the backs, their roles require speed and ball-playing skills, rather than just strength, to take advantage of the field position gained by the forwards. Forwards tend to operate in the centre of the field, while backs operate nearer to the touch-lines, where more space can be found; the diagram, shows the typical positions of each player during a scrum. The laws of the game recognise standardised numbering of positions.
The starting side wear the numbers corresponding to their positions, only changing in the case of substitutions and position shifts during the game. In some competitions, such as Super League, players receive a squad number to use all season, no matter what positions they play in; the positions and the numbers are defined by the game's laws as: Backs1 Full Back 2 Right Wing Threequarter 3 Right Centre Threequarter 4 Left Centre Threequarter 5 Left Wing Threequarter 6 Stand-off Half or Five-eighth 7 Scrum Half or HalfbackForwards8 Prop 9 Hooker 10 Front Row Forward 11 Second Row Forward 12 Second Row Forward 13 Lock ForwardIn practice, the term'front row forward' is rarely used, a team has two props. The scrum half is known as the half back in Australasia, the lock forward is known as loose forward in England. There are seven backs, numbered 1 to 7. For these positions, the emphasis is on ball-handling skills; the "back-line" consists of smaller, more agile players. Numbered 1, the fullback's primary role is the last line of defence, standing behind the main line of defenders.
Defensively, fullbacks must be able to chase and tackle any player who breaks the first line of defence, must be able to catch and return kicks made by the attacking side. Their role in attack is as a support player, they are used to come into the line to create an overlap in attack. Fullbacks that feature in their respective nations' rugby league halls of fame are France's Puig Aubert, Australia's Clive Churchill and Billy Slater, Charles Fraser, Graeme Langlands and Graham Eadie, Great Britain/Wales' Jim Sullivan and New Zealand's Des White. There are four threequarters: two wingers and two centres - right wing, right centre, left centre and left wing; these players work in pairs, with one winger and one centre occupying each side of the field. Known as wingers. There are two wings in a rugby league team, numbered 2 and 5, they are positioned closest to the touch-line on each side of the field. They are among the fastest players in a team, with the speed to exploit space, created for them and finish an attacking move.
In defence their primary role is to mark their opposing wingers, they are usually required to catch and return kicks made by an attacking team dropping behind the defensive line to help the fullback. Wingers that feature in their nations' rugby league halls of fame are Great Britain's Billy Batten, Billy Boston and Clive Sullivan, Australia's Brian Bevan, John Ferguson, Ken Irvine, Harold Horder and Brian Carlson, South African Tom van Vollenhoven and France's Raymond Contrastin There are two centres and left, numbered 3 and 4 respectively, they are positioned just inside the wingers and are the second-closest players to the touch-line on each side of the field. In attack their primary role is to provide an attacking threat out wide and as such they need to be some of the fastest players on the pitch providing the pass for their winger to finish off a move. In defence, they are expected to mark their opposite centre. Centres that feature in their countries' halls of fame are France's Max Rousié, England's Eric Ashton, Harold Wagstaff and Neil Fox, Wales' Gus Risman and Australia's Reg Gasnier, H "Dally" Messenger, Dave Brown, Jim Craig, Bob Fulton and Mal Meninga.
There are two halves. Positioned more centrally in attack, beside or behind the forwards, they direct the ball and are the team's main play-makers, as such are required to be the most skillful and intelligent players on the team; these players usually perform most tactical kicking for their team. Numbered 6, the stand off or five-eighth is a strong passer and runner, while being agile; this player is referred to as "second receiver", as in attacking situations they are the second player to receive the ball and are able to initiate an attacking move. Star players of this position include Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer, Bob Fulton, Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley and Terry Lamb Numbered 7, the scrum-half or half back is involved in directing the team's play; the position is sometimes referred to as "first receiver", as half backs are the first to receive the ball from the dummy-half after a play-the-ball. This makes them important decision-makers in attack. A rugby league forward pack consists of six players who tend to be bigger and stronger than backs, rely more on their strength and size to fulfill their roles than play-making skills.
