Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:31 am  

If they play Rugby League they are all great players.

As for other sports, who cares!

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:35 am  

Royston Lightning, purely for his name.

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 11:28 am  

Him wrote:

Whilst plenty of the great players from the 80's and earlier would do just as well now (if they undertook the same physical training as today's players, if not they'd get hammered) I don't see why they'd be in a different galaxy.

For example, take the current England international scrum half Matty Smith, full time player, oodles of time to train every facet of his game ,massive facilities at his disposal, sports science , numerous conditioners ,trainers , physios, doctors etc etc etc every advantage a player could possibly wish for...plays maybe 25 to 30 times a year on superb surfaces , with massive recovery resources.

International scrum half of the 80s Andy Gregory, part time in a non science era , very little back up apart from the odd physio , trains on dark nights for a few hours, plays on mud heaps at various times in a 40 plus game year, playing very often 3 times a week with no recovery resources.

Given those two scenarios i would suggest that Gregory is still some distance in front of Smith as a player...despite Smith having every advantage going over Gregory...

Now swap the scenarios around, give Gregory ALL the advantages, transport Smith into the 80s with all the disadvantages..what would the gap in quality be then..????

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 11:31 am  

Voltaire wrote:

For example, take the current England international scrum half Matty Smith, full time player, oodles of time to train every facet of his game ,massive facilities at his disposal, sports science , numerous conditioners ,trainers , physios, doctors etc etc etc every advantage a player could possibly wish for...plays maybe 25 to 30 times a year on superb surfaces , with massive recovery resources.

International scrum half of the 80s Andy Gregory, part time in a non science era , very little back up apart from the odd physio , trains on dark nights for a few hours, plays on mud heaps at various times in a 40 plus game year, playing very often 3 times a week with no recovery resources.

Given those two scenarios i would suggest that Gregory is still some distance in front of Smith as a player...despite Smith having every advantage going over Gregory...

Now swap the scenarios around, give Gregory ALL the advantages, transport Smith into the 80s with all the disadvantages..what would the gap in quality be then..????

Would Andy Gregory done much if he played in 2014?
His physique limited his ability to get any better with modern science.
I never really rated him to be honest, last of the old era, tough, crafty with ball skills and..................................
I doubt he would have made a first grade Club team in the modern era, its Horses for courses.

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:02 pm  

Impossibly to answer as I doubt anyone has seen every generation of player. Even then it's all about opinion.

For me one of the the best players I've ever seen (some may disagree but it's only my opinion) was Henry Paul. One of the best tackling half backs I've seen. Sitting props on their backside. The skill set he had was unbelievable. Watched highlights of some bulls games the other day. No one in SL today comes close to his attacking class. Absolutely outstanding player. Not saying he's the best, he's not,but he's someone I was always in awe of watching.

I think in 25+ years time, we'll look at Burgess, Thurston, Slater, inglis, Smith, Thurston as some of the greatest to have played the game. Privileged to have seen them play.

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:15 pm  

My first-hand experience of the game goes back to the 92-93 season. I've seen some great players in that time but I think Andrew Johns is out in front. The perfect half back - immaculate hands, kicking and leadership, and a gritty defender, too.

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:43 pm  

I'd put Gasnier, Churchill, Raper, beetson, Lewis in front of Johns just off the top of my head, I'd probably have Lockyer over Johns as well. From over here Hanley was a better player, Millward, Murphy and a fair few more from these shores.

Even Jonathan Davies is a better all round player than Johns, better kicker, had greater awareness, more speed (off the mark and top end), greater elusiveness, yeah Johns is the superior passer but JD is by far the superior player. Is JD the greatest ever..no but for me his all round talents put him firmly around the top 10 of all time.
deciding whom is the greatest is impossible, some players were unbelievably talented but played in unpopular/unfashionable teams and don't get the recognition. Some are elevated because they were in amazing teams and seemed to have all the time in the world and/or were dominant.

You put your nominated best player in any poor side and if the changes are vastly noticeable then you have a bona-fide nominee..

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:45 pm  

Haven't been watching the sport long enough to give many candidates.
Personally though in the time I have been watching then the best I've seen is Johns. The guy had it all.

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:21 pm  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

If you are basing your judgment strictly on all round rugby league talent then there is no doubt that Andrew Johns is the greatest player of all time.

Andrew Johns had a unique capability to see a football field player alignment and create scoring opportunities for himself or his team mates based on that. He was a great passer of the ball, the best field kicker of all time (he even invented the banana kick) and a great goal kicker (one of the top point scorers of all time). On top of that he was a very strong defender. As a running half back he also had a sidestep and a good dummy. But he was the greatest because he was simply the most creative player of all time.

Everyone else mentioned lines up behind Andrew Johns. It is worth noting that Andrew Johns was added to the most select group of Australian players -- the NRL Immortals -- less than ten years after he retired, and before older and highly respected contenders like Malcolm Meninga.

To suggest that Neil Fox was a better player is laughable. List Fox's skills and then compare them with the list I have enumerated for Johns. No contest. Fox was not even as formidable as Malcolm Meninga.

Darren Lockyer was very talented but was a weak defender, unlike Johns.

Ellery Hanley was one of the great English players of all time, and definitely world class, but he lacked several of the skills in Johns' repertoire.

Roger Millward was a brilliant running five eighth, perhaps the best five eighth that England has produced, but did not have all the skills that Johns had.

I would place Johnathan Thurston ahead of several of the players mentioned above, especially obviously Neil Fox. But even the brilliant Thurston stands behind Andrew Johns.

This whole thread is laughable but you're the icing on the cake.

Neil Fox is without doubt one of the greatest RL players of all time - an absolute machine. Whether he's the best is purely theoretical and subjective, also how you compare a H/B with a Centre/Forward only you seem to know. What's for sure is he deserves to be up there and in contention with the others - so show some respect you ignorant stupid windbag.

Your obsession with Johns is truly baffling - a lesser Wally Lewis in every respect IMHO. Good player but not up there with Wally or a few more IMHO. As for being the inventor of the Banana kick, give over you silly man, players have been messing about with that one since the game began, at best Johns perfected it - invented it, you really are pure comic gold.

Re: Greatest player of all time? : Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:34 pm  

Wally Lewis,Ellery Hanley or Mal Meninga imo, though its tough to call.i really dont think there is any clear greatest of all time.You could make a good case for a dozen players down the years.