I've started to do some Ex-Player interviews on the Facebook group and I know not everyone does or likes the FB side of things. A shame for some people not to have a read, especially as a lot will have great memories of the players. So for those that aren't in the group, I've copied and pasted them here for you to have a read as well.

GEOFF BAGNALL

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Let's start with Geoff Bagnall the player. Tell us about your junior days and why and where you played Rugby League ?
[iFooty for me started in Brisbane Queensland , my father took me down to a club when I was 7, he said I was a bit shy and wanted me to play a team sport. Certainly helped with that, not many describe me as shy now !!!!
I grew up watching Brisbane Rugby league a highlight at 13 was that I got to see Wally Lewis debut for a team called Valleys he had a fantastic game and obviously went on to become a legend of the game ..I also played a lot against Alfie Langer as a kid and the Walters brothers they were all from Ipswich and we had some great rivalry. I’ve loved Rugby League since my first game at 7 it’s definitely ‘The Greatest Game of All”[/i
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From Gold Coast Seagulls to Wakefield Trinity. How did the move to Wakefield come about and did you even know Wakefield existed prior to the move ?
[iBeing a rugby league fanatic, I knew about the game in England I even admired a followed guys like Roger Milward, Tommy Bishop, Mal Reilly and my to be coach David Topliss.
At the time Neil Cadigan was general manager of Wakey he knew I was in between teams on the Gold Coast and called me to suggest a move to play in England -at first this was a trial period and I arrived about New Year 1992. It was funny that when I arrived Caddo resigned from Wakey so I didn’t even get to see him, we’ve caught up since a few times he’s a great person.[/i
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Can you remember your Wakefield 1st team debut, who it was against and how did it go ?
[iDefinitely remember I played A team with Brookey at Wakey against Wigan on the Saturday and then played off the bench against Wigan at Central Park the next day – it was a full house for my Debut not to see me though it was Martin Offiahs debut for Wigan. Toppo put me on in the first half we were going ok, I remember kicking down to a corner and chased my own kick, Offiah whom I didn’t know picked up the ball and whisked past me, my thoughts being ‘e’ I hope all the wingers over here aren’t that quick!!! We lost but went well, actually that year I’m pretty sure we got to the Semi finals .[/i
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I don't think there has been many better half back partnerships at Wakefield than Geoff Bagnall and Nigel Wright. Was there anything special that made you two bond together on the field ?
[iNigel was a talented player I could see that straight away; I also really enjoyed his company so we spent time on and off the field together. We worked on our combination at training and Toppo obviously encouraged this. I wish I had more time with Nigel as a player as I really thought we could of done a lot more together but no regrets as I cherished our time together.
To this day I still have that bond and special friendship with Nigel, it was great to spend time with him last year in London he will always be a good friend.[/i
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When I interviewed Webby, he told us about his drinking days with Fritzy. As team captain, shouldn't you have been driving round Westgate looking for them to get them back to bed and ready for training the next day?
[iI did my best, Toppo would always be asking me to check on them - most of the times I joined them !!!
Funny days what two great character’s they were and a great partnership as well. I knew if we had Fritzy and Webby up front we were a chance to win. Back then I had my work cut out as Captain with blokes like Roundy, Belly, Nige, Slats to name a few -The Grazier’s down from Wakey was where we partied!! I taught Slats and the boys to surf in the pub!!! Yes SURF!
During that era, we really had great comradery, I put that down to Toppo and the coaching staff and us players sticking together and having a good time. As captain my belief was that the more you got to know the bloke next to you the better you played. We had a bit of success on the back of that.[/i
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Do you have any other tales to tell about them or others within the squad that you can share with us ?
[iThe Great Cover Up -not many know this but Benno -Peter Benson and Fritzy decided it would be a good idea to go to Benidorm for a week in the middle of the season of course I’m left to make up their excuses for missing the whole weeks training with Toppo questioning their presence at every opportunity. They wear tracksuits for the week on the Island so they don’t come back sunburnt or tanned. However, both spend the week hiding from Stuart Farrer our major director of the club whom happened to be holidaying over there. I often laugh at the thought too big Aussies in tracksuit’s in 30 degrees heat hiding from Stuart for the week.
