Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 11:27 am  

bellycouldtackle wrote:

Presumably Ryan is at the club every day so its not hard to communicate with him. My feeling is that Ryan is the best UK player of his generation, he is the only player we have, and one of the very few in SL that creates opportunities out of nothing. He has blistering pace, he is an excellent defender, magnificent reader of the game. This quality of player does not come our way very often, Nigel Wright and Dave Topliss spring to mind. We have a gem on our hands, he is very very good now and will get even better. He should be the first name on the team sheet, he is the player the squad should be built around going forward. His signing is of paramount importance.

He`s not though is he? He is nowhere near based on what he has shown at this level, okay maybe if you had said the best Half/FB (Even then you are pushing it) but not the best player of his generation. Presumably you put him above the likes of John Bateman, Mark Percival, Tom Johnstone etc?

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 11:28 am  

bellycouldtackle wrote:

Presumably Ryan is at the club every day so its not hard to communicate with him. My feeling is that Ryan is the best UK player of his generation, he is the only player we have, and one of the very few in SL that creates opportunities out of nothing. He has blistering pace, he is an excellent defender, magnificent reader of the game. This quality of player does not come our way very often, Nigel Wright and Dave Topliss spring to mind. We have a gem on our hands, he is very very good now and will get even better. He should be the first name on the team sheet, he is the player the squad should be built around going forward. His signing is of paramount importance.

Really ? Best young player of his generation ? That being the case shouldn’t Leeds , Wigan saints all be making him an offer , to compare Hampshire to topliss and Nigel Wright I find quite bizarre , he’s a decent player with a bit of pace , he can’t run a game and at stand off has a bad habit of running his other backs out of the game and has a distinctly average kicking game , I hope he signs but am not that concerned if he doesn’t

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:48 pm  

Kirmudgeonly wrote:

Really ? Best young player of his generation ? That being the case shouldn’t Leeds , Wigan saints all be making him an offer , to compare Hampshire to topliss and Nigel Wright I find quite bizarre , he’s a decent player with a bit of pace , he can’t run a game and at stand off has a bad habit of running his other backs out of the game and has a distinctly average kicking game , I hope he signs but am not that concerned if he doesn’t

My thoughts also on Hampshire

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:06 pm  

There as not been any halfbacks in S L half as good as toppo I saw him play Right is way in front of rocky as well

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:36 pm  

I like Ryan a lot is main attribute is is pace in which you cannot beat or defend against, But ryan to me is in a vicious circle as a player he need more experience to make them correct Crucial calls in a game when it's needed most and that doesn't come without years of playing at the top level so i hope he is staying, But if he want's to go then fair enough good luck to the lad and then we could look at someone like jackson hastings.





Up The Trin

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:46 pm  

alegend wrote:

There as not been any halfbacks in S L half as good as toppo I saw him play Right is way in front of rocky as well

That’s a big statement and it’s your opinion so fair enough, however I don’t agree with you.

Toppo was a good halfback but not the best of his own generation, many of his peers were as good or better such as John Holmes, John Joyner, Steve Hartley, John Woods, Ken Kelly, Tony Myler, Eric Hughes etc

In the more modern era Sean Long was a better player as was Iestyn Harris, Robbie Paul, Tommy Martyn, Danny McGuire etc and that’s just trying to stick to Stand Offs & excluding Scrum Half’s.

With no disrespect toward Toppo at all, I think people view him with rose tinted glasses because of his loyalty for 10 years or so. IMO the best and more deserving of Legendary status Stand Off I’ve seen in Trinity colours is Harold Poynton.

[PopTart]

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:57 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

That’s a big statement and it’s your opinion so fair enough, however I don’t agree with you.

Toppo was a good halfback but not the best of his own generation, many of his peers were as good or better such as John Holmes, John Joyner, Steve Hartley, John Woods, Ken Kelly, Tony Myler, Eric Hughes etc

In the more modern era Sean Long was a better player as was Iestyn Harris, Robbie Paul, Tommy Martyn, Danny McGuire etc and that’s just trying to stick to Stand Offs & excluding Scrum Half’s.

With no disrespect toward Toppo at all, I think people view him with rose tinted glasses because of his loyalty for 10 years or so. IMO the best and more deserving of Legendary status Stand Off I’ve seen in Trinity colours is Harold Poynton.

I can't believe you have just said Tommy Martyn and Danny McGuire were better than David Topliss.

It's OK to list some of those players who played in DTs era as great players but Eric Hughes was a centre who moved to stand off, Tony Myler played when Topliss was getting old so a poor comparison, Steve Hartley was all about his speed and not creative and in fact wasn't even the best half back at his own club as he played alongside Roger Millward, John Holmes is a legend at Leeds and a truly great stand off but as much for his longevity just like you say Topliss is. Woods had skills there is no doubt but just not as good as the others in my opinion. Joyner was also a centre at his best.

Harold Poynton was an absolute great but played in such a different era it is really hard to compare.

But as the point was about Hampshire, I like him a lot, but as a half back, Topliss and Wright were considerably better. Rocky has lots of potential and time to improve to be able to catch them up.

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 4:14 pm  

Tommy Martin and Danny McGuire and Poynton aso well as the other stand-offs mentioned all played in teams with great players round them eg Burrows etc .Torppo was in a good Wakefield team but not great players round him.Toppo played for G B about twice against Australia at Wembley he run rings round them .He played in Ozz for one season at a unfashionable club got them into the top 8 and think they got to the final. Got to say hope Rocky stays, but if not wish him all the best but think there's a few players I would keep before Rock8

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:36 pm  

I don't know how old you are avenger but I am of an age that was lucky enough to watch toppo throughout his career. IMHO he was definitely the best stand off of his generation. Every away ground we went to wanted to know if he was playing they were petrified of him. The only season I can remember not being consistently great was the year after he went to Australia. The lad had everything and he was lightening over 30 yards.

Re: Hampshire : Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:01 pm  

It was not just his speed over 30 yards he could run at full pelt while is body was tilted .Kevin Harkin who played with him at Hull told me he tried to show a three quarters lineof New Zeland international how to do it and they kept falling over