My Ultimate Team: Shaun Briscoe picks best 17 including Wigan Warriors, Hull FC, Hull KR icons
Shaun Briscoe is the next guest on Love Rugby League's My Ultimate Team feature
Former England international Shaun Briscoe is the next guest on Love Rugby League’s My Ultimate Team feature, naming the greatest 17 he had the pleasure of playing alongside during his playing career.
The 41-year-old scored 114 tries in 267 career appearances for club and country during his playing career between 2002 and 2013, representing Wigan Warriors, Hull FC, Hull KR, Widnes Vikings and Workington Town. Briscoe won nine caps for England on the international stage, representing his country in the 2009 Four Nations.
And perhaps unsurprisingly given the clubs he played for, Briscoe’s Ultimate Team of players he’s played with is star-studded…
1. Kris Radlinski (Wigan)
Coming through at Wigan, he was immense for me. I grew up playing centre and it got to the academy when Mike Gregory put me at fullback. Just watching and listening to Rads, he had a lot of time for me, so Rads is in. Every area of his game was outstanding and he’s doing an amazing job now, so Rads at fullback.
2. Daniel Fitzhenry (Hull KR)
There are so many wingers I could choose from but I’ve gone with Daniel Fitzhenry. I only played a couple of years with him at Hull KR and he played at nine for one of those years. I could’ve gone with Liam Colbon, Peter Fox, Colin Best. Probably the best year of my career was in 2009 with Foxy and Liam Colbon: but Daniel Fitzhenry is in just because of what he offered the team. A top bloke, funny bloke and good to have around.
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3. Gary Connolly (Wigan)
I probably only did around 10 games with him at Wigan but just watching him and listening to him, and just the time he had on the ball: just quality. I grew up watching him as well. He was class.
4. Kirk Yeaman (Hull FC)
Great centre. A strong runner, scored plenty of tries and was defensively very good. He was just a good lad as well, good off the field. I played with for England Academy with Yeamo as well and he was my room-mate as well for part of that tour. A really good bloke.
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5. Nathan Blacklock (Hull FC)
There’s so many wingers I’ve probably missed off like Brian Carney, Brett Dallas and Colin Best but I’ll go with Nathan Blacklock. I got on really well with Tingha. He just made things look effortless, he made it look that easy that it probably made him look like he wasn’t really trying at some points, but when it came to the crunch he turned up and performed.
6. Paul Cooke (Hull FC and Hull KR)
I’ve picked three half-backs, two starting obviously and one on the bench. Cookey with the vision he had.. Physically, he probably didn’t fit the mould of a six or seven, he probably had the mould of a 13, but his vision, kicking game, vision and understanding of the game: he had it all.
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7. Michael Dobson (Hull KR)
Watching him practice, for me, was the epitome of Dobbo. He played at Wigan, Salford and Catalans and I played with him at Hull KR. Just the time he spent out on the field practicing was unbelievable and that showed in his game. His kicking was first class: goal-kicking and field kicking.
8. Ewan Dowes (Hull FC)
Again, he probably wasn’t the mould of a prop, he wasn’t tall but his engine was great, he could go all day. If I told him to go somewhere in the defensive line he’d go there and he’d give everything he’d got and he had a great set of hands as well. He set my up for a lot of times with his tips on, too.
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9. Richard Swain (Hull FC)
I played with three outstanding nines in Rich Swain, Terry Newton and Josh Hodgson. I’m basing it on my time at the club I was at, at the time. Newts at Wigan was great, he was fantastic to learn from and he lightened the mood when it needed to be lightened. But I think Swainy was the ultimate professional, everything he did was just quality and you only ever really noticed Rich Swain when he had a bad game. He was just a 10 out of 10 nearly every game.
Josh Hodgson was quality when I played with him for Hull KR, but he probably went on to bigger and better things after that.
10. Jamie Peacock (England)
I only played a handful of games with JP for England. I was thinking about all of the other props I played with and I was thinking about moving people from different positions to play prop: but I can’t look past JP. You look at what he achieved in his career but when I played alongside him, his leadership qualities stood out and that’s why I put him in ahead of some of the other players I could’ve potentially have put in there.
