Most skilful player / GOAT debate

Papacito said:
The best I've seen is the great Cliffy Lyons. And trust me, I absolutely hate Manly!

It's like the bloke was playing in a different dimension. He was always about four steps ahead of everyone else.

Even late in his career when he was pushing 40 years of age with a dodgy knee, he still totally dominated games.

I also asked one of my mates (who played NRL and origin) who the best he ever played against was and he says Allan Langer was the clear standout.
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Cliffy loved Beaver
 
balmain boy said:
That's also because he went for the all or nothing play almost every time. As a player he was incapable of being a steady headed tactical oriented player. If there was a 1/100 play available to him he'd pass/kick the ball every time and turn over the ball cheaply just as often as he set up points
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I can agree with that, but how many times were we down by 10 or 14 points with 10 to go and you still thought we had a chance because Benji would really start to ask questions of the defence? I always remember, we were in with a shot with Benji on the field.

14 points down with Brooks with 10 to go and you're leaving the ground to miss traffic.
 
I feel like the 90’s was the greatest era. There were no stupid rule changes every five minutes. You didn’t get suspended and sin binned for trivial rubbish. No coincidence it produced the best footy. Andrew Walker was a player I thought about today, reading this thread. His high balls could bring rain. Gus referred to him as one of his all time favourite players.
 
I've read a lot here about who was the most skillful player, and the consensus seems to be that half backs and 5/8's tend to make up the majority. However, in my lifetime I never witnessed a player with greater natural gifts than Arthur Beetson. Arthur would regularly take on 3 tacklers and still get the ball away almost with incredible ease. His forte was to run to the defensive line at speed with great footwork for such a big man. He would attract a host of defenders and then feed a support player like Johnny Mayes, Ian Schubert, or Ron Coote. Of course he captained Eastern Suburbs to that 1975 drubbing of Graeme Langlands St George team by 38-0.
Arthur began his career at Balmain but moved onto Easts early in his career. Probably his 2 greatest achievements were:
Arthur was the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport
Arthur was the 7th Rugby League Immortal
I do recall one afternoon at Leichhardt when we were up against Easts. Late in the game big Artie was having a rest out in the 3/4 line when he received the ball on the 25. He had our noted defender Steve Lavers in front of him. Somehow Artie hit the accelerator and got on the outside of Stopper. He scored of course.
The game has changed a lot these days. Best and fairest awards are dominated by halves, fullbacks and 5/8s. They get the ball in their hands so much more than they used to. The position of prop has been de-valued following comments from coaches such as Wayne Bennett. The old roles of a ball playing prop like Arthur Beetson or Bob OReilly are as rare as hen's teeth because coaches are reluctant to take a chance on an error like a dropped ball. Cover defending lock forwards like Johnny Raper and Ronny Coote don't exist anymore.
Anyway that's my two shillings worth.
 
weststigers said:
I can agree with that, but how many times were we down by 10 or 14 points with 10 to go and you still thought we had a chance because Benji would really start to ask questions of the defence? I always remember, we were in with a shot with Benji on the field.

14 points down with Brooks with 10 to go and you're leaving the ground to miss traffic.
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Prime Benji was like nothing else I have seen. Seeing him crying in the sheds after another major injury you just knew it was cactus for the season. Those lost years around 07-08 what could have been!!
 
king_sirro said:
Everyone with any sense of normal thought knows those selections you have brought up to support your point were wildly wrong and weirdly circumstantial as I have pointed out, but I'll do it again just for you.
Chris Anderson had a huge personal bias towards Kimmorley. His national selection of Noddy lead to State selection at this time. Everyone rated Johns the better 7.
The Toovey situation was just plain weird. To name Johns at 9, make him defend in the middle but play 7 in attack showed how above everyone he was. They made him play the hard part of 2 different positions.
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Any sense of normal thought lol…I think you are being very presumptuous including yourself in that group.
 
BAGNF05 said:
You’re saying he didn’t dominate origin based on winning percentage. I was there and saw it with my own eyes in 2005 when he went all universe on QLD’s arse. Never seen a better performance.
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He dominated one series, which I agreed to.
He did not make that a consistent event.
 
Though Ricky Stuart was a very under rated player , Kerry Boustead what a great winger very quick and was not afraid to run in the forwards.

Steve Rodgers was a great player who would have had better status in the game if he had joined Manly or East.
 
Bellend said:
Though Ricky Stuart was a very under rated player , Kerry Boustead what a great winger very quick and was not afraid to run in the forwards.

Steve Rodgers was a great player who would have had better status in the game if he had joined Manly or East.
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Steve Rogers was the greatest player I've seen lace on a boot.
He was Cronulla. When Wests played the Sharks without Rogers you could bank the 2 points.
The way he adjusted his play as he got older was like no other player I've ever seen.,
From being the best balanced, most elusive centre in the game, to a skillful 6 with great hands and then a great defensive lock, still with the hands and the deception.
There's been nobody like him in my lifetime.
 
Tiger Karen said:
Todd Packer said:
Steve Rogers was the greatest player I've seen lace on a boot.
He was Cronulla. When Wests played the Sharks without Rogers you could bank the 2 points.
The way he adjusted his play as he got older was like no other player I've ever seen.,
From being the best balanced, most elusive centre in the game, to a skillful 6 with great hands and then a great defensive lock, still with the hands and the deception.
There's been nobody like him in my lifetime.
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A worthy candidate, there’s only ever been one Prince of Centres.

He didn’t run through lines, he danced through them.

Steve Rogers…
 
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BAGNF05 said:
Prime Benji was like nothing else I have seen. Seeing him crying in the sheds after another major injury you just knew it was cactus for the season. Those lost years around 07-08 what could have been!!
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Luai has more skill than Benji imo. He has the same 3 steps off the left etc. hasnt quite mastered Benji’s attacking kicks to the in goal but has everything else.
 
twentyforty said:
Luai has more skill than Benji imo. He has the same 3 steps off the left etc. hasnt quite mastered Benji’s attacking kicks to the in goal but has everything else.
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Hmmmmm. No, I don’t think so.
Benji had a magnificent slight of hand when going short and his utter unpredictability when running it drove defences crazy.
His highlights reel will last more generations yet.
 
JT ,Slater , GI and Locky are the best I’ve witnessed. JT and Locky being the most skilled.Although GI is the player i consider the best ever,rarely got tackled 1 on 1
Coming from a staunch New South Welshman.
Benji is definitely up there in terms of pure skill,and i can confidently say in his prime he was the most exciting player to watch.inconsistency was always his issue ,but when he was in form our whole team looked like rep players.
Matty Bowen was another player I always loved watching,something always happened when he touched the Ball.
 
Red88_Tiger said:
Benji by far was what every kid wanted to play like or copy
More so than any other player imo
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Yeah, as MT said earlier the influence he had on kids was crazy
I was involved with junior RL back then too and it was frustrating seeing your props put on a big hop just before the line, flick passes everywhere going to ground...EVERY kid wanted to do what BM did...very funny too watching them trying to imitate his step as well...some kids looked like theyre having a sudden seizure 🤣
 
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