Ellery Hanley

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Ellery Hanley
Personal information
Full nameCuthwyn Ellery Hanley
Born (1961-03-27) 27 March 1961 (age 63)
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Playing information
PositionWing, Centre, Stand-off, Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1978–85 Bradford Northern 126 89 0 0 356
1985–91 Wigan 202 189 0 0 756
1988 Balmain Tigers 8 5 0 0 20
1989 Western Suburbs 13 4 0 0 16
1991–95 Leeds 114 106 0 0 424
1996–97 Balmain Tigers 26 3 0 1 13
Total 489 396 0 1 1585
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1984–92 England 2 2 0 0 8
1984–93 Great Britain 36 20 0 0 80
1985–91 Yorkshire 5 4 0 1 17
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1999 St. Helens 34 26 0 8 76
2008 Doncaster 35 23 0 12 66
Total 69 49 0 20 71
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1994
Great Britain
 3 1 0 2 33
2022 Combined Nations 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2][3]

Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley

Great Britain, captaining the team from 1988 to 1992, and 2 for England. Nicknamed 'Mr Magic' and 'The Black Pearl', he played most often as a stand-off or loose forward after starting out as a centre or wing
.

Hanley won the

Golden Boot in 1988. He was awarded the MBE in January 1990 for services to the game. In 2005 he was inducted into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame
.

After his playing career, he had spells as head coach of Great Britain, St Helens and Doncaster.

Biography

Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Hanley grew up in Potternewton, near Chapeltown.[4] His parents originated from Saint Kitts.[5] He is the father of Umyla Hanley, who currently plays in Super League for the Leigh Leopards.[6]

Bradford Northern

In 1978, Hanley signed for

1983 Challenge Cup against Featherstone Rovers. Although Bradford ultimately lost the match, Hanley scored a memorable try which was selected as the try of the season in the BBC's Top Try competition.[10][11]

In

Man of Steel award
, which is awarded to the player judged to have made the biggest impact in the season, as well as the First Division Player of the Year.

In total, Hanley made 126 appearances for the club, scoring 89 tries.[8]

Wigan

In 1985 he signed for Wigan for a fee of £150,000, with Steve Donlan and Phil Ford moving to Bradford Northern in exchange for Hanley as part of the deal.[12] Hanley finished his first season for the club with 35 tries.

During his second season at Wigan he scored 63 tries playing at centre, stand-off and loose forward, an all-time record for a non-winger. In the 1987 season, Hanley was awarded the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
. Hanley holds the record for the most tries in a
Regal Trophy (or precursors) Final with 3 tries
.

In 1988, Hanley was in dispute with Wigan and was stripped of the captaincy. He was transfer listed at a then record £350,000. But when Wigan reached the semi-final of the 1988 Rugby League

Ray French stated it was the second greatest ever seen in a final.[1]

In 1989, Hanley helped the club reach the

Cup Final history at Wembley that a side had been held scoreless. He was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for the man of the match.[13] For his performances throughout the season he was also awarded the Man of Steel award for the second time as a Wigan player, and the third time in his overall career. 1989 was also the year in which Hanley was awarded the Adidas Golden Boot, which was awarded to the world's most outstanding player. Hanley remembers that "It was something I always strove for. I wanted to be the best player in the world… Looking back, to be the world's best player at that time was the biggest honour of my career."[14]

He led Wigan to another two League and Cup doubles. By 1991 though his relationship with the media reached an all-time low. Although both Wigan and Great Britain captain, he was not expected to carry out any media role.

In total he spent around five years with the club, making 202 appearances and scoring 189 tries. In his Wigan career, he won a World Club Championship, 4 Challenge Cup winners medals, 3 Championships, 1 Premiership, 4 John Player Trophy Winners medals and 4 Lancashire Cup winners medals. He was also voted Man of Steel twice as a Wigan player. Hanley was inducted into the

Wigan Hall of Fame
in 2007.

Balmain (1988)

Hanley, the Great Britain captain, was signed by Sydney club

Cronulla
in the preliminary finals. The preliminary final against Cronulla was a closely fought battle, until Hanley went to set up the try that would seal the victory for Balmain as they edged out their opponents 9–2, the win sending the club to their first Grand Final since 1969.

