Mal Meninga, the greatest centre of the modern era

[Botman]

Langer had a significantly better career than Stuart, so you can make an argument he deserves to be higher.

However when they were at their peaks Stuart was clearly the better player at all levels of the game.

His career was better thanks largely to RL politics. Stuart owned him at SOO level and cleaned up his mess a number of times at International level.

He won 3.5 premierships to Stuart's 3.
When you take in the totality of their legacy as players, i dont think its actually close. Stuart was as successful, politics aside, probably more. And his impact on the game was head and shoulders above Langer.

[edwahu]

Langer had a significantly better career than Stuart, so you can make an argument he deserves to be higher.

However when they were at their peaks Stuart was clearly the better player at all levels of the game.

His career was better thanks largely to RL politics. Stuart owned him at SOO level and cleaned up his mess a number of times at International level.

He won 3.5 premierships to Stuart's 3.
When you take in the totality of their legacy as players, i dont think its actually close. Stuart was as successful, politics aside, probably more. And his impact on the game was head and shoulders above Langer.

Partly true but really Stuart was stuffed by injuries from 2006 onwards. Langer still went on to win Dally Ms and multiple Origin series.

[Azza]

Langer had a significantly better career than Stuart, so you can make an argument he deserves to be higher.

However when they were at their peaks Stuart was clearly the better player at all levels of the game.

His career was better thanks largely to RL politics. Stuart owned him at SOO level and cleaned up his mess a number of times at International level.

He won 3.5 premierships to Stuart's 3.
When you take in the totality of their legacy as players, i dont think its actually close. Stuart was as successful, politics aside, probably more. And his impact on the game was head and shoulders above Langer.

Partly true but really Stuart was stuffed by injuries from 2006 onwards. Langer still went on to win Dally Ms and multiple Origin series.

As far as I remember, Stuart stopped playing in the late 90's.

[Botman]

The origin wins count for something, cant begrudge him that.

But I couldnt give the faintest **** about Dally M's, thats never been a legitimate measure of the competition. And Langer got some treatment on Dally M's for similar political reason that lead to Johns collecting 1 or 2 points consistently when his team got played off the park.

The Dally M process has long been compromised.

I dont think anyone who actually knows and understands footy (and is commenting honestly) could have watched Langer and Stuart and conclude Langer was better.
And i understand i myself could be seen as being not answering honestly, im told plenty here i swing too far against my raiders bias and although it hurts me to say so, im comfortable saying i think Smith has surpasssed Walters and i think JT has a strong case against Stuart.

The only way Langer was better than Stuart is on a same scale that someone might make the case for Renouf over ET. On paper you can sqint and make the case. When you watched the games... not close

[edwahu]

Langer had a significantly better career than Stuart, so you can make an argument he deserves to be higher.

However when they were at their peaks Stuart was clearly the better player at all levels of the game.

His career was better thanks largely to RL politics. Stuart owned him at SOO level and cleaned up his mess a number of times at International level.

He won 3.5 premierships to Stuart's 3.
When you take in the totality of their legacy as players, i dont think its actually close. Stuart was as successful, politics aside, probably more. And his impact on the game was head and shoulders above Langer.

Partly true but really Stuart was stuffed by injuries from 2006 onwards. Langer still went on to win Dally Ms and multiple Origin series.

As far as I remember, Stuart stopped playing in the late 90's.

Oops, 1996. Only a decade out.

[greeneyed]

I think Stuart is No. 2, now after Thurston. I’ve long had the view Stuart should be ranked more highly than Johns. He’s certainly ahead of Langer. Agree Smith has now surpassed Steve Walters, but Walters is No 2 IMO.

[Ruben Daley]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

Ricky Stuart named at No. 5 in this opinion piece on the top halfbacks since 1980 - behind Andrew Johns, Johnathan Thurston, Alan Langer and Peter Sterling. What's your view, #Canberra #Raiders fans? #NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... 0c2f0cebed

Under-rates Stuart IMO.

Didnt see enough of Sterling to comment. But Langer over Stuart is objectively ridiculous. No question Stuart was significantly better.

I personally think Johns was overrated. Which is not to say he wasnt good, or even great. But the idea that he is the slam dunk greatest of all time to me is totally wrong. I think Stuart was more innovative and had more impact on the way RL is played, and i think JT was simply better.

