1928-1929

1st June, 2017 By Phil Daly

1928-1929

This was yet another highly successful season with Leeds well amongst the Honours. The Yorkshire Cup was regained after a lapse of seven years, and we were runners-up in both the Northern R.L. Championship and the Yorkshire League.

The playing strength was maintained at a high level with the recruitment during the season of J. W. Goldie, full back, and Tommy Askin, international centre, both from Featherstone Rovers; D. R. Jenkins, the Welsh R.U. forward, and Jimmy Douglas, a Scottish forward from Halifax. It is worthy of note, too, that the ?A ? Team was exceptionally strong with many promising young players such as ?Juicy? Adams, R. Eastwood, Harold Thomas and Harry Jones. Departures included W. H. James, to the newly formed Carlisle Club; J. Casey to Castleford; J. Woolmore and T. Bailey to Dewsbury; and J. McCade to Batley.

Jeff Moores was appointed Captain, and his responsibilities were very heavy in the opening stages of the League programme which yielded only three victories out of the first seven matches. This disappointing start was undoubtedly due, to a large extent, to the absence of the three Tourists, and when the full complement of players was available the team then went through seventeen matches without defeat: thirteen in the League and four in the Yorkshire Cup Competition. Thus, on Boxing Day, we stood as a very good second in the Northern League, had the Yorkshire Cup in safe keeping, and headed the Yorkshire League. Wigan ended our long period of immunity from defeat on December 29th, but thirteen points from the next seven matches guaranteed us a comfortable position in the first four in spite of four consecutive defeats towards the end of the season.

The League Championship Semi-Final with Hull K.R. at Craven Park proved to be the anticipated stirring struggle. At half-time we were losing by four points to nil, but after a penalty goal by Thompson had reduced their lead, a sudden dart by Swift gave him a try and Thompson?s touch line conversion was the final score. The League Final at Halifax was a very fast and keenly contested game with our players failing to grasp their opportunities in the second half: Andrews knocked down a pass from Rosser with the line at his mercy, and Davis followed suit with a pass from Moores. Leeds, however, were handicapped by lack of pace on the wings, with Mills and Smart easily neutralising Lloyd and Andrews. The Leeds team on this occasion was: Brough; Andrews, Rosser, O?Rourke, Lloyd; Moores, Swift; Pascoe, Demaine, Thompson, Davis, Thomas, Gallagher.

Our right to appear in the Yorkshire Cup Final could hardly be disputed in view of the manner in which we disposed of Hull K.R., Wakefield Trinity and Dewsbury, but the Final itself might well have gone either way. The Leeds team which did duty was the same as the one given above except that Douglas played to the exclusion of Davis. The match was played in wet, stormy weather and the atrocious ground conditions were all against the speedy Leeds backs, and the game was won by capitalising on an error by S. Denton, the Featherstone full back. In a loose rush by the Leeds forwards, headed by Douglas and Thomas, a kick sent the ball to Denton. He had plenty of time and space in which to field the ball and get in a kick, but he failed to pick it up. Three men were on it in a flash, and in the burst for the line O?Rourke?s speed enabled him to touch down for a try which Thompson converted.

The R.L. Cup Competition took us to Wilderspool to face Warrington in the first round. This was a hard task at the best of times, and our chances were greatly reduced through the absence of Moores who was ill. Gallagher captained the side. The game opened sensationally, as other Cup games with Warrington in more recent times. We lost the toss, and kicked off with the ball going direct to Blinkhorn. The winger raced clear and passed inside to a colleague who was tackled just short of the Leeds line. Two scrummages followed and Leeds heeled the ball from the second. Gallagher flung out a long pass to Askin who fumbled the ball and Seeling, Warrington?s loose forward, snapped it up to feed Flynn, who scored under the posts. Blinkhorn?s conversion sealed our doom, for the team never fully recovered from such a disastrous opening and failed to take advantage of many defence-splitting runs made by Jim Brough, who rarely played better.

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