Les Quirk

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
06-03-1965
N/A
01-10-1987
Barrow
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
04-10-1987 v Halifax
New Zealand
1993- Whitehaven
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1987-1993
160 (12)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
98
0
0
392

Biography of Les Quirk



HERITAGE NO : 1000
Les Quirk by Dave Dooley:

This lad from Ulverston was signed from Barrow on October 1st., 1987. Three days later he was making his debut in the away game at Halifax. Although Saints lost by 14 points to 12, Les scored a promising try on debut. Blessed with speed and a spectacular swerve Les was also a difficult man to stop close to the tryline. He scored some of the most outstanding tries in his six and bit season at the Saints. In that first season with the Saints his try strike return was impressive. He scorched in for two hat tricks against Salford and Auckland out of a season total of 16 tries from 25 games. This initial campaign at Knowsley Road also witnessed Les gaining a winner`s medal at Central Park, Wigan in the John Player Trophy Final. Saints put in a magnificent defensive effort to hold off a tenacious Leeds outfit who were hell bent on pulling back Saints? half time lead. However, Saints prevailed by 15 points to 14.

In the following season (1988/9) Les produced a sizzling display in scoring a hat trick against Oldham as part of a 58 points to 12 home league victory. One of his most memorable matches came in the Rugby League Challenge Cup semi-final against Widnes on March 11th. 1989 when Saints prevailed in one of the best and closet semi-final matches of all time by 16 points to 14. Les Quirk scored a brace of spectacular tries including a long range touchline dart which demonstrated all his qualities a strong fend off, masterful body swerve and crash dive at the corner to bemuse a smoking Widnes defence. However, Les and the Saints had a Saints had a miserable end to the season finishing seventh in the league and being whitewashed by the old enemy Wigan at Wembley. On a personal note Les had a fantastic campaign ending the season as top tryscorer at the club with 24 touchdowns as well as being top of the appearances chart with 37 matches.

An early injury in the first match of the season saw Les out of action until December. Furthermore, experimentation with player combinations continued in the 1989/90 season with the team playing no fewer than 36 players over the campaign. Although ending up close to the top of the league as the highest scorers, some inconsistencies were denying the team of the big prizes. Les seemed to grab a try whenever he played in the second half of the season and finished the campaign with 15 tries from 21 appearances. The season`s highlight for Les and the Saints came on Good Friday 1990 when Wigan were trounced by 35 points to 10 at Knowsley Road and Les scored a hat trick. The pick of the crop was a quick 20 metres restart when Les received a short pass and left the Wigan defence in his wake as he stormed 80 metres and under the posts for a try which brought the house down. Saints ended the season as top points scorers in the league but lost form towards the end of the campaign. Once again the Knowsley Road trophy cabinet remained empty.

In the following season (1990-91) as the Saints rattled up the points again unfortunately the side was defensively stretched in many games and 11 losses in the league left Cooper`s men in sixth position. Les was back to full fitness and scored at regular intervals. He posted three home hat tricks against Hull KR, Wakefield and Warrington as he accumulated 26 tries for the campaign. This career best total with the Saints left him joint top of the Saints tryscoring charts with Alan Hunte. Another magnificent Challenge Cup semi-final win over Widnes set up a Wembley final against the old enemy. Yet again Saints fell at the final hurdle as Wigan held on to a handy half time lead to prevail by 13 points to 8 in the 1991 Challenge Cup Final. Many felt that Wigan were there for the taking on that day and this made the club even more determined to bring some silverware to Knowsley Road. Sadly for Les, the ball rarely came out to the wings on a day when the Saints were a little underdone.

Les soon was in a position to extend his medal collection when Saints made a good start to the season in the Lancashire Cup or so he thought. In the first round Saints played Trafford Borough and the 104 points that Saints amassed included a hat trick from the genial Cumbrian. At the time Mike McClennan was trying different combinations in the backs and Anthony Sullivan emerged as Les` main contender for the number five shirt. Saints went on to record a 24 points to 14 win over Rochdale Hornets in the Lancashire Cup Final at Warrington but Les had to settle for a spectator`s seat that day. Les was in and out of the team managing to accrue 9 tries from 19 matches by the end of the campaign. The side eventually settled down that season and finished a comfortable second position in the league but still somewhat adrift from Wigan at the top.

