By Jonathan Wilkinson
Graham
Murray (1955-2013)
Graham Murray's Leeds Rhinos team were my first Leeds team. My first experience of going to
matches might have been in 1997, but it wasn't till the following two
years that I truly fell for both the game and the team. So it was with
great sadness that I find myself trying to write about the man who
started it all following his death from a second heart attack at the
weekend.
I'm not here to give
you the lowdown on his whole career. I won't be commenting on his
time in Australia because I don't really follow the sport there
enough to judge his impact on the teams he coached. Instead I will
concentrate on his time at Leeds.
The start of the Super League era had not been kind to Leeds. After
spending their way into trouble to try and keep up with Wigan, the
club found itself in financial difficulties, struggling near the
bottom of the league. It was at this time that Gary Hetherington and
Paul Caddick took over the club, adding much needed financial
stability to the club and also investing in a young exciting half
back called Iestyn Harris. For the 1998 season, it was announced that
Graham Murray would take charge of the team, and he set about awaking
the sleeping giant of the game.
In the next two years,
he led Leeds to the inaugural Grand Final, where they lost out to
Wigan, before famously ending Leeds 21 year wait for a trophy by
guiding Leeds to the 1999 Challenge Cup Final. Although the final
turned into a record 52-16 win for the Rhinos, their run to the final
couldn't have been tougher, as they overcame Wigan, St Helens and
Bradford on the road to Wembley.
Murray's Leeds side was
based around a fearsome pack, that would wear the opposition down
before Iestyn Harris would be moved up from full back to stand-off to
run riot against a tiring defence. That pack was demonstrated Murray's ability to turn average players into good ones; players like Farrell
and Fleary through a combination of hard training, strict discipline, and creating a positive environment that resulted in a great team
spirit.
An example of his
discipline was his treatment of Barrie McDermott, who in a pre season
friendly in 1998 against York, got sent off for fighting, followed by
a 5 match ban. Murray judged that he wasn't - at that moment - right
for the 1st team, so sent him on loan to Bramley. It was a
move that shocked McDermott, who was an experienced player but
demonstrated Murray's attitude perfectly; no matter who you were, if
you didn't fit in with his vision, you were out. McDermott bounced
back from this blow to star in the cup final a year later, scoring a
crucial try that helped open the floodgates.
The team spirit was his
real legacy. Gone were the days of the harmful cliques and soft core
of the team, and in its place was a team that worked together, and was
slowly turned into more of a family/best friends environment. The
team is now reaping the results, with 6 Grand Final wins since 2004,
built on a backbone of players who embody the team spirit that Murray
helped to build at the club.
After two seasons Murray
left Leeds to return to Australia. He left the club in a better
state than he had found it in, in a place to challenge for trophies
again, and with a structure that helped the club achieve its current
success. More importantly he had won the Challenge Cup, a feat that
still alludes the current squad.
So thank you, Graham
Murray. Thank you for your part in building a successful Leeds Rhinos
team, for awakening this great side. More importantly, from a
personal point of view, thank you for your part in helping me
discover the greatest game of all.
"The Greatest Events in Sporting History" is available to download from http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/, e-mail us at sportshistoryshow@googlemail.com and you can follow us on Twitter @TGEISH
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