Karl
Harrison started his career at Bramley where he developed a reputation as a
tall, wiry but strong running second-row forward. As he bulked up, he made the
customary step up to the front row, but kept his pace and ball handling skills.
In November 1985 Karl was signed for £15,000 by George Pieniazek, the then
Rovers coach, to help plug a hole in the first team squad. After settling down
to the pace of the top flight and having helped Rovers to avoid relegation at
the end of his first season, Karl found himself back in the second division
when Rovers were relegated in 1987. This proved to be a turning point in
Harrison’s career as his game really developed under new coach Peter Fox. Rovers
bounced back into the top flight, and Harrison played a prominent role all year,
including the Second Division Premiership final against Oldham at Old Trafford.
However, the following season was his best year yet. In a young team that
largely overachieved, Harrison really started making a name for himself in the
front row alongside Jeff Grayshon and Trevor Clark. Rovers finished sixth in
the league and almost made it back to Old Trafford for the First Division
Premiership final, losing the semi-final at Hull after a stirring win at Leeds.
Unfortunately
that was Karl’s last match for Featherstone. He was unsettled over the summer,
and despite being relatively cashed up following the sale of Graham Steadman, the
club refused to meet Harrison’s
increased wages demand and he was transfer-listed. When Hull came in with
an offer of £57,500 Rovers accepted it as the club was reluctant to go back to
the RFL tribunal to set a fee having done well out of the Steadman deal. He had
played 114 games for Featherstone and notched a reasonable 16 tries in that
time. He once scored a hatrick for Rovers, versus Barrow in April 1987.
At the Boulevard, Karl linked up with
influential Australian coach Brian Smith and, within a year of leaving
Featherstone, Karl was leading the Great Britain pack at Wembley against Australia.
After two seasons at Hull, he moved to Halifax where he finished his career with a total of
14 Great Britain caps, being a Lions tourist in 1992. He then started coaching
and his first head coach appointment was at Keighley, before moving to Bradford
as assistant to Brian Noble, before finally getting a chance to be a super
league head coach at Salford. From there he went to Batley and then Halifax.
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