Your Raiders XVII during your lifetime

[Raider47]

I was not fortunate enough to be alive during our 3 glorious premiership years, so was thinking amidst all this sport down time what is your best Raiders XVII from the years you remember as a Raiders fan?

For me, I'm only recalling from 2003 onwards:

1. Schifcofske
2. Joel Monaghan
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Leilua
5. Rapana
6. Wighton
7. Campese
8. Papalii
9. Hodgson
10. Wiki
11. Jason Croker
12. Whitehead
13. Tongue

14. Mogg
15. McLinden
16. Shillington
17. Soliola

Honourable mentions: Ferguson (unfortunately), Bateman and Fensom

Apologies if it's overkill on the teams of the past wave that is happening at the moment.

[greeneyed]

For me it’d be a best all time team...

1. Gary Belcher
2. John Ferguson
3. Mal Meninga
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Josh Papalii
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. David Furner
12. Ruben Wiki
13. Brad Clyde

14. Josh Hodgson
15. Sam Backo
16. John Lomax
17. Jason Croker

18. Brett Mullins

Coach: Tim Sheens

[Raider47]

Fwiw, my favourite player would be Papalli followed by Wiki.

[-TW-]

06 - now

1. Schifcofske
2. Cotric
3. Croker
4. Monaghan
5. Rapana
6. Campese
7. Carney
8. Logan
9. Hodgson
10. Shillington
11. Papalii
12. Whitehead
13. Tongue

14. Wighton
15. Paulo
16. Bateman
17. Miller

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[BJ]

My neighbours four week old has submitted her lifetime starting 13.

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad

2. Bailey Simonsson

3. Jarrod Croker (C)

4. Curtis Scott

5. Nick Cotric

6. Jack Wighton

7. George Williams

8. Josh Papalii

9. Josh Hodgson (C)

10. Dunamis Lui

11. Corey Horsburgh

12. Elliott Whitehead

13. Joe Tapine

[bonehead]

I started with GE's side and tweaked.

1. Gary Belcher
2. Noa Nadruku
3. Mal Meninga
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Brett Mullins
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Josh Papalii
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. David Furner
12. Ruben Wiki
13. Brad Clyde

14. Josh Hodgson
15. Quentin Pongia
16. John Lomax
17. Jason Croker

18. Dean Lance

Coach: Tim Sheens


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[Perth Raiders]

From 1990-

1. Brett Mullins
2. Noa Nadruku
3. Mal Meninga
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Ken Nagas
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Josh Papalii
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. David Furner
12. Brad Clyde
13. Jason Croker

14. Josh Hodgson
15. Ruben Wiki
16. Jack Wighton
17. Elliott Whitehead

18. John Bateman

Coach: Tim Sheens

[edwahu]

GE's side but swap Backo for Sia as I was too young to remember Backo.

[Ilanraiders]

1. Belcher
2. Chicka
3. Croker
4. Big Mal
5. Mullins
6. Daley
7. Stuart
8. Lazarus
9. Walters
10. Papa
11. Lance
12. Wiki
13. Clyde

14. Jason Croker
15. Furner
16. Pongia
17. Tongue

18. Hodgson
19. Graham

Coach: Sheens

[Azza]

For me it’d be a best all time team...

1. Gary Belcher
2. John Ferguson
3. Mal Meninga
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Josh Papalii
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. David Furner
12. Ruben Wiki
13. Brad Clyde

14. Josh Hodgson
15. Sam Backo
16. John Lomax
17. Jason Croker

18. Brett Mullins

Coach: Tim Sheens

Hard to argue with this, I'd probably be tempted to swap Mullins in for Rapana if anything, Lomax was a great prop forward too but a bit of a liability at times with his tackling technique. Other than that spot on.

[Horace Dove-Edwin]

1. Belcher
2. Rapana
3. Meninga
4. Jackson
5. Ferguson
6. Daley
7. Stuart
8. Papalii
9. Walters
10. Lazarus
11. Furner
12. Wiki
13. Clyde

14. Pongia
15. Soliola
16. Whitehead
17. Croker

I go back to 1984.
I had most difficulty with the wingers and bench forwards.
Vainikolo, Nagas, Noa. Chicks was first picked. Raps is awesome and provides so much.
I've got a lot of time for Joel Thompson, Davico, Backo, Hetherington and Alan Tongue.

