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Penky continues Leigh connection
It is over ten years since Sean Penkywicz first played for Halifax.
He was then a 17 year old Academy prospect and the way to the first team at the Shay at the time was blocked by a certain Paul Rowley who was a fixture in the side and undisputably one of it's star players.
The same bloke who, as the recently installed coach at Leigh (hometown to the pair of them) will be plotting on how to negate the threat of "Penky" when the clubs clash at the Shay this Sunday.
In those days Penkywicz had signed for the Blue Sox after a brief spell in the Warrington Academy team and was recruited along with other East Lancashire lads like Danny Halliwell and Danny Tickle.
And Rowley had signed a new two year deal towards the end of the 1998 season after more than one threat to leave for the likes of St Helens but only after one director had stuck his neck out over the deal.
Ironically Penkywicz made his initial first team appearance against Huddersfield in the final match of the 2000 season which turned out to be the last match that Rowley played for the club before becoming a Giant himself to the surprise of many but after no little speculation once again about his future.
He was determined to leave and cash in this time.
If the debutant thought that his mentor's departure meant that he would automatically ease into the first team job he had reckoned without the alleged arrival of another Leyther, Micky Higham.
Steve Linnane was Gary Mercer's assistant coach by now and had extensive contacts in the then Northern Ford Premiership.
The Aussie was convinced that many players at that level were capable of playing in Super League and tried to sign players like Barry Eaton, Danny Sculthorpe and Paul Anderson (another Leigh lad!) before setting his sights on Higham and Stuart Donlan (guess where he comes from).
John Pendlebury had had a similar theory as witnessed by signings like Jamie Bloem (from Widnes) and Andy Craig from Swinton.
Halifax were convinced that they had agreements with Higham and Donlan and though the former went missing Linnane stalked him and sat outside his house for hours at a time.
It was all to no avail as Ian Millward (who only lived round the corner anyway) sneaked in and claimed to have his signature on a St Helens contract.
And it was this latter deal that the RFL upheld.
It's a really convoluted story which must have left Penkywicz shaking his head and even more bemused when Mercer, fed up of the whole charade, went and signed Johnny Lawless as Rowley's direct replacement.
It was Lawless's second spell with Halifax and he needed a new club after spending the previous season at Huddersfield – where Rowley had just left for!
The whole irony is that Rowley's signing for Halifax in November 1994 had been the partial catalyst for the departure of Lawless to Sheffield as he saw the route to the first team number nine shirt at Thrum Hall effectively blocked.
The pair of them had shared a room when playing for the Great Britain Academy team.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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