The forwards traditionally formed and contested scrums, however in the modern game
Albert Goldthorpe Medal
The Albert Goldthorpe Medal is an award, created by Rugby Leaguer & League Express to honour the leading players in the Super League and to honour Albert Goldthorpe, English rugby league's first superstar at the turn of the 20th century. The Albert Goldthorpe Medal is a solid gold medal worth several thousand UK pounds, incorporating a photograph of Goldthorpe with "All Four Cups"; the award was introduced in the 2008 season to commemorate the centenary of the feat of Goldthorpe in leading Hunslet to become the first club to win all four major trophies in one season in 1908. It is intended to parallel the'Dally M Medal' named after the great Australian player Dally Messenger, awarded to the NRL player of the year by rugby league writers associated with the News Limited series of newspapers in Australia. League Express reporters will cast votes for the Albert Goldthorpe Medal after every Super League game in the regular season; the three players who, in the opinion of the reporter, have been the three'best and fairest' players in the game will receive three points, two points and one point respectively.
To be eligible for a vote, a player must not have been suspended from the competition at any stage during the season. Points table for Albert Goldthorpe Medal The Albert Goldthorpe Medal at totalrl.com
Rugby league
Rugby league football is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field. One of the two codes of rugby, it originated in Northern England in 1895 as a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to players, its rules progressively changed with the aim of producing a faster, more entertaining game for spectators. In rugby league, points are scored by carrying the ball and touching it to the ground beyond the opposing team's goal line; the opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals. After each try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion for further points. Kicks at goal may be awarded for penalties, field goals can be attempted at any time. Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea, is a popular sport in Northern England, the states of Queensland and New South Wales in Australia, South Auckland in New Zealand, southwest France and Lebanon.
The Super League and the National Rugby League are the premier club competitions. Rugby league is played internationally, predominantly by European and Pacific Island countries, is governed by the Rugby League International Federation; the first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954. Rugby league football takes its name from the bodies that split to create a new form of rugby, distinct from that run by the Rugby Football Unions, in Britain and New Zealand between 1895 and 1908; the first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union, was established in 1895 as a breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union. Both organisations played the game under the same rules at first, although the Northern Union began to modify rules immediately, thus creating a new faster, stronger paced form of rugby football. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves "rugby football leagues" and introducing Northern Union rules.
In 1922, the Northern Union changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union. Although many factors played a part in the split, including the success of working class northern teams, the main division was caused by the RFU decision to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams had more working class players who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895, a decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby revolution.
In 1897, the line-out was in 1898 professionalism introduced. In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after every tackle with the play the ball. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Australia. There, on 8 August 1907 the New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street. Rugby league went on to displace rugby union as the primary football code in New South Wales and Queensland. On 5 May 1954 over 100,000 spectators watched the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final at Odsal Stadium, England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code. In 1954 the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on the fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed; this was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover.
1967 saw. The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player, entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season. Television would have an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in the 1990s when Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation sought worldwide broadcasting rights and refused to take no for an answer; the media giant's "Super League" movement saw big changes for the traditional administrators of the game. In Europe, it resulted in a move from a winter sport to a summer one as the new Super League competition tried to expand its market. In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to the code in an competitive sporting market. In 1997 two competitions were run alongside each other in Australia, after which a peace deal in the form of the National Rugby League was formed; the NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures.
The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries and field goals than the opposition within the 80 minutes of play. If after two halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing, a draw may be declar
2013 Rugby League World Cup
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales and Ireland. Between 26 October and 30 November 2013, it was the main event of the year's Festival of World Cups. Fourteen teams contested the tournament: Australia, New Zealand, Wales, France, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Cook Islands and the United States; the latter two were competing in the Rugby League World Cup for the first time. New Zealand were the defending champions, having defeated Australia in 2008. Australia won the tournament, beating New Zealand 34–2 in the final to lift the trophy for the tenth time. In terms of attendance and revenue, the 2013 tournament is considered the most successful Rugby League World Cup to date; the Rugby League International Federation confirmed this competition as a part of its international program. The RLIF announced a five-year plan to build up to the 2013 World Cup with Four Nations tournaments held in 2009, 2010 and 2011; the competition was part of the UK's "Golden Decade of Sport".