The 1992/3 season followed a similar pattern for Les with Hunte, Sullivan and Mike Riley vying for just two wing positions. Les was unlucky when it came round to Finals football. Again he missed out when Saints lost to Wigan by one point in the last ever Lancashire Cup Final that season. At the end of a successful campaign Les again had to sit out the Premiership Final victory by 10 points to 4 over Wigan at Old Trafford. He still managed to net 8 tries from 20 appearances including braces against Bradford and Leigh.

The start of the 1993/4 season saw Les play two matches on the right wing and two on the left flank without scoring. The competition for places was intense and both Hunte and Sullivan were on the top of their game. After coming on as substitute against New Zealand in the Tour match Les was transferred to Whitehaven. In 160 appearances for the club Les scored 98 tries at an impressive strike rate of 0.61 tries per game.



SEASON STATISTICS

Season (Official Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1987~88 16 0 0 25
1988~89 24 0 0 37
1989~9015 0 0 21
1990~9126 0 0 32
1991~929 0 0 19
1992~93 8 0 0 20
1993~940 0 0 6
TOTALS:98 0 0 160
Season (Other Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1988~891001
1989~900001
1991~921001
1992~930001
1993~941001
TOTALS:3005

ALL MATCHES

DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
4th Oct 1987 1
L
 5 Halifax L A 12 14 1 VIEW
18th Oct 1987 2
W
 5 Leigh L H 23 14 VIEW
25th Oct 1987 3
W
 5 Salford L A 18 8 3 VIEW
1st Nov 1987 4
W
 5 Auckland Tour H 52 26 3 VIEW
8th Nov 1987 5
L
 5 Leeds L A 21 24 VIEW
14th Nov 1987 6
W
 5 Widnes JP1 H 12 10 1 VIEW
22nd Nov 1987 7
W
 5 Mansfield Marksmen JP2 H 40 0 VIEW
29th Nov 1987 8
W
 5 Hull JP3 H 20 16 1 VIEW
6th Dec 1987 9
L
 5 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 16 25 VIEW
13th Dec 1987 10
W
 5 Warrington L H 17 14 1 VIEW
19th Dec 1987 11
W
 5 Oldham JPSF N 18 8 VIEW
27th Dec 1987 12
W
 5 Wigan L A 32 22 1 VIEW
3rd Jan 1988 13
W
 5 Widnes L H 25 0 1 VIEW
9th Jan 1988 14
W
 5 Leeds JPF N 15 14 VIEW
17th Jan 1988 15
W
 5 Bradford Northern L A 13 12 VIEW
31st Jan 1988 16
W
 5 Leigh CC1 A 22 12 1 VIEW
7th Feb 1988 17
W
 5 Halifax L H 16 4 VIEW
13th Feb 1988 18
W
 5 Warrington CC2 A 24 20 1 VIEW
1st Apr 1988 19
L
 5 Wigan L H 9 10 VIEW
10th Apr 1988 20
L
 5 Leeds L H 23 28 1 VIEW
13th Apr 1988 21
W
 5 Hull L A 20 8 VIEW
17th Apr 1988 22
W
 5 Swinton L H 52 4 VIEW
24th Apr 1988 23
W
 5 Castleford PT1 H 40 8 1 VIEW
8th May 1988 24