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[thedevilingreen]

Gee it's a hard one to pick so many players that can be in the position
1. Belcher
2. Rapana
3. Meninga
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Nadruku
6. Daley
7. Stuart
8. Lomax
9. S.Walters
10. Papalii
11. Bateman
12. Furner
13. Clyde
14. Hodgson
15. Jason Croker
16. Wiki
17. Wighton

[afgtnk]

Fan since 1997

Schifcofske
Mullins
J Monaghan
Leilua
Rapana
Daley
Stuart
Papalii
Hodgson
Shillington
B Kennedy
Wiki
Clyde

Interchange
Wighton
Jason Croker
Davico
Learoyd-Lahrs

18th man: Furner
19th man: Priddis
20th man: Vaughan

Coach: Meninga

[Wiki Special]

'87-Now

1. Belcher
2. Ferguson
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Meninga (c)
5. Rapana
6. Daley
7. Stuart
8. Papalii
9. Walters
10. Lazarus
11. Wiki
12. Furner
13. Clyde

14. Hodgson
15. Pongia
16. Lance
17. Jason Croker

18. Bateman
19. Mullins

[dubby]

This is actually quite hard. I could name any player on any day.

Here's my sentiment TODAY.

1. Belcher
2. Rapana
3. Meninga
4. Wiki
5. Chicka Ferguson
6. Daley
7. Stuart
8. Lazarus
9. Walters
10. Papalii
11. Whitehead
12. Coyne
13. Clyde

14. Lance
15. O' Sullivan
16. Shifcofski
17. Tongue


Hard to leave out players like Campese, Miller, Thompson, Backo, Grant, Crokers

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[reptar]

You guys need to get out more...

[Mr Squiggle]

1. Belcher
2. Mullins
3. Mal
4. Croker
5. Chicka
6. Loz
7. Sticky
8. Papa
9. Boxhead
10. Lazzo
11. Croker
12. Whitehead
13. Clyde

14. Hodgo
15. Wiki
16. Furner
17. Rapana

[dubby]

You guys need to get out more...

Yeah that's illegal

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[reptar]

You guys need to get out more...

Yeah that's illegal

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Depends how hard it is to find toilet paper...

[-PJ-]

I started with GE's side and tweaked.

1. Gary Belcher
2. Noa Nadruku
3. Mal Meninga
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Brett Mullins
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Josh Papalii
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. David Furner
12. Ruben Wiki
13. Brad Clyde

14. Josh Hodgson
15. Quentin Pongia
16. John Lomax
17. Jason Croker

18. Dean Lance

Coach: Tim Sheens


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I'll do the same..tweak a little.
1. Gary Belcher
2. John Ferguson
3. Malcolm Meninga
4. Rubén Wiki
5. Brett Mullins
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Josh Papalii
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. David Furner
12. Quentin Pongia
13. Bradley Clyde (how good was he ?)

14. Jason Croker
15. Dean Lance
16. Chris OSullivan
17. John Lomax

18th man - Peter Davis..

[Sid]

The tricky thing with this for me is that a lot of players that were by far my favourite for a short time disappointed me afterwards, whether it was for attitude or performance issues

I didn’t really start watching league until around the naughties onwards and didn’t get to see Raiders games until about mid naughties onwards (FTA access) so a lot of the golden era crew wouldn’t be on my list

I’ll have a crack anyway

1. Schifcofske
2. Vainkilolo
3. Croker
4. Leilua
5. Rapana
6. Campese
7. Carney (we had a lot of great 6’s, not really 7’s)
8. Papalii
9. Hodgson
10. Boyd
11. Furner
12. Bateman
13. Fensom

14. Vaughan
15. TLL
16. Weyman
17. CNK

18. Cotric

Are we picking our favourite bench players or best starting players can spill onto the bench?

[BadnMean]

Background- became vaguely aware of league and traded footy cards and watched a bit in '87/'88, have impressions and a few memories of that year (Backo was scary). Hooked in '89 as a 10 year old.