Footnote : we beat Leeds that week with Beno and Fritzy having blinders![/i
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The Yorkshire Cup win was a massive achievement and memory for a lot of fans. How did the build up to the final & the game go for you, especially as captain of the side ?
[iWe were playing well as a team at that stage Fritzy was causing havoc with all opposition and our forward pack with Webby, Slats, Pricey, Belly, Billy and Glancy were leading the way. On the day I remember Toppo had us fired up I loved him as a coach and we all knew he’d been there before -we were never going to get beaten that day- Toppo had a great game plan and we followed it.
Everyone had a hand in the win even Beno kicked a few goals and won a fight against Gary Jack!![/i
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It was good to see the Yorkshire Cup Reunion as well and it's great to see overseas players still keeping those links with the club. How was that evening and your stay back over in the UK then ?
[iWhat a great night a huge thankyou to the current Old Boys and Wakefield committee, it was everything we expected. It was fantastic to see most of the boys turn up and even after 30 years it seemed like yesterday that we were together.
We had the best few weeks, Beno and I stayed with Gary and Bev Spencer he was the best host and our chauffeur. I seriously saw more of Wakey in 2 weeks than the 3 years I had over there.
Slats and Tania put up with me a couple of nights which was awesome and Fritzy of course stayed with Webby and Amanda.
We caught up with Nige Wright in London whom was very game in taking Fritzy and I on a pub crawl, lets just say it was like the Old Days and a very long night !!
I also want to thank Beno who paid for Fritzys trip over as it wouldn’t have been the same without the 3 imports. Beno is my best mate and Fritzy now lives close by, we often catch up for a beer, it’s so good having mates from Wakey days.[/i
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Can you give us any other highs and lows of your time at Trinity ?
[iAll highs for me and my wife Marissa we were treated so well by the Wakefield club. A special mention to Trevor Brown whom at the time helped the Aussies settle in, he was a good liaison for the club at the time and became a good friend. Friendship with all the boys and enjoying our footy was the best part about Wakey and I genuinely loved the fans especially when we were winning !
We all have enjoyed visits to Australia from Gary and Bev, Slats and Tania and Belly over the years as has Chris Perry whom even had Slats and Jonesy play for his Aussie team.
Chris and Sue Perry have been our good friends since meeting in Wakefield 30 years ago I suppose that’s what makes playing a team sport so unique it’s those lifetime memories and friendships that is made along the way. I feel so blessed I had that moment in time with the great Wakefield Trinity Club![/i
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And how did your time at Wakefield come to an end in 1994 ?
[iThat Christmas I had a call from Tim Sheens at the Raiders he wanted a back up halfback for the injury prone Ricky Stuart. I really wanted another crack at the NRL and thought it was to good of an opportunity. I always thought I’d come back to Wakey but that never happened.
As it turned out I ended up with a serious injury that year and Ricky Stuart never missed a match and Canberra Raiders went on to win the premiership.
I went on and played to about 33 yrs old as a captain coach of a local Gold Coast team.[/i
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Let’s finish with a chance to reflect on the players you played with in your career. Give us your dream team 1-13 of players that you played with either at Wakefield or in Oz ?
[iToppo always wanted to get the Yorkshire Cup team back on the field but this rarely happened due to injuries. I agreed with him if we could have held those players together for a few more seasons I think we could achieve big things. So here goes my best Wakey team 1. Gary Spencer 2. David Jones 3.Andy Mason 4.Peter Benson 5.Andy Wilson 6. Nigel Wright 7. Geoff Bagnall 8. Mark Webster 9. Nigel Bell 10.John Glancy 11.Gary Price 12.Darren Fritz- 13.Richard Slater 14. Bill Conway 15.Chris Perry 16. Matt Fuller 17. Dave Woods 18. Michael Jackson.[/i
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And from that team, who would captain it and why ?
[iI would make Nigel Wright the captain and not let him go to Wigan and build a team around him in future years !!![/i
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And to end with, anything you would like to add to the Wakefield fans out there ?
[iYes, keep the faith it’s a tough year but this is when support is needed!
And besides that we did beat Leeds which is all that matters!!!
I’d also like to thank the fans whom still remember the old days and my time at Wakefield, you made my time at Wakefield incredible and memorable.