W
 5 Bradford Northern PTSF H 24 10 VIEW
15th May 1988 25
L
 5 Widnes PTF N 14 38 VIEW
14th Aug 1988 --
W
 5 Widnes* Fr Charity H 28 16 1 VIEW
28th Aug 1988 26
W
 5 Bradford Northern L H 23 16 1 VIEW
4th Sep 1988 27
W
 5 Warrington L A 25 14 VIEW
11th Sep 1988 28
D
 5 Castleford L H 14 14 VIEW
18th Sep 1988 29
L
 5 Widnes LC1 A 24 32 VIEW
2nd Oct 1988 30
W
 5 Wakefield Trinity L H 30 14 1 VIEW
9th Oct 1988 31
W
 5 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 30 22 1 VIEW
16th Oct 1988 32
L
 5 Hull L H 9 20 VIEW
23rd Oct 1988 33
W
 5 Oldham L A 26 22 VIEW
6th Nov 1988 34
W
 5 Salford L H 30 14 VIEW
13th Nov 1988 35
W
 5 York JP1 A 14 6 VIEW
20th Nov 1988 36
L
 5 Castleford L A 12 46 1 VIEW
27th Nov 1988 37
W
 5 Hull JP2 H 16 13 1 VIEW
4th Dec 1988 38
W
 5 Wakefield Trinity JP3 H 34 18 VIEW
10th Dec 1988 39
L
 5 Widnes JPSF N 18 20 2 VIEW
13th Dec 1988 40
L
 5 Hull L A 12 21 VIEW
18th Dec 1988 41
W
 5 Halifax L H 50 16 2 VIEW
26th Dec 1988 42
L
 5 Wigan L H 11 18 VIEW
1st Jan 1989 43
L
 5 Widnes L A 22 29 1 VIEW
8th Jan 1989 44
W
 5 Leeds L H 15 6 1 VIEW
15th Jan 1989 45
L
 5 Featherstone Rovers L A 12 13 1 VIEW
22nd Jan 1989 46
W
 5 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 29 0 1 VIEW
29th Jan 1989 47
W
 5 Swinton CC1 A 16 5 1 VIEW
12th Feb 1989 48
W
 5 Barrow CC2 H 28 6 1 VIEW
19th Feb 1989 49
W
 5 Bradford Northern L A 16 12 1 VIEW
26th Feb 1989 50
W
 5 Featherstone Rovers CC3 H 32 3 1 VIEW
1st Mar 1989 51
W
 5 Oldham L H 58 12 3 VIEW
11th Mar 1989 52
W
 5 Widnes CCSF N 16 14 2 VIEW
14th Mar 1989 53
L
 5 Salford L A 4 22 VIEW
19th Mar 1989 54
L
 5 Featherstone Rovers L H 10 31 VIEW
27th Mar 1989 55
L
 5 Widnes L H 16 44 VIEW
2nd Apr 1989 56
L
 5 Wakefield Trinity L A 14 21 1 VIEW
9th Apr 1989 57
W
 5 Warrington L H 30 16 VIEW
12th Apr 1989 58
L
 5 Wigan L A 7 14 VIEW
16th Apr 1989 59
L
 5 Halifax L A 8 40 1 VIEW
23rd Apr 1989 60
W
 5 Wigan PT1 A 4 2 VIEW
29th Apr 1989 61
L
 5 Wigan CCF N 0 27 VIEW
7th May 1989 62
L
 5 Widnes PTSF A 14 38 VIEW
20th Aug 1989 --
W
 5 Widnes* Fr Charity A 24 16 VIEW
3rd Sep 1989 63
W
 5 Sheffield Eagles L A 36 20 VIEW
10th Dec 1989 --NPS
D
 14 Dewsbury RT2 H 12 12 VIEW
13th Dec 1989 64
W
 14 Dewsbury RT2 (rep) A 14 0 1 VIEW
17th Dec 1989 65
W
 14 Oldham RT3 H 32 18 VIEW
26th Dec 1989 66
L
 14 Wigan L A 6 38 1 VIEW
1st Jan 1990 67
L
 5 Widnes L H 8 18 VIEW
7th Jan 1990 68
L
 15 Leigh L A 18 30 VIEW
21st Jan 1990 69
W
 5 Salford L A 25 10 1 VIEW
28th Jan 1990 70
W
 5 Bramley CC1 A 22 14 2 VIEW
