Columnist

Welcome to Keal Carlile who presumably will be hoping to make his first appearance in a Halifax shirt on Sunday week in the friendly match against Hull.

One thing that he will learn is that Fax fans appreciate a good hooker even though the role has changed out of all recognition over the last 50 years.

Once upon a time a hooker’s principal job was to win the majority of the 30 or so scrums which used to pepper every game. Anything else was a bonus.

Nowadays their role involves scampering all over the field from acting halfback and creating play for others.

Over the years outstanding Halifax hookers have included the likes of 50’s Cumbrian legend Alvin Ackerley, 1960 World Cup winner Joby Shaw, Ian Foye, John Dalgreen, Seamus McCallion, Johnny Lawless, Roy Southernwood, Paul Rowley, Sean Penkywicz, Ben Fisher, Bob Beswick and Mark Gleeson.

More recently Ben Kaye and Brandon Moore have shared the role.

Plenty of crowd pleasers on that list.

One former board member has been heard to bemoan the fact that the club was lavishing £100,000 on hookers a few years ago when Matt Calland was coach but it wasn’t half entertaining!

One of the interesting points about the amending of the hooker’s role is that the two principal rule changes which helped in it’s evolution – the introduction of uncontested scrums and the moving of the defensive line from five yards to ten – were masterminded by a man with Halifax connections.

This was Fred Lindop who worked at Mortimers Printers on Pellon Lane for many years and who’s last game with the whistle was the Challenge Cup final between Halifax and Wigan in 1988 after which he became the RFL’s Controller of Referees.