2013 was chosen as the year of the World Cup to avoid a clash with the London Olympics in 2012. After 2013, the Cup will be held on a quadrennial cycle. In addition to the United Kingdom, Australia announced its intention to bid for the hosting rights, despite hosting the previous World Cup in 2008; the Australian Rugby League had been preparing a rival bid due to the success of the 2008 event but the business plan presented by the Rugby Football League for the UK to be the host was accepted by the RLIF at a meeting in July 2009. The event forms part of; the UK last hosted the World Cup in 2000, with the event being considered unsuccessful. Prince Charles welcomed representatives of all 14 nations and tournament organisers with a reception at Clarence House. There were two qualifying pools for the remaining two World Cup places; the European Qualifying group involved Italy, Lebanon and Serbia while the Atlantic Qualifying group involved Jamaica, South Africa and the USA. In the Atlantic Qualifiers the United States and Jamaica defeated South Africa in the opening rounds leaving the final match between the two to determine who qualified for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.
United States defeated Jamaica to qualify for their first Rugby League World Cup. The competition featured fourteen teams, compared to ten in 2008. Around twenty teams were to be involved in qualification, but subsequently the total number of teams involved in the tournament was fixed at nineteen. Twelve nations automatically qualified. Rules and officiating panel: Daniel Anderson, Stuart Cummings and David Waite. Australia: Ben Cummins, Shayne Hayne, Ashley Klein and Grant Atkins. England: Phil Bentham, Richard Silverwood, Ben Thaler. Before the World Cup it was announced that USA would face France in Toulouse, Scotland would play Papua New Guinea at Featherstone, England would play Italy at Salford, New Zealand would play the Cook Islands in Doncaster and England Knights would play Samoa at Salford; the games were played at various venues in England, Wales and France. Matches were subject to a bidding process run by the Rugby Football League; the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was the host stadium for the opening ceremony and a double header featuring hosts England playing Australia and Wales taking on Italy.
The decision to play England vs Australia in Cardiff to open the tournament drew criticism from some in the press who believed that the game should have been played in England where a higher attendance could be expected, or at least a full house which would have looked better than the half empty Millennium Stadium. Headingley in Leeds, the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham and the DW Stadium in Wigan hosted the quarter-finals. Both semi-finals were hosted with the final held at Old Trafford; the match schedule was announced on 22 March 2012. The Rugby League International Federation announced the kickoff times of the matches, with the opening kickoff to be held on 26 October in Cardiff, at 14:30 local time; the group stage matches will be played at 14:00, 14:30, 16:00, 16:30, 18:00, 20:00 local time, with knockout stage matches at 13:00, 15:00, 20:00 local time. The semi-finals will be played at 13:00 and 15:30 local time and the final, on 30 November 2013 at the Old Trafford stadium, at 14:30 local time.