31st Jan 1990 71
W
 5 Bradford Northern L H 32 10 VIEW
4th Feb 1990 72
W
 5 Leeds L H 32 26 1 VIEW
10th Feb 1990 73
W
 5 Hull CC2 A 24 12 1 VIEW
18th Feb 1990 74
W
 5 Barrow L A 46 6 VIEW
25th Feb 1990 75
W
 5 Whitehaven CC3 H 44 10 1 VIEW
28th Feb 1990 --NPS
D
 15 Warrington L AB H 0 0 VIEW
4th Mar 1990 76
L
 5 Castleford L A 24 34 1 VIEW
10th Mar 1990 77
L
 5 Wigan CCSF N 14 20 1 VIEW
14th Mar 1990 78
L
 5 Warrington L H 14 23 VIEW
17th Mar 1990 79
W
 5 Wakefield Trinity L H 44 21 1 VIEW
8th Apr 1990 80
W
 5 Sheffield Eagles L H 42 26 VIEW
13th Apr 1990 81
W
 5 Wigan L H 35 10 3 VIEW
16th Apr 1990 82
L
 5 Widnes L A 16 34 1 VIEW
22nd Apr 1990 83
L
 5 Bradford Northern PT1 A 8 25 VIEW
26th Aug 1990 84
W
 5 Trafford Borough LC1 H 56 24 1 VIEW
2nd Sep 1990 85
L
 5 Salford LC2 A 7 21 1 VIEW
9th Sep 1990 86
L
 5 Hull L A 14 20 VIEW
16th Sep 1990 87
W
 5 Bradford Northern L H 24 20 VIEW
23rd Sep 1990 88
W
 5 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 42 10 3 VIEW
30th Sep 1990 89
L
 5 Leeds L A 4 23 VIEW
7th Oct 1990 90
L
 5 Australia Tour H 4 34 1 VIEW
4th Nov 1990 91
W
 5 Rochdale Hornets L A 30 18 1 VIEW
11th Nov 1990 92
W
 5 Sheffield Eagles L H 34 17 VIEW
23rd Dec 1990 93
L
 5 Sheffield Eagles L A 8 18 1 VIEW
26th Dec 1990 94
L
 5 Wigan L H 15 28 VIEW
1st Jan 1991 95
L
 5 Widnes L A 8 14 VIEW
6th Jan 1991 96
W
 5 Wakefield Trinity L H 36 14 3 VIEW
13th Jan 1991 97
W
 5 Featherstone Rovers L A 36 28 VIEW
20th Jan 1991 98
W
 5 Leeds L H 22 16 1 VIEW
27th Jan 1991 99
D
 5 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 26 26 2 VIEW
3rd Feb 1991 100
W
 5 Oldham L A 20 16 VIEW
10th Feb 1991 101
W
 5 Swinton CC1 A 18 8 VIEW
18th Feb 1991 102
W
 5 Hull L H 12 10 1 VIEW
23rd Feb 1991 103
W
 5 Wakefield Trinity CC2 H 16 2 VIEW
3rd Mar 1991 104
L
 5 Warrington L A 20 34 2 VIEW
10th Mar 1991 105
W
 5 Halifax CC3 A 24 16 1 VIEW
13th Mar 1991 106
W
 5 Oldham L H 33 22 2 VIEW
17th Mar 1991 107
W
 5 Featherstone Rovers L H 54 38 1 VIEW
24th Mar 1991 108
L
 5 Castleford L A 4 28 VIEW
30th Mar 1991 109
W
 5 Widnes CCSF N 19 2 VIEW
1st Apr 1991 110
L
 5 Widnes L H 12 20 VIEW
4th Apr 1991 111
L
 5 Wigan L A 14 28 1 VIEW
7th Apr 1991 112
W
 5 Wakefield Trinity L A 22 8 1 VIEW
14th Apr 1991 113
W
 5 Warrington L H 62 16 3 VIEW
21st Apr 1991 114
L
 5 Hull PT1 A 12 28 VIEW
27th Apr 1991 115
L
 5 Wigan CCF N 8 13 VIEW
18th Aug 1991 --
W
 5 Widnes* Fr Charity A 30 26 1 VIEW
8th Sep 1991 116
W
 5 Warrington L H 27 20 VIEW
15th Sep 1991 117
W