The first half of the Grand Final was a tight contest as

Ben Elias, Paul Sironen and Garry Jack
that there was no chance to target one individual.

Speaking to Inside Sport Magazine in August 2005, Hanley was asked:

What do you remember about that infamous tackle by Terry Lamb?

"I don't know if it was caused by Terry Lamb, or if it was just my head hitting the ground. I couldn't tell you because I have never looked at it since. Some people have said Terry got a good shot on me. I suspect, however, it was more a case of my head hitting the ground. I like to think it was accidental. Afterwards, I was concussed and didn't know where I was. I didn't regain all my faculties immediately so, from a safety point of view, I had to come off the football field. It was a shame, but it is a physical game and sometimes things like that happen."

Have you spoken to Lamb since then?

"No, I never have. I have never bumped into him. I have to say I respect him as a footballer. I don't know him as a person, but by all accounts he is a good guy. Let me be clear that I have no malice towards him, none at all, regardless of the incident being deliberate or accidental."[14]

The New South Wales Rugby League, despite the media pressure, backed up Lamb's version of events and deemed he had no case to answer.

Western Suburbs

In 1989, Hanley moved from Balmain to

Rugby League World Golden Boot Award
, which was awarded to the world's most outstanding player.

Leeds

In September 1991 at the age of 30, he joined Leeds as a player and coach for £250,000, and on his arrival at the club, was immediately appointed captain.

The 1993–94 season saw Hanley play in the Challenge Cup Final for the first time with Leeds. In the previous game, the Challenge Cup semi-final, Leeds faced St Helens at Central Park. Hanley scored two tries to put the club back on the big stage for the first time in sixteen years. In the Final, the club's opponents were Hanley's former club Wigan. In front of an official attendance at Wembley of 78,348, Leeds were defeated 16–26 by Wigan.

In the 1994–95 season, Hanley set a new world record for a forward, scoring 41 tries in a season. During that season, Hanley helped the club reach the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley for the second consecutive year. Ironically it was the same opponent that they faced a year earlier in the same competition final. In front of an attendance of 78,550 they were defeated, just as they had been a year earlier by their opponents, this time going down 30–10.

Balmain (1996–97)

In 1996 and well past his prime, Hanley returned to the Australian club Balmain for his second spell with the club. Hanley stated that "I wanted to be respected by the Australians as well, because their game is so superior to ours."[14]

Representative career

Hanley won caps for England while at Bradford Northern in 1984 against Wales, while at Leeds in 1992 against Wales.

He made his Great Britain début as a substitute, whilst still a Bradford Northern player, in January 1984 against France in Avignon. He was selected for the 1984 Great Britain Lions tour to Australia and was one of the stars of the 1984 Ashes series, scoring a remarkable twelve tries playing mostly on the wing.

Hanley was then selected as captain for the

Christchurch
for their only test in NZ to finish the tour on a high note. Hanley scored eight tries in total on the tour.

Internationally, 1990 was a disappointment. Hanley captained Great Britain against the

1973
.

Hanley also toured Australia in

1992 for the Ashes series, but despite being captain of the squad, on the field he made only one appearance and played less than fifteen minutes in a minor tour match against Newcastle. He played in Great Britain's defeat by Australia in the 1992 Rugby League World Cup final
at Wembley.

Hanley retired from international rugby in 1993.[17] In total, he was capped 36 times by Great Britain.

Coaching career

In 1994 following

Halifax coach to become coach of Australian club the Newcastle Knights, Hanley was appointed coach of the Great Britain Lions during the Ashes series against Australia during the 1994 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. His appointment meant he had become the first black person to coach or manage a major national team in Great Britain. After a 12-man Lions team pulled off a gutsy 8–4 win in the first test at Wembley (following the first half send-off of captain Shaun Edwards for a high tackle), they lost the series when Australia won the second test 34–8 at Old Trafford, and 23–4 at Elland Road
in Leeds.

