Martin Hall featured in Monday's edition of the Rugby Leaguer.During a glittering career spent mainly with Rochdale Hornets and Wigan, Martin Hall carved out a deserved reputation as one of the most honest players in the game.
That quality, founded on a deep respect for himself and for others, remains central to Hall's approach to Rugby League and goes a long way to explaining why the Rochdale coach was in an unusually down-beat mood after last week's win at Hunslet.
Granted, Rochdale had retained their 100 per cent record with victory in their second game of the campaign. But after what he saw as a mediocre opening day display against Batley, Hall had expected more than the indifferent performance that resulted in a 28-20 cliffhanger.
Hornets remain among the favourites to gain promotion from the Northern Ford Premiership at the end of the season. But Hall, always the perfectionist, had called for rather more commitment from the quality players he has brought to Spotland. And, reflecting on the game in midweek, he made it clear that a vast improvement would be needed for yesterday's fixture with Swinton and the forthcoming clashes with Oldham, Hull KR and Leigh.
The fact that those teams are among the leading lights in the section should serve to inspire the Rochdale squad. Hall, however, insists that his players should perform to their maximum ability regardless of the quality of the opposition.
"I thought we'd resolved a few things," was his verdict on the Hunslet game. "After a long pre-season, when we added considerably to the squad and trained hard, to play like that in front of our travelling fans was very disappointing. We had played well in our friendlies against Chorley and Oldham, for whatever reason that didn't happen against Hunslet and Batley."
There may be some around who reckon that Hall is just being churlish. After all, his side have won both of their games and are on course in the early season rankings for a top five spot. He doesn't quite see things that way.
"There is no point in preparing like we do and then not playing as we should. It's not on and it's not acceptable. At least it's early-season rather than late season, so we need to start putting what we practice into action. There is no questioning the ability in this squad, but we have to make sure we get it right when it matters - which is on game day and not necessarily running up to the game.
"I don't expect every player to be on top of the game every single week. But I do want them to be there or thereabouts, and to put enough in to get the rewards. We haven't done that in the last two weeks. Batley may have been a hiccup but it happened again the following week and it has to be sorted."
Hall will, for sure, sort it. His high quality, spearheaded by the likes of hooker Richard Pachniuk and scrum half Latham Tawhai, has been attracted largely through his own personality and record in the game, plus the facilities at Spotland that are probably the equal of any in the Northern Ford Premiership. The Hornets boss is delighted with the gym, and he has the long-term security of knowing that should his side reach and win the Grand Final next year, the ground meets Super League criteria. He also pays due credit to the supportive Hornets board, which despite a limited budget has backed him every inch of the way as he has recruited one of the strongest squads in the section.
"I'm convinced that if we play to our potential, which we haven't done yet, we will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. We've lost Danny Sculthorpe to Wigan, but we've recruited Paul Davidson from Halifax. They are not the same type of player but they are both Super League quality players.
"We are as professional as we can be at this club, on obviously limited budgets, and I have a strong backroom staff We have been fortunate to attract the right sort of players, and generally the players I tried to sign during the pre-season came to us rather than go elsewhere."
Born in Oldham, Hall spent most of his Rugby League in Rochdale before joining Wigan. He relishes coaching what is effectively his home-town club. He has spent countless hours planning the course that has led to Hornets establishing the longest winning run in the section - with 10 successive victories stretching back to last season - prior to yesterday's clash with Swinton.
"In any walk of life you have to work hard and do your utmost. As long as you do that, you have got to be happy with yourself It's the same at this club; we must look at ourselves as individuals, and hopefully that exercise will make the team play to their full potential."
It may be a long season, but the next few matches could prove to be crucial. Much of this game is played in the mind and the suspicion has to be that the Rochdale players, motivated by the prospect of meeting some of the best sides in the section, will hit form. That will please the perfectionist Martin Hall. It won't, though, do much for the mood of the other 18 clubs in the Northern Ford Premiership.