 5 Trafford Borough LC1 H 104 12 3 VIEW
22nd Sep 1991 118
W
 5 Swinton L A 16 12 VIEW
26th Sep 1991 119
W
 5 Oldham LC2 H 39 26 VIEW
29th Sep 1991 120
W
 5 Castleford L H 25 14 1 VIEW
6th Oct 1991 121
L
 5 Halifax L A 6 26 VIEW
23rd Oct 1991 122
W
 5 Salford L H 25 16 VIEW
27th Oct 1991 123
D
 5 Leeds L A 8 8 VIEW
3rd Nov 1991 124
L
 5 Wakefield Trinity L A 12 20 1 VIEW
10th Nov 1991 125
W
 5 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 38 15 VIEW
24th Nov 1991 126
W
 14 Oldham RT2 A 24 18 1 VIEW
1st Dec 1991 127
W
 2 Bradford Northern RT3 H 30 12 VIEW
4th Dec 1991 128
L
 2 Featherstone Rovers L A 6 8 1 VIEW
12th Jan 1992 129
W
 14 Featherstone Rovers L H 28 10 VIEW
19th Jan 1992 130
W
 14 Wakefield Trinity L H 40 12 VIEW
16th Feb 1992 131
W
 2 Bradford Northern L A 20 8 VIEW
22nd Mar 1992 132
W
 5 Halifax L H 30 28 1 VIEW
29th Mar 1992 133
W
 5 Hull L H 42 12 1 VIEW
17th Apr 1992 134
L
 5 Wigan L H 6 16 VIEW
2nd Aug 1992 --
W
 2 St. Helens Born XIII* Fr Testimonial H 72 46 VIEW
23rd Aug 1992 135
W
 14 Wigan CS N 17 0 VIEW
30th Aug 1992 136
W
 14 Leeds L A 27 14 VIEW
6th Sep 1992 137
W
 2 Wakefield Trinity L H 24 12 VIEW
13th Sep 1992 138
W
 2 Barrow LC1 A 36 2 VIEW
20th Sep 1992 139
W
 5 Sheffield Eagles L A 18 10 1 VIEW
27th Oct 1992 140
W
 2 Huddersfield RTP H 44 18 1 VIEW
1st Nov 1992 141
L
 2 Bradford Northern L H 18 35 2 VIEW
8th Nov 1992 142
W
 2 Leeds RT1 H 15 14 VIEW
11th Nov 1992 143
L
 2 Leigh L A 6 11 VIEW
6th Dec 1992 144
W
 2 Featherstone Rovers RT2 A 25 8 VIEW
11th Dec 1992 145
L
 5 Castleford L A 6 16 VIEW
19th Dec 1992 146
L
 5 Castleford RT3 H 8 12 1 VIEW
6th Jan 1993 147
W
 2 Leigh L H 64 9 2 VIEW
22nd Jan 1993 148
W
 2 Halifax L H 18 16 VIEW
31st Jan 1993 149
W
 2 Featherstone Rovers CC1 A 24 22 VIEW
5th Feb 1993 150
W
 5 Warrington L H 12 4 VIEW
13th Feb 1993 151
L
 5 Wigan CC2 A 3 23 VIEW
17th Feb 1993 152
L
 5 Widnes L A 8 26 VIEW
21st Feb 1993 153
L
 5 Hull L A 16 21 VIEW
12th Apr 1993 154
W
 14 Widnes L H 29 18 1 VIEW
8th Aug 1993 --
L
 5 International XIII* Fr Testimonial H 24 54 1 VIEW
5th Sep 1993 155
W
 2 Salford L H 22 14 VIEW
12th Sep 1993 156
L
 2 Warrington L A 10 17 VIEW
19th Sep 1993 157
W
 5 Leigh L H 34 16 VIEW
26th Sep 1993 158
W
 5 Castleford L A 35 18 VIEW
1st Oct 1993 159
W
 14 Featherstone Rovers L A 37 16 VIEW
20th Oct 1993 160
L
 16 New Zealand Tour H 8 14 VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : 105 | LOSSES : 57 | DRAWS : 5

GALLERY





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