Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 6:29 am  

I love Roby, but Cunningham was the King.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:41 am  

SLS wrote:

I genuinely think Roby's efforts have made people forget just how good Cunningham was.

I guess that's a massive compliment in itself. I often think that about Jamie Lyon and Paul Newlove.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:08 am  

Cunningham probably had the better composure stayed calm under pressure. Quite often hookers like Lowes, Newton, Hudson, Diskin use to go out of there way to make it personal and outplay play him over the 80mins, it didn,t bother Cunningham though he would come up with a winning play when it mattered.
Teams find it very difficult to contain Roby because of his all action style but it has been done, with Cunningham opposition coaches could,t create game plans to contain him, he must have been a nightmare.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:58 am  

Judder Man wrote:

Cunningham probably had the better composure stayed calm under pressure. Quite often hookers like Lowes, Newton, Hudson, Diskin use to go out of there way to make it personal and outplay play him over the 80mins, it didn,t bother Cunningham though he would come up with a winning play when it mattered.
Teams find it very difficult to contain Roby because of his all action style but it has been done, with Cunningham opposition coaches could,t create game plans to contain him, he must have been a nightmare.

That was probably the sheer brute force he had, which Roby can't match. Mind you, as someone else mentioned, it would have been a lot harder to concentrate on stopping KC when you had those many Saints Legends on the pitch at the same time. "Stop Roby and you stop Saints" is an indication that, at times, Roby hasn't had the support that KC pretty much always did.

Another thing to consider is that Cunnigham's appearance was around the same time that we signed Newlove, which is commonly thought od as the biggest factor in us turning from Bridesmaids to Brides in our double triumph in 96.
There were other players that help, Goulding obviously, Martyn returned to fitness, Apollo Perelini had settled in and Derek McVey added a real wildcard in the backrow, but Cunningham was a real revolution in terms of hooking play.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:00 am  

Two outstanding players who have contributed immensely for the club over the years.

Cunningham was world class. Towards the back end of his career he had a presence about him, simply by being on the field. He lifted those around him and the whole intensity of our defence was raised. Close to the line he was deadly and time and time again he would jump out of dummy half and produce a perfectly timed and weighted pass to put a runner over the line. On the back of a quick ruck he was incredibly difficult to stop and he adapted his game over time. Defensively he hurt the opposition and teams feared running at him. He played in some great teams and having Cunningham, Long, Sculthorpe and Wello as our spine was obviously a special period.

Robes is just an incredible athlete. He does 80 mins whenever he plays and stepped up at a time when many of our former legends left the club. His speed from dummy half is immense and he'll cause carnage if teams don't control the ruck. His stats are incredible and the amount of tackles and metres he makes every week is special. He's added a kicking game in recent times and like KC, he's evolved and his distribution and game management is outstatanding now too IMO. He's carried us on his back at times over the years and has been a phenomenal player for the club.

Hard to judge who's best. I'd probably go Cunningham but we've been privileged as fans to see two fantastic players pull on the 9 shirt for the time they have. Two legends.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:01 pm  

Roby is world class no doubt about it. I can't imagine any team in the world who wouldn't want him in their side.

My only criticism of all his skills is that is passing is often inaccurate. Sometimes it goes to the runner's shoulder which forces a pause in the run to get a grip on the ball flying at the runner's head/shoulder/knee.

Even that is not that often, just a little more often than usual for that position.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:36 pm  

I think Cunningham was quoted as saying "I could never do the things that Roby does, he'a machine", Roby would probably say the same thing about Cunningham. Other clubs have had to wait 20 years for this No 9 domination to weaken but we are keeping it rolling along.

Re: Cunningham vs Roby : Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:15 pm  

SLS wrote:

You won't find me saying a negative thing about Roby. He's a superb RL player.

However, the simple truth is that the only core skill he betters Cunningham at is kicking. Roby is an effort player and he surpasses all at it. Cunningham was that and more. He was a difference maker. He won games.

I genuinely think Roby's efforts have made people forget just how good Cunningham was. From the day he set foot on the rugby field, he was the best.

When Hanley was our coach, he'd give like a school report on each player every so often and the lads would open if read it and then would discuss with their mates at the club.

I remember one time KC report said "simply the best". Nothing else on it just those words.