Leeds Rhinos nostalgia remembering when stars Paul Dixon and Paul Medley swapped clubs in big-money deal

Second-rower Paul Dixon’s first appearance for Leeds was in a 15-6 defeat at St Helens exactly on January 8, 1989. A win would have taken Leeds top of Division One, but they managed only a try by Andrew Ettingshausen and goal from David Stephenson, in front of a crowd of 11,924 at Knowsley Road.

Dixon went on to play 127 times for Leeds, scoring an impressive 43 tries. His most prolific campaign was in 1991-92 when he crossed 14 times and he reached double figures in three of his five seasons in blue and amber.

The Huddersfield-born pack man was a high profile recruit from Halifax, having begun his career with his hometown club. He gave good service to Leeds, but fans had mixed feelings about the deal which took him to Headingley.

Though he was coach Malcolm Reilly’s third signing from the previous year’s Great Britain touring squad, fans were upset to see local hero and fellow second-rower Paul Medley move the other way, along with half-back John Lyons. Halifax had valued Dixon at £140,000 while Leeds placed a £100,000 price tag on Medley.

Dixon joined Leeds at what proved to be the wrong time in terms of success, three months after their 21-12 Yorkshire Cup final win against Castleford at Elland Road. That was the Loiners’ last major trophy for 11 years, until the 1999 Challenge Cup triumph against London Broncos.

Aged 28 when he signed, Dixon had already won a league championship medal with Halifax in the 1985-86 season and played at Wembley in 1987 when St Helens were pipped 19-18 in a thrilling Challenge Cup final. At Test level, he played 15 times for Great Britain. A broken thumb kept him out of the famous third Test win in Sydney - the Lions’ first against Australia for a decade - in 1988, but he featured in all three home clashes two years later.

Great Britain stunned Australia 19-12 in the Wembley opener and Dixon scored the try which edged them ahead in the second game, at Old Trafford. It was 10-10 and the hosts seemed set to at least draw the series, until Australia scored a winning try in the final seconds. They went on to record a 14-0 victory in the decider at Elland Road.

Dixon had a spell in Australia in 1991 during the English off-season and came full circle when he made his final appearance for Leeds - at prop - in a 15-2 Premiership semi-final loss to St Helens at Knowsley Road on May 9, 1993

He signed for Bradford Northern two years later and finished his career as a Sheffield Eagles player from 1995-97. He is now the longest-serving member - and only Yorkshireman - on the RFL’s match review panel, which he joined in 2011.

Medley, meanwhile, spent just half a season with Halifax before joining Bradford for a £110,000 transfer fee. He went on to become a huge favourite during a successful decade as a player with the Odsal club before moving behind the scenes.

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