The 1994 Ashes series would prove to be Hanley's only time as Great Britain coach. For the

Australian Rugby League during the Super League war which began in 1995 while the RFL were aligned with the Super League.[3]

In 1999, he was appointed as the coach of St. Helens as the successor to Shaun McRae. In his first season as coach, he led St. Helens to the 1999 Super League Grand Final. His side defeated the Bradford Bulls, the club he began his professional playing career at, by 8–6 in October of that year. Whilst he harboured a strong desire to win, he could appear aloof and had several acrimonious disagreements with the St. Helens board of directors, which led to his suspension[18] and eventual sacking as the manager of St Helens in 2000. Ian Millward was appointed as his successor.

He switched to rugby union coaching and took up posts with

Bristol Rugby, and in the England national set-up. He also got involved in the sport of squash before returning to rugby league as a coaching consultant with Castleford Tigers
in 2004. He worked with Cas for just two months before leaving.

On 14 December 2007 Hanley was unveiled as the coach of National League Two Club Doncaster.[19] He resigned from that role on 28 September 2008, following Doncaster's successful promotion play-off campaign.

In a return to coaching after a 14-year gap, Hanley was named, in March 2022 as head coach of the Combined Nations All Stars for their 2022 match against England.[20]

Recognition

In January 1990 he was honoured with an MBE by the Queen for his services to rugby league. In October 2005, he was inducted into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame.[21] He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history.[22][23][24]

Honours

Outside rugby league

Whilst playing for Wigan, Hanley had a try out in the World League of American football with the London Monarchs in March 1991.[25] It was reported that Hanley would play for the but this never materialised.

In 2009 Hanley was one of thirteen celebrities taking part in

Frankie Poultney. He was the sixth person to be eliminated from the show.[26]

Sources

  1. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Player Summary: Ellery Hanley". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ "The Children of the Windrush Generation who Revolutionised Rugby League". Tribune. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Profile: Mastery and mystery: Ian Ridley assesses a peerless performer who protects his privacy behind a prickly persona: Ellery Hanley". The Independent. 23 April 1994. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  6. ^ Willacy, Gavin (28 January 2020). "Wigan kick off the new Super League season buoyed by young talent". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b Wigan Warriors Official Website Archived 17 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine Ellery Hanley MBE article. URL retrieved 5 August 2006.
  8. ^ a b c Bradford Bulls Official Website Archived 27 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine Bull Masters – Ellery Hanley article. URL retrieved 5 August 2006.
  9. ^ "Bradford's Rugby League greats: Special talent put Hanley in spotlight". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 29 December 1999. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Weekend Interview: Ellery Hanley - how the greatest of all time reached the top of the world". Yorkshire Post. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Super League Show Rewind: Ellery Hanley's try in vain". BBC Sport. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Doncaster plight tempts Hanley to coach again". The Independent. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  13. ^ Demsteader, Christine (1 October 2000). "Rugby League's home from home". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  14. ^ a b c "A few drinks with Ellery Hanley" article. URL retrieved 5 August 2006.
  15. ^ MacDonald, John (29 June 1988). "Tigers sign Hanley for last Rounds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  16. ^ Coady, Ben (28 September 2009). "Grand final dramas". WA Today. Australia: Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  17. ^ "Rugby League: Clarke refuses to conform to the game's stereotype". The Independent. 12 October 1993. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  18. ISBN 9789067041461
    .
  19. ^ "Rugby League – Hanley appointed Doncaster coach". BBC Sport. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  20. ^ "Ellery Hanley to coach Combined Nations All Stars against England". Rugby League International Federation. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  21. ^ news.bbc.co.uk (17 October 2005). "Hanley given Hall of Fame honour". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  22. ^ Holland, Zach (27 March 2020). "Ellery Hanley: The greatest player in British rugby league history". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Ellery Hanley in Conversation". Black History Month 2022. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  24. ^ Laybourn, Ian (5 April 2020). "Top 10 greatest British rugby league players". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  25. ProQuest 187167592
    .
  26. ^ "Rugby league's Hanley exits Ice". BBC Sport. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

External links

Achievements
Preceded by
George Fairbairn
 Rugby league transfer record

Bradford Northern
to
Wigan
1985–1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Rugby league transfer record

Wigan
to
Leeds
1991–1992 		Succeeded by
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