The draw, undertaken at the launch of the event in Manchester on 30 November 2010, involved four groups The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. There will be a quarter-final round made up of the first three teams in the first two groups and the winners of each of the smaller groups. Group play will involve a round robin in the larger groups, a round robin in the smaller groups with an additional inter-group game for each team so all teams will play three group games. Quarter-finals will follow the group stage, with three teams from each of Groups A and B and one team from each of Groups C and D qualifying. All times listed below are in Greenwich Mean Time for Welsh venues. Touch Judges:James Child Grant Atkins Video Referee:Ashley Klein After Austra
Ian Henderson (rugby league)
Ian Henderson is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. A Scotland international hooker, his brothers, Andrew Henderson and Kevin, are international rugby league players. Henderson was born in Torquay, England but his family moved to the Central Coast of Australia and he attended Terrigal High School, he made his National Rugby League premiership début for the Sydney Roosters against the Parramatta Eels in round 1 of the 2003 NRL season. After two years at the Roosters he moved to Parramatta, however did not achieve more game time and left halfway through the 2005 NRL season. Henderson signed with the Bradford Bulls in 2005, where he made a massive impact in helping Bradford win the championship, he played for the Bulls at hooker in their 2005 Super League Grand Final victory against the Leeds Rhinos. As Super League champions, Bradford played National Rugby League premiers Wests Tigers in the 2006 World Club Challenge. Henderson started at hooker in the Bulls' 30-10 victory.
With the arrival of Terry Newton, Henderson found it hard to gain selection into the Bulls starting team. On 23 June 2007, the New Zealand Warriors announced; the Hendersons are a Scottish family and all three brothers have played for Scotland at international level. Henderson made his début for the Warriors in round 1 2008. While a Warriors player, Henderson said Castleford, West Yorkshire was the worst place, he said that residents spend too much time drinking and need a bath. All three Henderson brothers featured in the Scotland squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. In May 2009 the Warriors announced. On the 23 August, it was announced by the Warriors that they had released Henderson from the final year of his contract so he could sign a three-year deal with the Catalans Dragons in the Super League starting in 2011. Henderson joined the Dragons in 2011. Henderson was again part of Scotland's 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. On 3 August 2015, Henderson announced his return to Australia to play for his former club, the Sydney Roosters, in 2016.
Henderson's move back to the NRL ended his five-year stay in France. On 17 March 2016, Henderson suffered a broken leg in the Roosters' 0-40 defeat by the North Queensland Cowboys; this lead him to announcing his retirement from rugby league in the year. 2018 Henderson returned to Rugby League on the Central Coast leading the Kincumber Colts. Ian Henderson Official Player Profile Henderson bent on revenge The Telegraph and Argus, 30 May 2007
Dewsbury Rams
The Dewsbury Rams are a professional English rugby league club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire which competes in the Kingstone Press Championship. They play their home games on Owl Lane; the Rams main fanbase comes from their hometown of Dewsbury but hold a strong following in Shaw Cross as well as neighbouring Gawthorpe and Ossett, amongst other places. Prior to the 1997 season, the club was known as Dewsbury R. L. F. C; the club won a league title in 1972–73 after finishing the regular season in 8th place. The club has won the Challenge Cup twice; the idea of establishing a rugby football club in Dewsbury originated among a few friends at a meeting at the Little Saddle Inn in 1875. Established with immediate effect, Dewsbury Athletic and Football Club enrolled between 30 and 40 members. On 20 November 1875, the first recorded match of Dewsbury Athletic and Football Club took place when they played Heckmondwike Church Society XV and lost by one goal, six tries and eight touch downs to nil; the first home game, it is held, took place on 4 December 1875 in a field off Sugar Lane, opposite the future Crown Flatt.
In a 13-a-side "scratch" game, the two outfits – one selected by the Captain and the other by the Vice-Captain – fought out a draw. The club soon realised they needed a ground and the following year secured a sub tenancy at Crown Flatt for £200. During the course of the 1879–80 season the club colours changed from blue and cardinal to black and yellow. On 27 March 1880, the Yorkshire Cup semi-final against Wakefield Trinity drew an estimated 16,000 supporters to Crown Flatt which the local newspaper claimed to be the largest assemblage seen on a football ground in Yorkshire. 1881 saw the club's first success in the Yorkshire Challenge Cup beating Huddersfield and Halifax before an Alfred Newsome drop goal gave them victory over Wakefield Trinity in the final. When York paid a visit to Crown Flatt on 25 September 1886, the home team took to the field wearing white jerseys that incorporated the borough's coat of arms. Crown Flatt was gaining the reputation as one of the best-equipped ground in Yorkshire.
