Saturday 7 October 2017

Castleford 2017 - The Successors to Widnes 1989

I'm fortunate to be just about old enough to remember the great Widnes side of the late 1980s and early 90's. This side is remembered not just for winning the league and the World Club Challenge but for the way they played the game. I've lost count the number of times I've been told positive things about that team from fans of other clubs. 
Castleford - Super League Champions surely?

Sadly, that side ended up representing the end of an era and not just for long suffering Widnes fans but for the sport of Rugby League. As with other sports such as football, the nature of professional sport changed and it was to be the biggest and richest clubs that would dominate. In the 28 years since Widnes last won the trophy, there have only been 4 clubs that have won the ultimate prize: Wigan, St Helens, Leeds and Bradford. All clubs who where in the biggest 3 or 4 clubs in RL at the time. The preceding 28 years had a total of 15 different winners including small town clubs like Featherstone, Dewsbury and Leigh.

Until recently, it didn't look like this trend would end any time soon. Other clubs have challenged, most notably Warrington and Hull, but their challenge has come as a result of establishing themselves as one of the bigger clubs. A few years ago it looked like Huddersfield might do it and they topped the table, but they never quite looked like they would win it and they didn't even make the Grand Final. It seems a long time ago, but just last year for 7 games or so we dreamed it could be us again but that was certainly proved wrong!

Then Castleford came along. Even though we've been involving in a few Promotion and Relegation scraps with them, I've never felt any animosity and even had a bit of a soft spot for them. I can't speak for the rest of Widnes fans but I'm pretty sure they don't feature in the 'We hate Featherstone Rovers' chant either. Castleford are not only the first of the smaller clubs to truly compete, they have dominated Super League this year and made it to the Grand Final. 

However, simply winning or competing on its own is not enough to compare them to the great Widnes team. It is the way they have played the game which has been admired by fans across the game. In an era which has been dominated by structured and conservative play they have played the game in the spirit in which it was intended. If they win tonight I've no doubt they'll be spoken of in a similar way to how Widnes still are.

So good luck to Castleford Tigers from this Widnes fan. Do it for the little guys and you just never know, it might be us there one day again. We can but dream...