Cheers !
Geoff[/i

Graham Law

Let's start with Graham Law the player. Tell us about your junior days and why you played Rugby League ?
[iI started out at Eastmoor RLFC in the U9s, stayed there until the U15s, the team folded due to low numbers so then I moved onto Westgate Redoubt. Was always good mates and played with Stu Dickens and his dad had helped start the first youth team there. That was a great 2 years of rugby for us, stayed there until I signed for Wakefield on my 16th Birthday.[/i
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How did the involvement / move to Wakefield come about ?
[iSimilar to nowadays really apart from no scholarships, scouts start following from around the U15s and just keep in touch, invite you down to ground for a tour etc, Wakefield was always my club so was only ever going to be 1 option for me. It was a dream come true for me to sign for my local team.[/i
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Can you remember your Wakefield 1st team debut, who it was against and how it went ?
[iYes, remember it very clearly, it was Mitch Brennans last game in charge, against Featherstone at home. I was 17 and still playing academy rugby so it was a real shock to get the call up. I remember the speed of the game was a massive shock, lungs were on fire and legs were like jelly haha, absolutely loved it though and we won which was amazing.[/i
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You played during some of the best times as a Wakefield fan, especially the Grand Final against Fev. What were your memories of that season and the promotion to Super League ?
[iThat really 98 was an amazing year, the team spirit was like something I never witnessed again, you just kind of knew something special was going to happen and obviously it did. Unfortunately I didn't play in the grand final, that was Martin my older brother, he played right centre that night.
The next couple of years were also pretty special for me, making my Super League debut against all the big names like Andy Farrell and Jason Robinson etc was a bit surreal, we had it tough back then also as I'm sure you are aware, we had big money issues and going into receivership made things hard but looking back probably brought the players closer together. We were written off a couple of times and tipped for relegation but we always managed to claw our way out of whatever hole we were in. I do think Wakefield are pretty special when it comes to this.[/i
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Your Wikipedia page says, "Centre, Stand-Off, Second Row, Loose Forward". Was there any position in the team that you didn't ever cover !! And from those positions, did you have a favourite that you would say you performed better at ?
[iI once covered at hooker too, away at Widnes in the challenge cup game back in 2002 I think it was. Hated every minute of it haha. I loved it in the back row if I'm honest but always struggled to cement a place there.[/i
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Andy Kelly, John Harbin, Peter Roe & Shane Mcnally all coached at Wakefield during your time. Can you share any experiences you had with those coaches ?
[iAndy is always going to be a bit special as he was there throughout most of my time at Wakefield, him and Paul Harkin were the coaches when I signed in July 1995, he then took over coaching after Mitch left so he had a massive impact on all my early first team games. He was the one who had confidence in me looking back as an 18/19 year old to play first team rugby so lots of fond memories there. He was great at bringing the team together and getting us to bond.
John Harbin was also great, his passion for young hard working lads was a real eye opener to me. Suppose looking at his track record bringing youngsters through it speaks volumes. His discipline was immense, if you tried shirking in any way you were definitely in Johns bad books haha putting it politely. It didn't matter who you were or how good you thought you were if you didn't turn up training early and put 110% you knew about it.[/i
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7 Tries and 42 goals for Wakefield Trinity. Any tries or even conversions that stood out for you ?