This was further enhanced when the club purchased the famous "Noah's Ark" stand at a cost of £250. In 1888, the club amalgamated with Savile Cricket Club and United Clerks' Cricket Club to form Dewsbury and Savile Cricket and Football Club; the Yorkshire Senior Competition was formed in 1892 and Dewsbury became members. They made their Senior Competition début at Liversedge on 10 September 1892, Dewsbury were beaten 2–10; the club finished in the bottom three due to financial problems. The arrival of competitive leagues meant that attendances were increasing connected to on-field success. Dewsbury failed to adapt to the new era: attendances from onwards topped 2,000 only on rare occasions. By 1895, Dewsbury were sporting white. At the famous meeting at the George Hotel in Huddersfield, Dewsbury were the only members of the Yorkshire Senior Competition not to resign from the Rugby Football Union instead requesting permission to consult further. At a special meeting convened at the King's Arms Hotel, Market Place, on 2 September, they elected to remain in the Senior Competition.
It was not a popular decision. A local journalist reported that'there wasn't a single supporter who wouldn't say "Let us have the Northern Union and the sooner the better".' Dewsbury marginally improved their position in the league to 10th. Next season however they were back at the bottom. On 22 November 1897, the General Committee of Dewsbury and Savile Cricket and Football Club elected to abandon rugby union with immediate effect. Of the 12 league matches contested by the club that season, all but one – and that a draw – were lost. In reply to the 156 points conceded, the team registered; the 0–5 loss to Otley on 13 November 1897 was the final rugby union game played at Crown Flatt. By the time of its demise, the football section had contested more than 500 matches, they withdrew from the league concentrating on soccer instead. On 21 April 1898, a historic meeting was held at the Black Bull public house to consider the possibility of forming a new Northern Union club; the question was discussed at some length and over £100 in donations was promised.
It was local rivals Batley who helped Dewsbury gain election to the Northern Union. They were supportive of Dewsbury's bid and looked forward to rekindling the rivalry, as well as their pockets, with the derby matches and to thank the old Dewsbury supporters who had switched their support to Batley's Mount Pleasant ground during the two or three preceding seasons. At a subsequent discussion at the parish church school on 5 May, it was announced that members of the committee had met with Mr Lipscomb, agent to Lord Savile, had signed an agreement to lease the Crown Flatt estate as from 1 July 1898. Red and black were adopted as club's colours during June 1898. On 3 September 1898, the players travelled to Normanton for their Northern Union match, they were beaten 3–16; the first home game took place the next Saturday with visitors Kinsley emerging victorious by a margin of 13–5. During the rest of the season the team played in Yorkshire No. 2 Competition. In 1901–02 the Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues were combined to form a second division.
Dewsbury was one of the new teams to join the second division. The club's first major success came in 1912, when they beat Oldham 8–5 in the Challenge Cup Final at Headingley. Dewsbury were more successful, finishing champions in the 1915–16 and 1916–17 seasons, they beat the visiting Australasian team of the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour o
Halifax R.L.F.C.
Halifax R. L. F. C. is a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, they have won the Challenge Cup five times. They were known as the Halifax Blue Sox between 1996 and 2002, they have rivalries with neighbours Bradford and Huddersfield and with fellow Championship side Featherstone Rovers. Known as ` Fax', the club colours are white shorts and blue and white socks, they share the Shay stadium with Halifax Town. The club was founded as Halifax in 1873. After winning the first Yorkshire Cup in 1878, they went on to win it on another four occasions. Several players were picked for the Yorkshire County side in these years, five were for the England rugby union team. In 1886, the club moved to Thrum Hall; the first game there was played on 18 September 1886 against Hull F. C. and drew 8,000 spectators. Halifax were founding members of the breakaway Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895.