1. Gary Belcher- we've had some excellent fullbacks. But only one great one. His style would still translate today as he almost pioneered the ball playing fullback chiming into the backline role. Positioning and hands outstanding. Quick. Smart. Decent defender and great organiser.

2. Jordan Rapana- close one. Many outstanding candidates and as exciting as Noa was or smooth as Nagas was or however briefly and brightly Mullins burned I think Jordy has them all covered for keeping an outrageously high level up for so long. Allied with his quality work in defence and ability to create for others I'll go with Jordy. Only by about 1%- like that shanked dropout in extra time he was the only guy on the field with the hunger, heart and athleticism to pull off that true 1%er match winner.

3. Mal Meninga- at times watching Mal on replay almost looks unfair. How could anyone compete with him? He was bigger, faster, more skilful and knew the game. He kicked in general play, he lead from the front, he crunched in defence. Immortal.

4. Ruben Wiki- you could pick him in any number of positions. I've gone for centres. We have any number of outrageously skillful, quick players in this backline who can unlock the cagiest of defences. I think having a raging bull who can run through walls and who destroys anything within a 5m radius in defence is a nice compliment.

5. Chicka Ferguson- Chicka wore #5. The bloke was uncanny. I've never seen a more loved player at Bruce. Not a single player has brought me more joy. He could fool his own boots.

6. Laurie Daley- Loz was the full strength version of Jack Wighton.

7. Ricky Stuart- better than Joey and it isn't that close.

8. Josh Papalii- rewatch last season. There's your reason.

9. Steve Walters- hard one as I;ve had to leave out the best player of our current crop for him. Boxhead was the best hooker in the comp for a long time. He was strong as a little wombat, took great options, passed well. He had all the hookers skills of the day in scrums and the rakeback was a thing of beauty, used with a sense of timing like Hodgo's steal. I was actually 50/50 between the two, I could go either way. I went with Walters only because I think his more direct style, not controlling all the play would gel better with Ricky and Loz needing plenty of ball.

10. Glenn Lazarus- a literal brick with eyes, enough said, just look at the premierships.

11. David Furner- a class act. Good step, good hands, attack threat, loved a hit in defence, wholehearted. He's also kicking the goals in my team.

12. Elliot Whitehead- toss up with Gary Coyne. I went with Whitehead as both were classic, tough as nails workhorses with an under-rated skill set and footy brain beneath it, but Elliot is just a touch more dynamic.

13. Brad Clyde- I've never seen a better lock. Lolo might be as good, in a different way, but Clyde offers just as much.

14. Jack Wighton- my supersub and backline cover.

15. Jason Croker- you just have to have him in somewhere. Hardest man to ever pull on a green jersey. Snapped his anterior cruciate and finished the game. All 60 minutes of it. You'll never see that again. Can play literally any position on the park and do it well. Iron shoulders, good footwork, knows how to pass, fights all day and never gives up.

I remember Sheens once said it didn't matter where Toots played, but he'd always be in his starting team no matter what. Well this is an all time team and he's in my all time team, no matter what. Forward utility/backrow/lock sub as needed.

16. Sam Backo- still some old games on youtube with him for Raiders. Gees he was good. Rampaging at times and always bloody tough. Good offload.

17. David Shillington- wanted a more mobile prop to bring on and a different shape to all the other stocky/barrel props in the team (so Lomax, Pongia unlucky omissions). Was awfully good for us for an awfully long time. Maybe one bad game near the end soured people on him but perhaps unfairly. Could have gone Paul Vaughan for a similar role but Shilli did far more while he was playing for us.

[greeneyed]

The tricky thing with this for me is that a lot of players that were by far my favourite for a short time disappointed me afterwards, whether it was for attitude or performance issues

I didn’t really start watching league until around the naughties onwards and didn’t get to see Raiders games until about mid naughties onwards (FTA access) so a lot of the golden era crew wouldn’t be on my list

I’ll have a crack anyway

1. Schifcofske
2. Vainkilolo
3. Croker
4. Leilua
5. Rapana
6. Campese
7. Carney (we had a lot of great 6’s, not really 7’s)
8. Papalii
9. Hodgson
10. Boyd
11. Furner
12. Bateman
13. Fensom

14. Vaughan
15. TLL
16.
17.

Are we picking our favourite bench players or best starting players can spill onto the bench?