[iI would probably say my first SL try, away at Gateshead Thunder in 1999, I think it was only my 3rd ever SL game and was given the kicking duties that night too and converted my own try, I was only 19 so that was pretty special.[/i
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We recently saw the debut of your son Joe against Leeds Rhinos. How much of an influence have you had on his career and how did it feel to see him make his 1st team debut ?
[iYes, that was pretty amazing seeing Joe out there. That made me very proud, he's worked really hard for it and dreamed about it since he was 8 when I first took him to play. Much like myself he has supported Wakey all his life so spent lots of time on the terracing watching.
As far as influencing him goes all I've done is support him throughout and drive him to training lots and lots of times. I did coach him for a couple of years up until he was 11 but then stopped. His biggest influences have been all his coaches up at Oulton Raiders and then the Wakefield youth set up who've been great for the last 4 years through Jamie Field etc in Scholarship and Mash and team in the Academy.[/i
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The same Sunday also saw you and others take part in a sponsored walk for MNDA. Can you share how that went, why it was setup and if there is anything else planned in the future ?
[iYeah the walk was great and did really well for the charities. It all started recently when me and Mart were asked to join the past players committee team alongside Lee Robinson, Gaz Spencer and Stu Dickens, we are trying really hard at creating a place for all players past and present so they know when their career ends there not alone. I for one and know lots of other rugby lads feel a bit abandoned when they retire. I'm really enjoying this. The walk was just planned to try to promote some positivity around the place and bring as many of the lads together as we could, were trying to arrange more events including past & present players and all the fans. I really think this is the start of something a bit special down at Wakey and lots to look forward to.[/i
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How has your career panned out post rugby league ?
[iI now run St Johns Health & Fitness alongside Mart, its a small gym in Wakefield. I also help out coaching local team Oulton Raiders U15s who my middle son Tommy plays for, also help from time to time down at the Scholarship at Wakefield. I love being involved and seeing the next generation of players coming through the ranks. I had the pleasure of coaching Oli Pratt and Harvey Smith in Scholars. Super talented those two guys but many more are coming through too. Exciting times ahead.[/i
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Let’s finish with a chance to reflect on the players you played with in your career. Give us your dream team 1-13 of players that you played with ?
[iOoh this is a tough one…… but here goes…..This has to be a mixture of championship and SL as some of the boys i played with pre “99 but would have been amazing in SL too.
Steve Prescott
Neil Law
Justin Brooker
Gaz Ellis
Josh Bostock
Garen Casey
Brad Davies
Franny Stevenson
Roy Southernwood
Gary Lord
Andy Fisher
Gary Price
Willie Poching[/i
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And from that team, who would captain it and why ?
[iRoy Southernwood all day long. Total leader who everyone respected. Top bloke.[/i
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And to end with, anything you would like to add to the Wakefield fans out there ?
[iFrom a fellow fan who was just lucky enough to pull our amazing jersey on and play in front of you all you really are the best fans going, the support you give home and away is more important than you realise. Every player I have ever played alongside loves the noise you create and we all wear that badge with pride. Please keep it up. Lastly, let's really get behind Mash and boys this year. I have been involved in the game for some years now and have never come across anyone so hard working and more loyal to our club than him. Trust me, he's a coach for the future. I really hope he gets a chance to prove himself going forward.
Thanks for the chance to share these bits with you, I could go on all day about our club but kept it as short as possible for you.
Cheers
Gray[/i

