Non-fictional article for magazine

[Draken]

Props
In terms of career prospects, being a prop for Gateshead Thunder in Super League ranked up alongside being a drummer for Spinal Tap. Craig Hicks and Brett Green filled the role all too briefly before injuries struck both, and the attrition continued until, by the end of the season, the club was forced to play centres in the back row and a hooker at prop. For the reformed Thunder, Ryan Bailey had a brief cameo on loan from the Rhinos in 2002 and the likes of Lee Garside, David Bates and Carl Stannard have toiled away making some very hard yards for us. But my selections are DANNY LEE and YUSUF SOZI. Danny – ‘the Ox’ – came to the club at the end of a very successful career in Australia, and his sheer size and strength made him a big hit in every sense of the word. He did a great job in Super League until the Thunder Prop Curse struck and a back injury ended his career before the end of the season. I suppose I’m picking Yusuf as an example of (and tribute to) the young props who week in, week out gave their all for a struggling Thunder against usually bigger and always more experienced packs. He improved steadily after joining us from London Broncos’ Academy side, with the ability to make yardage in a team that was so often on the back foot.

Hookers
With due respect to those who have pulled on a Number 9 shirt for the reformed Thunder, this slot is a straight choice between 1999’s Kerrod Walters and Mick Jenkins. The club’s first captain and a ‘big name’ that gave the new Super League outfit credibility, Kerrod was a livewire of a player, especially when attacking from the ruck. Sadly a serious injury to his wife in a car crash obliged him to leave the club mid-season and another Aussie, Mick Jenkins, was drafted in to replace him. Mick was a very different player, running from dummy half much less than Kerrod but really putting himself about in defence. So successful was Mick that when Kerrod returned later in the season he found it hard to reclaim his place in the team. Awesome in defence (it was he who once served as an emergency prop), tougher than the Angel of the North and genuinely scary during the post-season ‘Mad Monday’, MICK JENKINS just shades it for me.

Second Rows
It’s hard to decide who have been the definitive Thunder second-rowers, largely because they tend to get drafted into service as props at regular intervals. Adam Maher, Craig Wilson and Danny McAllister all did sterling service in 1999. Later, Jim Carlton was one of few players to catch the eye in Thunder’s comeback season, scoring a hat-trick in the long-overdue first win at Hunslet. I’ll split the honours here between Super League Thunder and reformed Thunder. The towering LUKE FELSCH gets in for some domineering no-nonsense performances in 1999. From later years it has to be the ‘Geordie Mauler’ himself, STEVEN BRADLEY. Steve is another local player who has given his all for the club through some pretty thankless seasons. Often obliged to play at prop, and with a work rate that is second to none, Steve simply doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘defeat’. Good job, really….

Loose Forward
Again with apologies for those who have come since, for my money there is only one candidate for this position, and that’s TONY GRIMALDI. A quietly influential player, Tony took over the mantle of captain following Kerrod Walters’ departure. He has of course since gone on to great things with Canterbury Bulldogs, and along with Brian Carney and Willie Peters is one of the few Thunder players from 1999 to still be playing at the top level. An honourable mention goes to Andy Walker, who scored a club record five tries in a game in the 2003 home defeat of London Broncos.

So there you have it. My very subjective and not necessarily best-ever Thunder Legends XIII is:

1) Kevin Neighbour
2) Matt Daylight
3) Deon Bird
4) David Maiden
5) Brian Carney
6) Carl Briggs
7) Willie Peters
8) Danny Lee
9) Mick Jenkins
10) Yusuf Sozi
11) Luke Felsch
12) Steven Bradley
13) Tony Grimaldi