The latter.

[The Green Hornet]

I was at the game where Jason Croker snapped his cruciate ligament. Could not believe he played on. Ridiculously tough. Noone will ever repeat that. Like, ever.

Agree, he must be in this team, or any team ever picked which includes raiders greats.

[afgtnk]

I was at the game where Jason Croker snapped his cruciate ligament. Could not believe he played on. Ridiculously tough. Noone will ever repeat that. Like, ever.

Agree, he must be in this team, or any team ever picked which includes raiders greats.

Me too - was Roosters at home in '01 wasn't it?

Hard to find a tougher SOB than him. Skillful and versatile to boot too.

[The Green Hornet]

I was at the game where Jason Croker snapped his cruciate ligament. Could not believe he played on. Ridiculously tough. Noone will ever repeat that. Like, ever.

Agree, he must be in this team, or any team ever picked which includes raiders greats.

Me too - was Roosters at home in '01 wasn't it?

Hard to find a tougher SOB than him. Skillful and versatile to boot too.

Yes, pretty sure it '01, definitely at home. Can't remember who we played, just remember driving home after the game and the radio says "Croker played with a snapped knee".
Omg. How?

[MaxPower]

1. Brett Mullins
2. Ken Nagas
3. Mal Meninga
4. Peter Jackson
5. John Ferguson
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Glenn Lazurus
9. Steve Walters
10. Josh Papali
11. David Furner
12. Jason Croker
13. Brad Clyde
14. Ruben Wiki
15. Clinton Scifcofske
16. Terry campese
17. Sam Backo

I'm a qlder and still stink Brett Mullins is a no brainer for fullback
Badge was awesome but Mullins is no 1
Hodgson is on his way but can't dislodge Boxhead
Jacky boy's stocks are going up but just misses out
Special mention to Alan Toungue, and our underrated but brutal forward packs from 1988-1995
Also Paul Osborne - 18th man

[Botman]

I was at the game where Jason Croker snapped his cruciate ligament. Could not believe he played on. Ridiculously tough. Noone will ever repeat that. Like, ever.

Agree, he must be in this team, or any team ever picked which includes raiders greats.

Me too - was Roosters at home in '01 wasn't it?

Hard to find a tougher SOB than him. Skillful and versatile to boot too.

A crow bar to the skull couldnt stop him, as the stories go. Just hard as ****. And yeah, super underrated in terms of his skill.
He wasnt quite what Furner was in his day as a player as a backrower, and certain not what Clyde was. But he was a DAMN good footballer. And his veratility was second to none. Few have aquitted themselves so well across so many different positions. I think the older i get, the more i appreciate what a journey it is for guys like Wiki, Croker and the ultimate imo, Luke Lewis

I think that level of skill to not only play so many different roles, and excel in them is really something special. These guys adapted like few others are capable of

[Seiffert82]

Here's my starting XIII players that I ultimately couldn't wait to see the back of, either because they were bad news, overpaid or they simply started phoning it in after hitting their peak.

1. Josh Dugan (bad news and eventually just phoned it in)
2. Reece Robinson (allergic to defence like no other player I've seen)
3. Jason Bulgarelli (just awful, both as a player and a human)
4. David Howell (must have been a bloody good trainer)
5. Adrian Purtell (so slow his 64 games felt like 164)
6. Blake Austin (**** knows what went on there)
7. Josh McCrone (tried hard, just made inexplicable errors - all the time)
13. Frank-Paul Nu'uausala (probably played 2 decent games for us, terrible recruit)
12. Tyran Smith (good player, hands like flippers, not sure what happened to him)
11. Bronson Harrison (was immense at his best, then became simply the worst)
10. Ryan O'Hara (made Origin and then it went to his head)
9. Glen Buttriss (good bloke, hard nomination, out of his depth in first grade)
8. Shannon Boyd (how he played for Australia is beyond me)

[-PJ-]

The tricky thing with this for me is that a lot of players that were by far my favourite for a short time disappointed me afterwards, whether it was for attitude or performance issues

I didn’t really start watching league until around the naughties onwards and didn’t get to see Raiders games until about mid naughties onwards (FTA access) so a lot of the golden era crew wouldn’t be on my list

I’ll have a crack anyway

1. Schifcofske
2. Vainkilolo
3. Croker
4. Leilua
5. Rapana
6. Campese
7. Carney (we had a lot of great 6’s, not really 7’s)
8. Papalii
9. Hodgson
10. Boyd
11. Furner
12. Bateman
13. Fensom

14. Vaughan
15. TLL
16. Weyman
17. CNK

18. Cotric

Are we picking our favourite bench players or best starting players can spill onto the bench?

