Just read that he had died at the age of 63, always thought he was a very good winger and hard as nails but my abiding memory of him was watching Martin run rings around him at a home game and after Martin had had scored a Warrington player shouted something to Des as they lined up behind the line, couldnt hear what it was but just heard him reply "you try fu**ing marking him then"
Anyway , sad loss at young age for a great player
Yeah, a sad loss.
RIP Dessie.
Spelly.
Just read that he had died at the age of 63, always thought he was a very good winger and hard as nails but my abiding memory of him was watching Martin run rings around him at a home game and after Martin had had scored a Warrington player shouted something to Des as they lined up behind the line, couldnt hear what it was but just heard him reply "you try fu**ing marking him then"
Anyway , sad loss at young age for a great player
Incredibly sad that he's passed away at such a relatively young age.
Unfortunately my abiding memory of him isn't a good one.
His actions at Naughton Park on the 8th of May 1988 caused the worst violence ever seen at a Derby game, and deepened the animosity between the 2 sets of fans to an all time low.
It also cost him his international career too.
He was selected for the GB 1988 Ashes tour, but the panel took an extremely dim view of his behaviour at Naughton Park, and he never played for GB again.
@widneslatic id forgotten all about that ...didnt he punch a supporter as well ?
@widneslatic id forgotten all about that ...didnt he punch a supporter as well ?
He did indeed, and if memory serves me right, he punched more than 1 that day.
All hell broke loose as a result.
There were rumours of substance use iirc, and the behaviour that day did nothing to quell them.
Difficult player to handle and had some pace.
Fantastic player and competitor , who will be sadly missed . In the company of two former chemics last night who played against him in the 80's and both praised him highly as a man and a player .
The Vicar
There were rumours of substance use iirc, and the behaviour that day did nothing to quell them.
Difficult player to handle and had some pace.
Yeah I remember that too.
Not 100% sure about this but, I seem to recall seeing a photo taken just after the melee was broken up, and Dessie's eyes were as wide as the Mersey Tunnel.
That said, random drug testing wasn't a big thing back then, like it is today.
Just read that he had died at the age of 63, always thought he was a very good winger and hard as nails but my abiding memory of him was watching Martin run rings around him at a home game and after Martin had had scored a Warrington player shouted something to Des as they lined up behind the line, couldnt hear what it was but just heard him reply "you try fu**ing marking him then"
Anyway , sad loss at young age for a great player
Incredibly sad that he's passed away at such a relatively young age.
Unfortunately my abiding memory of him isn't a good one.
His actions at Naughton Park on the 8th of May 1988 caused the worst violence ever seen at a Derby game, and deepened the animosity between the 2 sets of fans to an all time low.
It also cost him his international career too.
He was selected for the GB 1988 Ashes tour, but the panel took an extremely dim view of his behaviour at Naughton Park, and he never played for GB again.
Those where the days... Widnes had a good game set of lads back then. It didn't matter who or how many came to Naughton Park the Cow Shed was always up to something.