Roger Millward

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Roger Millward
Personal information
Full name Roger Millward
Date of birth 1946
Flag of England Castleford, England
Height 5 ft 4 ins (1.62 m)
Weight 10 st 12 lbs (69 Kg)
Nickname(s) Roger The Dodger
Club information
Position(s) Stand-Off
Current club retired
Youth clubs
Years Club
Castleford
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1964-1966
1966-1980
1976
 Castleford Tigers
Hull KR
→Cronulla Sharks
  ? (?)
406 (1825)
14 (37)
Representative teams

1966 - 1980		 Great Britain
England		 47
Professional clubs coached
1980-1991 Hull KR

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Roger Millward MBE is a former rugby league player from Castleford, West Yorkshire. He has gained a high level of prominece in the sport by playing for Hull KR and Castleford, as well as representing Great Britain. Millward was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.[1]

Contents

[edit] Domestic career

Roger began his professional career in September 1964 signing for his home town club Castleford Tigers. He made his debut on 3 October 1964 against Dewsbury and won his first domestic honours in 1965 with Castleford picking up the Floodlit Trophy. Roger played in the position of Stand Off and, due to the importance of such a position in rugby league, and due to the fact there where many more experienced players in the Castleford side at that time (such as Alan Hardisty & Keith Hepworth) Roger found it hard to break into the first team for any length of time. Despite his lack of game experience the International selectors where interested in Roger and picked him to play for the Great Britain national team in March 1966 against France at the tender age of 18 and one of Great Britain's youngest players.

On 8 August 1966 Roger was transferred from Castleford to Hull KR for a fee of £6,000 and made his debut for the Robin's at Hunslet on 15 August 1966 and helped the club win the Yorkshire Cup and retain it in the 1967 season.

In the 1968 season Roger finished as the top try scorer for Hull KR with a total of 38 tries in that season, picking up the supporters' player of the year award. Due to his good form he was awarded a call up to the Great Britain squad for the 1968 World Cup which Britain lost to Australia.

In 1969 at the age of 21 Roger was given the captaincy of Hull Kingston Rovers and was also voted the supporters' player of the year for the second time as well as being honoured with the title of Rugby League Players No 6 "Player of the Year".

In the mid-1970's Hull KR had become a dominant force in the world of rugby league thanks in part to Roger's playmaking abilities. Although Hull KR where now one of the top clubs in British rugby league the major awards eluded Roger during his career at the Robins with just two more Yorkshire Cup winner's medals (1971/72, 1974/75) and a runner's up medal (1975/76) along with two more supporters' player of the year awards (1974/75, 1975/76). In Roger's testimonial year he managed to set a new record for Hull KR with the most tries scored in a season, scoring 160 tries in total.

In the 1976 close season Roger decided to go and play for Australian outfit Cronulla Sharks. Roger made 14 appearances during his time at Cronulla and scored one try as well as kicking 17 points for the then struggling Australian outfit before going back to Hull.

In 1977 Roger was named as player/coach of Hull KR after the unfortunate death of the club's former manager Harry Poole. In the same season Roger guided his side to a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy and was voted the supporters' player of the year award yet again. This then started a period of total domination for Hull KR, who had in the past had fallen short of truly dominating the domestic scene.

In the 1978/79 season Hull KR where crowned Division One Champions (the first since 1925). In the 1979/80 season Roger and his Hull KR side made it to Wembley to play bitter cross-city rivals Hull FC in the Challenge Cup final. Roger and his side won the game 10-5 and despite a broken jaw midway through the first half Roger continued and picked up the trophy at the end of the game.

Roger retired from rugby league a year after the historic challenge cup victory whilst playing for Hull KR's A Team against a Batley A Team. This was Roger's return to action after sustaining a broken jaw in the Challenge Cup final victory before he was hit off the ball by a Batley player and sustained another broken jaw, his fourth in ten months which was to be his last game.

[edit] International career

Around 1969 Roger had established himself as a full Great Britain international after his debut at 18 years of age against France in 1966 and would go onto make 47 appearances for his country (29 of them tests.) Roger went on tour with Great Britain a total of five times and also toured with the England National Team on one occasion, captaining in both World Cup tournaments.

[edit] Coaching

After retiring Roger stayed on the coaching staff at Hull KR throughout the 80's and early 90's and guided his team to another Challenge Cup final & the Yorkshire Cup final in the 1980/81 season, losing both ties but they did manage a Premiership trophy. Roger coached Hull KR to the final of the John Player Trophy which they lost and 2nd in the Division One Championship. Roger was later awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to rugby league and sport in Great Britain.

During the 1983/84 season Hull KR dominated the scene with Roger's leadership, winning the League Championship as well as the Premiership to be the first team to complete the double and where rightfully crowned the 'Rugby League Team of the Year'. The 1984/85 season was almost as historic with victories in the John Player Trophy final and being crowned Division One Champions for the fifth time, but lost out on the Premiership final.

In 1984/85 Roger coached his side to the last major final of his tenure. The club where victorious in the Yorkshire Cup final but where defeated in the John Player Trophy and Challenge Cup finals which consequently saw the end of Hull KR's domination of English rugby league and despite his loyalty Roger decided to leave the club after its relegation into Division Two.

[edit] Private Life

Roger nows lives with his wife Carol in Kippax, near Leeds and is employed as a Premises Manager by Royds Comprehensive School, above Rothwell Sports Centre. Despite removing all ties from rugby league after leaving the Robin's he still attends rugby league matches, mainly those involving his home town club Castleford.

In 2007 Roger had an operation to remove a cancerous growth in the jaw and is currently recovering at home.[2]

[edit] Legacy

Roger will go down in rugby league history as one of the greatest Stand Off's Britain has ever produced. He made 406 appearances for Hull KR in total, with 207 tries, over 600 goals and a grand total of 1,825 points making him the third highest points scorer in Hull KR's history. Roger holds the club's record of 207 tries (which beat the previous record set in the 1920's by winger Gilbert Austin by nearly 50 tries.) and has also scored a total of eleven hat tricks for Hull KR, with one for Castleford and two for Great Britain as well as kicking more than ten goals per match in some cases.

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ "Rugby League Hall of Fame - Roger Millward", RLHallofFame.org.uk, 25 October 2007. 
  2. ^ "Where Now?", Era of the Biff, 2007-01-24. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.