Damien Blanch

Let's start with Damien Blanch the player. Tell us about your junior days and why you played Rugby League ?
[iI started playing footy when I was 14. My mum never let me play growing up! Played in the Penrith competition, and made my first rep/development squad when I was 16 – which was coached by Mick Potter. From there, I played SG Ball (U18’s), then U20’s then reserve grade for Penrith. I played a few trial games for First grade, but never actually got an official NRL game. Dave Woods was a coach in one of these teams, and offered me a start at Castleford in 2005 which is when I first moved to the UK.[/i
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You started off with Castleford and Widnes before a move to Wakefield. How did the move to Wakefield come about ?
[iI had a phone call from John Kear about 2 weeks out from the Super league promotion Grand Final when I was playing for Widnes against Castleford. He offered me a deal to sign for Wakefield, pending it was signed before the Grand Final was played. It was a hard choice to make as I was happy at Widnes, but Super League was my goal and it was guaranteed – but Widnes making it to Super League wasn’t. I agreed to Wakefield’s deal and was stoked to have my future secured. Ultimately it was the correct decision, as not only did we lose the Grand Final, Widnes announced the were going into administration before we even got on the bus following the loss.[/i
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Can you remember your Wakefield 1st team debut, who it was against and how it went ?
[iI had a delayed start with Wakefield, as I tore my Labrum in my shoulder during a trial game against Featherstone and required surgery with a 3 month recovery. So I didn’t make my debut until later against Harlequins at home. I started off the bench as our current wingers (I believe it was Luke George and Paul Reilly) were playing really well. But all in all the shoulder went well and we won the game.[/i
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Let's look at 2008 and mainly the Challenge Cup Semi Final in that year. What were your memories of that season and you grabbed a couple of tries in the Semi Final as well as we looked to come back from a terrible start. How did that game go for you as well ?
[iThat game was one of the highlights (and saddest!) of my career. We started the game terribly being 18-0 down after 10mins. Trying to claw your way back in a semi final (regardless of the opposition) is extremely difficult, but especially against Hull FC who were a top side that year. I was lucky enough to score a couple that game, and was millimetres from a 3rd that was eventually disallowed – I’m still dirty about this one to this day!! We were a great, well gelled side at that point in the season, and did really well to get ourselves back into the game, but inevitably we just gave them too much of a head start. Great memories of that week though, that even a heartbreaking loss can't take away.[/i
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What were your highs and lows during the remainder of your time with Wakefield ?
[iAs I said, that challenge cup game was up there. We had some great Derby games, Magic weekends & trips away to Catalans which I really do look back on as some of the best times in my career. I had my fair share of injuries at Wakefield though, the worst tearing my ACL in 2009 which was by far the lowest point of my time at Wakefield – and my Career.[/i
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You were clearly making a name for yourself with your try scoring exploits and a move to Catalans happened in 2011. How did those years go in the French sunshine ?
[iI was nervous about moving to France. In reality after coming back from my knee surgery I was actually looking to move back to Sydney in 2010 following the season. I had a call from Trent Robinson who had been signed as the 2011 Catalan coach. Trent said he was putting together a team with a heap of new players and wanted me to be a part of it. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t turn down – and to this day have never regretted it. I had a really good experience in France with the culture & rugby in general. Not to say it was any better than my time in Wakefield/Widnes/Castleford, but just completely different and enjoyable.[/i
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You also represented Ireland in the 2008 & 2013 World Cups. How did those tournaments go for you and for Ireland ?
[iBoth the 2008 & 2013 World Cups were fantastic. I always enjoyed being in camp, and these kind of occasions always brought the best out of my Rugby. We had great mentors (if you could call them that!) in Barry McDermott & Terry O’Connor who really got behind the teams. 08’ was probably a more successful tournament as we progressed to the ¼ finals when we were not expected to progress from the pool stages against Tonga and Samoa. 2013 was special to play against England in front of a full house in Huddersfield, and against Australia in Limerick – which was my last ever professional game. Once again, great memories.[/i
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Wikipedia says 178 appearances and 114 tries in your career over here in the UK (& France). Can you give us your top 3 tries that you have scored in your career ?
[iMy most memorably 3 would have been:
Against Huddersfield at ‘The Shay’ when I dived for the corner playing for Catalan.
The above mentioned try I scored from a kick from Broughy in the Challenge Cup
I got an intercept in a final against Leeds at home for Catalan on the half time buzzer. We had worked on this all week so it was great to pull this off after recognising it through videos.[/i
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And what about Damian Blanch now, career wise after rugby ? What do you do and what keeps you busy ?
[iI live in Wollongong on the south coast of Sydney, beautiful place. I have 3 Kids who keep my hair from growing back. My eldest son Jesse is 14 and playing his first year of Rugby this year which I am a trainer for and really enjoy watching him. My 2 younger girls both play soccer. I'm a Project manager for a Tower Crane/Construction company in Sydney which I really enjoy. My wife and I miss travelling but try to see as much as we can between kids and work.[/i
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Let’s finish with a chance to reflect on the players you played with in your career. Give us your dream team 1-13 of players that you played with ?
[iMatty Blaymire
Paul Reilly
Tony Martin
Steve Menzies
Aaron Murphy
Scott Grix
Scott Dureau
Adam Watene
Brad Drew
Danny Nutley
Louis Anderson
Ben Roarty
Lopini Paea[/i
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And from that team, who would captain it and why ?
[iProbably Grixy. Smart footy head, and knew when to work and on and off the field![/i
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And to end with, anything you would like to add to the Wakefield fans out there ?
[iWakefield was the club that backed me as a fringe Super League player and gave me a chance which I am forever grateful for. I loved everything about the club from the fans, office staff, sponsors (who I still speak to this day) right through to Bathy who helped me get my apprenticeship as a groundsman on the Bellevue Pitch & Mrs B who made us the best lunches every Friday.
Cheers
Damien ![/i

Would love a Ray Price one.

...keep an eye out for the podcasts

Looking forward to it, such a legend in my eyes, toughest player bar none.