I'd have Langer behind Cronk too

Agree 100%. Johns scored more tries and kicked goals so had some big individual scores in games. But a lot of the clever halfback tricks he gets credited for were invented by Ricky. Ricky was amazing.

Johns’ inflated legacy is the result of post-Super League hype and NSW pumping him up in the face of all the other best players of his era being Queenslanders.

Langer meanwhile was a crafty battler who was very tough mentally. But he wasn’t in the same ballpark skill-wise as Ricky, Johns or Thurston.

[yeh raiders]

They just gave it to Kenny to get clicks. Nobody with any passing knowledge of the game could agree.

I just saw their lists of Wingers had Brett Morris at #1 which is a pretty terrible call imo. Not that he wasnt a good player but I don't think there was a single season you could say he was the best or even in the top couple of wingers. Heres the full list btw:

1 BRETT MORRIS
2 ERIC GROTHE SNR
3 KERRY BOUSTEAD
4 WENDELL SAILOR
5 JOHN FERGUSON
6 MATT SING
7 ADAM MACDOUGALL
8 LOTE TUQIRI
9 NATHAN BLACKLOCK
10 NOA NADRUKU

Haha that’s ridiculous. Sailor was far better than Morris. I’d argue Blake Ferguson is clearly ahead of Brett Morris too.

[greeneyed]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

‪Time to vote MAL MENINGA Canberra Raiders fans! #NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr‬

‪Simply The Best: Which centre better than all the rest? https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/17/sim ... -the-rest/ via @NRL‬

[dubby]

I think Stuart is No. 2, now after Thurston. I’ve long had the view Stuart should be ranked more highly than Johns. He’s certainly ahead of Langer. Agree Smith has now surpassed Steve Walters, but Walters is No 2 IMO.

Agreed Fergus.

I can't separate JT and Ricky.

Actually I can.

It's Ricky.

Daylight.

JT.

Johns is immensely over rated

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[FuiFui BradBrad]

Langer had a significantly better career than Stuart, so you can make an argument he deserves to be higher.

However when they were at their peaks Stuart was clearly the better player at all levels of the game.

His career was better thanks largely to RL politics. Stuart owned him at SOO level and cleaned up his mess a number of times at International level.

He won 3.5 premierships to Stuart's 3.
When you take in the totality of their legacy as players, i dont think its actually close. Stuart was as successful, politics aside, probably more. And his impact on the game was head and shoulders above Langer.

Partly true but really Stuart was stuffed by injuries from 2006 onwards. Langer still went on to win Dally Ms and multiple Origin series.

As far as I remember, Stuart stopped playing in the late 90's.

Still technically true though. Wasn't that why Roosters had a bad year that year?

[edwahu]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

‪Time to vote MAL MENINGA Canberra Raiders fans! #NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr‬

‪Simply The Best: Which centre better than all the rest? https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/17/sim ... -the-rest/ via @NRL‬

With the cutoff 1990 you could almost make a case for Inglis. Almost.

[greeneyed]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

‪Time to vote MAL MENINGA Canberra Raiders fans! #NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr‬

‪Simply The Best: Which centre better than all the rest? https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/17/sim ... -the-rest/ via @NRL‬

With the cutoff 1990 you could almost make a case for Inglis. Almost.

Nah.

[BJ]

Nah Meninga still had 5 seasons in the 90s and 90-93 were particularly strong. His 91 was exceptional in my opinion. He really carried us with an constantly injured Stuart and Daley.

[dubby]

Mal was epic.

A true leader.

Big. Fast. Strong

Rose to the occasion.

He is THE reason this club still exists

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[greeneyed]

Best of the best: Rabbitohs gun Sam Burgess top of the locks?

3 Brad Clyde: The former Blues and Kangaroos star made 144 appearances in the No.13 jersey for the Raiders and Bulldogs from 1988-2000. A two-time Clive Churchill Medal winner (1989,91), Clyde rose on the big stage and was also crowned Dally M lock of the year in 1989-90. Remains one of Canberra’s greatest ever products.

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... 44fc761ae1

They have Sam Burgess at No. 1 (which is downright ridiculous) and Jason Taumalolo at No. 2.

