Even the biggest of rovers fan can’t deny how good this guy was as a player, from the very little i saw of him as a coach on tv when you scored or conceded a try he always seemed to try get a message across be very vocal as you would imagine him to be the type of guy that would drive standards up, if that made him a good coach or not i wouldn’t have a clue though not all great players make good coaches but he was certainly a fantastic player

Gaz just up there aint he?
As in, right up there.
His humility makes his legacy even greater for mine.
Class act

Kicking Radford out of the changing room at half time was his biggest feat, a pity those in charge didn’t act on it at the time, who knows where we would have been as a club now.
Go with my thanks Gaz.

Legendary player, thanks for everything Gareth!

Well once again we play tribute to one of the 2016 immortals as Gareth Ellis leaves the Club. These are certainly changing times but what a legacy he leaves and what an incredible amount every FC fan who has supported the club since the start of the 2013 season owes to his example setting and leadership, his professionalism, his endeavour and his amazing ability to raise the team when times were hard. we are all privileged to have watched him play because true leaders come along so rarely. That is a very rare commadity in any sport, for we have struggled to replace him at the club since he has retired, but perhaps that is a futile quest for any club would have the same difficulty as he was one of a kind. He just pushes all the buttons every time. Want proof?

Well Kirk Yeaman once told me that when he was playing for the FC to see Gareth leading the team out in front of him, made him feel a foot taller before he even got out there to play. He set a standard and everyone else followed. That's the sign of someone who had that rare commodity of the one who could inspire others and what a leader he was. When he lifted that cup that sunny August afternoon in 2016, he created the second best moment of my life (the best being the final hooter going) and I'll remember him forever for that. And I bet I'm not on my own with that one!!!!

In bad times he was great too. He kicked the coach out of the changing rooms on at least two occasions to sort the players out and it was he who locked the dressing room door at widnes that night after the game when as captain, with the imports he sorted the players out, an action that ensured what followed created one of the best seasons, I have ever experienced in 64 years of supporting the club. So good I even wrote a book about it. (after Saturdays game I read a few extracts from it just to remind me what a great FC team was all about and just how far we have fallen)

And all that and he was a brilliant uncompromising forward as well.

Peter Gentle persuaded the club to pursue him and break the bank to get him and it was an on line meeting with Peter, Adam and Tony Sutton in Adams old office at the Kcom that persuaded him to come to us rather than rejoining Leeds, the rest as they say is history! He will be a loss to the club but he lives on through some amazing memories! I can guarantee his biography will be worth reading. Good luck Gareth and thanks!!!

A truly fantastic post Wilf

His book should be a good read!

It certainly will. Can't wait. Mainly about his Hull career but also his time at Wests.

We never saw him at his peak, because that was at Wests , when he was the best second rower in the NRL, a respected and revered player on both sides of the world, throughout the game. What we got though, in terms of leadership and captaincy can never be truly measured. A man who left nothing on the pitch and who gained his place among the truly great players, who have graced our famous shirt, right up there with Norton, Sullivan, Topliss and the like. We can truly say we have been blessed with some great players, at our club and he is shoulder to shoulder with any one of them. Legend, immortal and one of the most humble players I have ever spoken to, always had time for fans and never once did I see him otherwise.

I could never understand what his contribution to the team was - other than that when he was on the pitch the performance of every other player seemed to go up by 5 or 10%. An exceptional leader.