Tony Smith at Leeds wanted him to change the way he carried the ball amd he's certainly had the odd mistake in him throughout his career. But, on the other hand, and as Hull said when they re-signed him this week, he's capable of having an explosive impact on a game.

In the age of 17-man Rugby League, you don't want someone coming on who's merely efficient. You want a few fireworks and Thackray is more capable of providing those than many a steady Eddie.

I can't think of a player in recent years who has fallen in and out of favour quite as quickly as him. It's fairly well-known that off-field troubles have something to do with it, but some players are just like that - it doesn't mean you can't get any good stuff out of them.

Perhaps the best demonstrator of that is John Kear at Wakefield - Not only is he willing to take a punt on a lad from a lower division, he also takes on plenty of graduates of what he calls "the naughty boys' school."

He's had plenty of success with the likes of Richard Moore, Ricky Bibey and Danny Brough - players who had the reputation of being hard to handle. Thackray also played his best rugby under him - and it would be great to see him get back to that sort of level in his second stint at Hull.

Talking, by contrast, of players behaving bafflingly well....did anyone notice that little interchange between Chev Walker and George Carmont at the weekend?

They had been having a right set-to, but when Carmont set up a try moments later down the channel where Walker might have been expected to be, Chev walks across and shakes him by the hand.

It was an outbreak of old-fashioned sportsmanship that could be taken, without straining credulity too far, as a tribute to the memory of Eric Ashton.

(Picture: Getty Images)