[edwahu]

They've put the locks list up

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... 44fc761ae1

Burgess number 1 with Lolo and Clyde the top 3. Clyde is killing it in the voting with the comments giving it to the author for not putting him #1.

I have no doubt he was the best, even ahead of Lolo. Then it's daylight.

[Seiffert82]

Taumololo is pretty damn close. That guy is a machine. Clyde probably gets him in the ball playing department.

[Botman]

Yeah i cant blame anyone for voting Lolo. He's a physical monster and recency bias reigns supreme

But Clyde was a more skillful and rounded played. Burgess was a hell of a player. He's not in Lolo or Clyde's class imo

[julian87]

I think Stuart is No. 2, now after Thurston. I’ve long had the view Stuart should be ranked more highly than Johns. He’s certainly ahead of Langer. Agree Smith has now surpassed Steve Walters, but Walters is No 2 IMO.

Johns > Stuart and Furston

[julian87]

They just gave it to Kenny to get clicks. Nobody with any passing knowledge of the game could agree.

I just saw their lists of Wingers had Brett Morris at #1 which is a pretty terrible call imo. Not that he wasnt a good player but I don't think there was a single season you could say he was the best or even in the top couple of wingers. Heres the full list btw:

1 BRETT MORRIS
2 ERIC GROTHE SNR
3 KERRY BOUSTEAD
4 WENDELL SAILOR
5 JOHN FERGUSON
6 MATT SING
7 ADAM MACDOUGALL
8 LOTE TUQIRI
9 NATHAN BLACKLOCK
10 NOA NADRUKU

Haha that’s ridiculous. Sailor was far better than Morris. I’d argue Blake Ferguson is clearly ahead of Brett Morris too.

Blake Ferguson doesn’t come close to Brett Morris.

[BJ]

T

Haha that’s ridiculous. Sailor was far better than Morris. I’d argue Blake Ferguson is clearly ahead of Brett Morris too.

Blake Ferguson doesn’t come close to Brett Morris.

If Brett Morris was sipping Bacardi Breezers on a rooftop, then Ferguson might come close to him. Ignoring social distancing too.

[Seiffert82]

I think Stuart is No. 2, now after Thurston. I’ve long had the view Stuart should be ranked more highly than Johns. He’s certainly ahead of Langer. Agree Smith has now surpassed Steve Walters, but Walters is No 2 IMO.

Johns > Stuart and Furston

Johns was a great halfback, but a lot of stuff that was given credit for, Ricky Stuart was doing well before - and in most cases better. Stuart absolutely owned Johns in the long kicking department and the only person who had a better long pass than Stuart was aftgnk. Stuart was a fabulous organiser.

Johns was arguably a better front-on defender than Stuart, who often defended as a sweeper behind the line, organising the defence. This allowed Johns to successfully play as a dummy half in rep games, when players like Kimmorley, Toovey and Langer were regularly selected ahead of him at halfback.

Stuart played 5 straight seasons as halfback for NSW from 1990-94, ahead of guys like Sterling, Johns, Alexander, Taylor, Toovey, McGrady, Simon and Hasler. Johns peaked across 2001-06, but played high level rep for about 10 seasons, which is a credit to him.

Johns was a very versatile footballer and he had a longer career at the top of his game compared to Stuart (who struggled with injuries from 1996). I still think Ricky was terribly underrated by the media and at his best was just as good as Johns.

[RedRaider]

I don't know if anyone has been following the IRL on Twitter, but they're running a series of polls to determine the 'best' team ever.

Meninga was one of the centres (winning the vote), alongside Neil Fox of Wakefield, who just pipped Reg Gasnier.

Meninga was the only Australian to be picked across the back five.

Post up the team so we can pick it apart.

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Of course...

This isn't an English thing, though (although I don't know the mix of followers).

So far:

Full Back
Puig Aubert (France)

Wing
Martin Offiah (GB)
Billy Boston (GB)

Centre
Mal Meninga (Aus)
Neil Fox (GB)

Vote is open for stand-off and it's Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer, Roger Millward or Bob Fulton.

Presumably it will be Lewis (with Alex Murphy at scrum half).

