Season 1985/86

Paul Lymans hat-trick against a powerful Widnes team

Rovers delivered their own version of the Great Escape thanks to a move to 3 up 3 down and a surge in form in the last 10 games which saw 6 wins and a draw, compared to a mere 3 wins in the previous 20 games.  This was also the season when anybody with an antipodean accent was signed up by an english rugby league club.  Rovers fell into the trap, signing 4 from down under who proved no better than the existing players, and all were released before xmas.  Alan Agar resigned after a 62-0 defeat by Wigan in November and was replaced by George Pieniazek.  This didn’t bring immediate improvements but the signing of Graham Steadman for £55,000, together with the signing of Karl Harrison and several key players returning from injury, did.

Paul Lyman and Deryck Fox were the stand-out players and after three years of suffering serious injury Peter Smith finally made it back onto the field towards the end of his benefit season.  Financial worries grew as the Popplewell report required significant sums of money to be spent to comply with new safety requirements, meanwhile the ground still lacked any stand on one side.