In 1896, Halifax lost out on winning the first Rugby Football League Championship by a single point, with Manningham becoming the inaugural champions. In 1902–03, they achieved the'double' by winning the Challenge Cup and finishing top of Division One, they won the cup again the following season, were the first Championship play-off winners in 1906–07. Halifax won their first Wembley Challenge Cup final in 1931, beating York 22–8. An estimated 100,000 people lined the route to a civic reception at the town hall. Towards the end of the 1937 season and Mitcham folded after just one full season in the league; the club had made a number of high-profile signings from the New Zealand All Blacks, including George Nepia and Charles Smith, these players now joined Halifax. In 1938, Halifax reached the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, after winning three replays in a row, before they were knocked out by Barrow at Fartown, Huddersfield in the dying seconds of the game. In 1939, Halifax became the last team to win the Challenge Cup final before the war.
Favourites Salford were beaten 20–3 in front of a record 55,453 spectators. In 1947 Halifax's Hudson Irving died from a heart attack. In 1949, Halifax's David Craven died after breaking his neck playing against Workington Town; the 1949 Challenge Cup final was sold out for first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford Northern beat Halifax. In the 1950s, Halifax were Championship runners-up three times, beat Hull F. C. in Yorkshire Cup finals in 1954 and 1955, were Yorkshire League winners in 1950, 1953, 1954 and 1956. Halifax were unbeaten at their home ground of Thrum Hall between December 1952 and November 1956, they played in a Wembley final of the 1953–54 Challenge Cup, featuring in the first drawn final against Warrington in 1954, losing in the replay at Odsal Stadium, Bradford in front of what was a world record rugby league crowd given as 102,569, although estimates suggest another 20,000 plus entered unofficially. After securing a Yorkshire league and cup double in 1955–56, the club was in sight of winning "All Four Cups".
Wembley was reached after an 11–10 Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Wigan at Odsal and Halifax beat St. Helens 23–8 in the Championship semi-final. However, St Helens ran out 13–2 winners in the Challenge Cup and a week Halifax lost in the Championship match against Hull at Maine Road, Manchester, a last minute penalty goal securing a 10–9 victory for Hull. In 1959, Halifax hosted Wigan before a club record 29,153 people in the third round of the Challenge Cup. Halifax finished 7th in the league in the 1964–65 season and won the Championship Final after a 16-team play-off. Halifax was hit hard by the financial situation of the late 1960s, 1970s. Fortunes on the pitch suffered. In 1970, a concert was held at Thrum Hall in an attempt to alleviate these financial troubles. Horrific weather conditions meant that only around 3,000 arrived to watch the Halifax Pop and Blues Concert which made a loss of £6,000. Despite victory in the inaugural Regal Trophy Final in 1971–72, financial problems continued for the next decade.
In 1983, local businessman, David Brook provided much needed investment in the club. Chris Anderson was player-coach of Halifax from November 1984 to May 1987 when he retired from playing to be coach in 1987–88; the team won the League Championship in 1985–86, the 1986–87 Challenge Cup against St. Helens and made a second successive appearance in the Challenge Cup final in 1988 when they lost to Wigan. Despite this on-field success, Halifax were banned from signing new players by the RFL after complaints of non-payments in November 1988. In 1989, John Dorahy took up a position as captain-coach of Halifax for the 1989–90 season. Halifax players threatened strike action over unpaid wages in April 1990; the club sold Neil James for £20,000 to pay wages but were still in financial trouble including an unpaid tax bill of £70,000. Halifax went into the hands of receivers, £760,000 in debt, a take-over bid having failed after the players refused to take a pay cut; the club was re-formed and the assets were purchased by the Marsland/Gartland consortium of local businessmen.
Peter Roe was appointed as head coach at Halifax for season 1990–91 when they achieved promotion along with Salford who were their opponents in the Divisional Final at Old Trafford. The club's record victory was set in October 1990 with an 82–8 win over Runcorn Highfield at Thrum Hall. Roe was removed from office 24-hours when he refused to re-apply for his own job; the Halifax board stated that he did not hav