Most already chosen are before my time, but the only one I can really disagree with is Offiah.

Wow, Puig Aubert is the fullback?? This is the player who point blank refused to tackle believing such work was done by forwards only. He was quite open about expressing his views that he did not tackle as well.

Agree Mal as the best Center. He was so physically dominant. I don't recall seeing Neil Fox play but if he was better than Reg Gasnier then he must have been a top line player. Gasnier had acceleration which got him from a jog to top speed in about 4 paces. He was phenomenal to watch. Like Mal he was not a selfish player either. Wingers loved being outside him because he would get through a defensive line and draw the last line defence before passing the ball.

Agree with those who rate Mark McGaw as well. He was the only player I saw who could match Mal in the physical contest. But that is where the comparison ends. Sparkles was a meathead.

[MrPosh]

Can't really comment on Aubert, but reading about him - although it's a little romanticised - makes it hard to argue.

Neil Fox is the highest ever points scorer in the game, with over 6,000 to his name. Again, before my time, but that's pretty compelling.

Lockyer has beaten Lewis for the six Jersey, so now it's on the halves.

Yes, Sticky is in there.

[edwahu]

Lockyer is an odd choice given Australia lost the world cup and 4 nations with him there. Wally was barely lost a game.

[greeneyed]

Lockyer is an odd choice given Australia lost the world cup and 4 nations with him there. Wally was barely lost a game.

It's not odd, it's ridiculous. Can't say the results have much credibility.

[greeneyed]

3 STEVE WALTERS

A three-time Dally M hooker of the year and a member of three premiership winning sides in Canberra, the eldest of the Walters clan was one of the finest players of his era and a regular for Queensland and Australia.

He sneaks ahead of his old rival Benny Elias due to greater success at club level and a longer period as Australia’s Test hooker. Tough and durable, but also capable of causing plenty of trouble with surges from dummy half, Walters was one of the prototypes of the modern hooker.

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... 4f3d089d66

They have Cameron Smith and Danny Buderus ranked in front of him. No way was Buderus a better hooker than Steve Walters. No doubt on Smith though.

[greeneyed]

3 STEVE WALTERS

A three-time Dally M hooker of the year and a member of three premiership winning sides in Canberra, the eldest of the Walters clan was one of the finest players of his era and a regular for Queensland and Australia.

He sneaks ahead of his old rival Benny Elias due to greater success at club level and a longer period as Australia’s Test hooker. Tough and durable, but also capable of causing plenty of trouble with surges from dummy half, Walters was one of the prototypes of the modern hooker.

7 JOSH HODGSON

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... 4f3d089d66

They have Cameron Smith and Danny Buderus ranked in front of Walters. No way was Buderus a better hooker than Steve Walters. No doubt on Smith though. Farah, Elias, Luke in front of Hodgson. Other players who played with the Raiders... Priddis (10) and Berrimah (18).

[edwahu]

I feel Buderus has become a little overrated since he retired. He was a good player but not nearly as influential as others on that list.

[greeneyed]

I feel Buderus has become a little overrated since he retired. He was a good player but not nearly as influential as others on that list.

I reckon he became massively overrated while playing. It’s subsided quite a bit since he retired, but clearly not enough for this author.

[julian87]

Quick question. Was Kerrod Walters on the list? I think he’s become a forgotten/underrated player of the past. I never liked him but he was a gun.

[greeneyed]

Quick question. Was Kerrod Walters on the list? I think he’s become a forgotten/underrated player of the past. I never liked him but he was a gun.

Yes he was... I think just outside the top 10. He played more rep footy than he should have IMO.

[greeneyed]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

Canberra Raiders Immortal Mal Meninga voted by rugby league fans as the best centre of the modern era. #NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr

NRL 2020: Simply the Best centres https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/23/col ... -the-best/ via @NRL

[edwahu]

@TheGHRaiders on Twitter

Canberra Raiders Immortal Mal Meninga voted by rugby league fans as the best centre of the modern era. #NRL #WeAreRaiders #wearecbr

NRL 2020: Simply the Best centres https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/04/23/col ... -the-best/ via @NRL

Well done Mal. You couldn't have a "Simply the Best" team and leave the games biggest superstar when they launched the campaign out.