13 years of Love RL: Player involvement

James Gordon

Over the years, the site has grown significantly and there are many players that use the site and follow us on social media.

That of course wasn’t always the case, but we’ve picked out some of the best player involvement stories from the 13 years of the site.

Chris Warren

The Australian then Sky Sports presenter was perhaps the first high profile columnist on the site, back in the days it was known as Last Tackle. With editor James Gordon then an 18-year-old university student, Warren joining the team was covered by the Lancashire Evening Post. Warren said at the time: “As a rugby league enthusiast James has brought this passion to the Last Tackle site. Its quality speaks for itself and will only get better with time and added resources. Many have tried and failed in setting up new ventures like this and there will surely be great challenges ahead for the team at Last Tackle. Their passion for the game of rugby league and their professionalism will give them every chance to make this venture a success.”

Jamie Peacock

A true Super League legend became a regular columnist on the site during his time at England captain. Certainly being woken up early on a Saturday morning by a call from JP to do his latest column was a memorable moment in my early career.

Kris Radlinski

This story has been mentioned in the 13 years of Love RL video, but current Wigan supremo Kris Radlinski sent me an email I will never forget and always be thankful for, in the early years of the site, when it was known as Last Tackle. The former full-back sent an email which basically just praised me for the site and my dedication to it, which meant a great deal at the time, and still does to this day. You often only get emails when someone has a complaint or critique, but to get a genuine, positive message from a real personality of the game was quite something.

Lance Hohaia

While the New Zealand World Cup winning full-back was at St Helens, he spent time in our office, often coming in a day a week to try and learn about digital marketing, with the view to it potentially forming part of his post-playing career. His stint at Saints perhaps didn’t go as he would have liked, and Hohaia was of course forced to retire early. Spending time with him, his wife Marisa and their then new-born child was a great time.

More RL Chris Warren

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