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11. Clint Newton (Hull KR)
I couldn’t really split Clint or Ben Galea, but I’ve put Newts in there because he wouldn’t shut up about it if I didn’t! Him and Benny Galea in the back-row at Hull KR were both outstanding in everything that they did, their attitude to work, their attitude to the team. They knew when to have a laugh and when to be serious, but two very good leaders and good professionals.
12. Andy Farrell (Wigan)
One of the most impressive people I have ever met in the game and I only did 18 months with him at Wigan. If you went on a night out, the next morning he’d be the first one there on a rowing machine. The way he led and his attention to detail was the difference between winning and losing.
I remember one game I slipped in the in-goal and gave a drop-out away in a play-off game and the next day I got a telling off from him for slipping in the in-goal. It was because I had worn these Adidas Predator boots, not knowing that earlier in the season he said they were rubbish and that nobody should wear them. I’d worn them and he’d stopped the video and he’s gone ‘these boots, I told you they were sh*t’ and I never wore them again after that!
When I came through at Wigan, there was Kris Rads, Terry O’Connor, Craig Smith, Newts, Faz, Dave Furner – they all had that immense level of competition and they knew when it was time to switch it on. Faz was probably the best leader I’ve been around.
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13. Sean O’Loughlin (Wigan)
This one speaks for itself. I grew up playing with Lockers for Wigan St Pats, so I came through the system with Sean, played from Under-11s to Under-16s with him. You knew then he was something special just with the way he conducted himself.
He never played the ‘big I am’, he knew how good he was but it wasn’t a case of him telling you how good he was, he’d just show you how good he was. He stepped up when he was needed and he’d lead the team. H
e did everything that was asked of him as a kid, so it was only a natural progression for him to go through and I think the way he handled himself throughout his career from start to finish, not just being a one-club person, but if he had a setback, he came back stronger every time. Great leader, great captain and great bloke.
14. Richard Horne (Hull FC)
Rich and Cookey set me up for so many tries at Hull, I’d probably say they set me up for at least 50 per cent of my tries for Hull. He could easily have gone in as a starting half-back but I could only have two, so sorry, Horney!
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15. Ben Galea (Hull KR)
I could’ve put him in my starting team. Him and Newts were great partners in the back-row for us at Hull KR.
16. Stephen Kearney (Hull FC)
I only played with him for one year in 2005 at Hull FC and I’ve still got a piece of paper that he gave me. I had a great year in 2004, but in the pre-season of 2005 they’d signed Danny Brough.
Broughy came in, and people know what he can do when kicking a ball and he just ripped my confidence to pieces. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, I couldn’t catch a ball and any bomb that he put up I was thinking ‘this is going on the floor’ and I sat down with Steve in Torremolinos, and he said to me ‘what’s my thinking, what’s my process?’ and he wrote down a note on the process.
When people talk to me today about being a full-back and catching a high ball, he spoke about the process that I go through and he said ‘why are you thinking about dropping it?’ and I said ‘because I am’.
He said ‘well, what’s the most important part of your body?’ and I said ‘what do you mean?’. He said ‘when the ball goes up, what’s the most important part?’ and I said ‘my hands’ and he said ‘no, your feet are’.
He said ‘if your feet are near the ball, then your hands are near the ball but if your feet aren’t near the ball then your hands aren’t near the ball’. He said ‘so if you’re thinking about where your feet are then you’re not thinking about dropping it’.
He wrote it down on a piece of paper and I’ve still got it from 20 years ago. It was just about the process that I went through and the way he could break things down and speak to you and he’d know if there was something wrong.
He’d take you to one side and have a chat with you. Another great leader.
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17. Scott Murrell (Hull KR)
An unbelievable player. People used to say I had a bad rig, but Murrell’s was definitely worse than me! What Scott did on a field, his understanding on the field, his vision, his effort and he’d do whatever was best for the team. You could put him at nine, 13, six, back-row and he’d give you everything he’s got. He’s probably one of the loosest players I’ve ever played with but I’d have him in my team somewhere.
