For 13 years he was a great favourite at his home town club Wakefield Trinity, leading them in their last Rugby League Challenge Cup final at Wembley in 1979. Then, at 31 and supposedly past his peak, he moved to Hull in 1981 and enjoyed his most successful years.

Topliss, who died suddenly this week at 58, was the complete stand-off. There may have been a few better at making breaks and some who were a little more creative, but none who had both assets in such abundance. He said that as a youngster he hoped to combine the qualities of the two half backs he most admired – the guile of Wakefield's Harold Poynton and the breakaway pace of Castleford's Alan Hardisty.

"Toppo," as he was affectionately known, achieved those aims to become one of the greatest half backs of his era.

His all-round skills reached new heights when he led Wakefield to a shock defeat of St Helens in the 1979 Rugby League Challenge Cup semi-final at Headingley. The favourites had just snatched back the lead in the closing minutes when Topliss produced one last flash of brilliance.

From deep inside his own half, he dummied through and accelerated away before Keith Smith took over to send in Andrew Fletcher for the match-winning try.

Wakefeld were on their way to Wembley and Topliss reflected that the £400 bonus each player earned for the semi-final win was twice as much he had received when signing for Trinity 11 years earlier. But money was secondary to the young man who had been spotted playing for nearby Normanton amateurs, where he gained England Under-19 honours. While there were never any doubts about his talents, there were fears that the pale, frail-looking teenager might not be robust enough for professional rugby league.

He was soon to dispel those fears and at 21 made the first of 15 appearances for Yorkshire. Two appearances for England followed plus four Test matches for Great Britain. He was in the British squad that won the World Cup in 1972, but never played in any matches. In 1979 he went out as a replacement for the British Lions in Australia and New Zealand.

Earlier that year he had won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match in the Cup final at Wembley against Widnes, being one of the few to receive the coveted award despite being on the losing side. He was also man of the match when he led Hull to a replay triumph over the same opponents in 1982 at Elland Road, Leeds, but the Lance Todd Trophy had already gone to Widnes's Eddie Cunningham for his performance in the drawn Wembley final.

Later that year, Topliss's re-emergence at 32 as Great Britain's top stand off and leader was confirmed when he was appointed to captain his country in the third Test against Australia. The selection came as a complete surprise to the modest Topliss.

The following year Topliss led Hull to the Championship to complete one of the club's greatest eras, in which he had played such a key role, having also lifted the Yorkshire Cup.

Topliss also had two successful spells in Australian club rugby, first with Penrith and even more impressively with Balmain. The latter club was so keen to retain him that their highly lucrative offer forced him to make "the biggest decision of my life" – and he returned to Wakefield.

After his wonderful years at Hull, Topliss had a short spell with Oldham before returning to Wakefield as player-coach in 1987. By then Wakefield had slipped into Division Two, but he steered them to promotion in his first year and later won the Yorkshire Cup.

He then coached Great Britain Under-21s in 1988-89 and appeared to have a long coaching career ahead. However, after seven years and at the end of his contract he said he needed a break and never returned to coaching.

He leaves a wife, Daryl, daughters Sarah and Nicola, and granddaughter Faith.