The 17 that stirred your loins mate..toey like a Roman sandel..

[-PJ-]

Here's my starting XIII players that I ultimately couldn't wait to see the back of, either because they were bad news, overpaid or they simply started phoning it in after hitting their peak.

1. Josh Dugan (bad news and eventually just phoned it in)
2. Reece Robinson (allergic to defence like no other player I've seen)
3. Jason Bulgarelli (just awful, both as a player and a human)
4. David Howell (must have been a bloody good trainer)
5. Adrian Purtell (so slow his 64 games felt like 164)
6. Blake Austin (**** knows what went on there)
7. Josh McCrone (tried hard, just made inexplicable errors - all the time)
13. Frank-Paul Nu'uausala (probably played 2 decent games for us, terrible recruit)
12. Tyran Smith (good player, hands like flippers, not sure what happened to him)
11. Bronson Harrison (was immense at his best, then became simply the worst)
10. Ryan O'Hara (made Origin and then it went to his head)
9. Glen Buttriss (good bloke, hard nomination, out of his depth in first grade)
8. Shannon Boyd (how he played for Australia is beyond me)

Loving the Purtell jibe..
TyranSmith- more clubs than a cover band.

[BadnMean]

Tyran Smith was an ok FG'er, worth feeding. But he was a journeyman who we recruited on superstar money.

Surprised Seiffert's team has more McCrone and less Orford. I can't fault McCrone as a bloke and a tryer but I suppose he makes the team because he tortured us for longer. I still remember the days when it was argued that because McCrone had poor decision making under pressure, a dodgy passing game and no ability to control a match, that made him the ideal candidate to shift from half to hooker

Thank Stick for Hodgo.

[Seiffert82]

Tyran Smith was an ok FG'er, worth feeding. But he was a journeyman who we recruited on superstar money.

Surprised Seiffert's team has more McCrone and less Orford. I can't fault McCrone as a bloke and a tryer but I suppose he makes the team because he tortured us for longer. I still remember the days when it was argued that because McCrone had poor decision making under pressure, a dodgy passing game and no ability to control a match, that made him the ideal candidate to shift from half to hooker

Thank Stick for Hodgo.

Yeah, I was flip-flopping between Orford and McCrone. During his career, I gave McCrone credit for giving it 100%. Ultimately though, we needed to upgrade that position in a big way for us to move up the ladder.

Orford's horrific time here was relatively short, which saved him from my lineup - I could have quite easily slotted him in there though. Big money with arguably a negative return. Just terrible.

[Turt]

I was at the game where Jason Croker snapped his cruciate ligament. Could not believe he played on. Ridiculously tough. Noone will ever repeat that. Like, ever.

Agree, he must be in this team, or any team ever picked which includes raiders greats.

Me too - was Roosters at home in '01 wasn't it?

Hard to find a tougher SOB than him. Skillful and versatile to boot too.

Yes, pretty sure it '01, definitely at home. Can't remember who we played, just remember driving home after the game and the radio says "Croker played with a snapped knee".
Omg. How?

Was the Roosters. I remember going to a party after the game and giving it to a Roosters fan :-)

[Cranky Old Man]

I see Sam Backo nominated in surprisingly many teams. As a bloke I really liked Sam, good hearted, happy go lucky and generous, and very talented. I played against him a few times, and around the sheds he was popular, his talent recognised but he was considered a bit "soft", and used to cop an inordinate amount of sledging as a consequence. I was overseas when he came into grade, and on return I was a bit shocked to see him there, but old Don Furner sure had a better eye for potential than I ever did.
I still find it hard to believe he would make any All Time team.