I like that they have changed the man of steel system to reflect that of the Dally M awards, it really does make a whole lot more sense and the previous system was becoming a bit of a laughing stock amongst a lot of players.
As said we have been blessed with some great players over the years including some great prop forwards. As a young lad I loved watching big George Ballantyne , then there was the great Trevor Skerrett who was as good as any prop in the world , he was the player of the series on the Aus tour of 79. Later on we had Darren Fritz who was magnificent for us . Fafita gets better and better and imo is the best prop in SL, The two tries against Huddersfield, whose defense was excellent would not have been scored by any other SL player, he is the heartbeat of the team, the fans favorite, a hero , a marketing dream. All that said my favorite prop has to be the great John Burke, what a player, what a tackling machine, hard, uncompromising , non nonsense , plenty of dog in him. I remember the 1979 cup final when him and Skerrett were up against Jim Mills and Glyn Shaw. Skerrett was hit late in ribs with a cheap shot third man in shoulder by Keith Elwell that really hurt Trevor, his game was effected . John Burke took Mills and Shaw on, he just kept taking it to them. Toppo won the Lance Todd that day, the second time only that a player on the losing side had won the Mon of the match. The lance Todd was and still is voted on by the assembled press. That day in 1979 John Burke was runner up to Toppo , the press could not believe that a player had made 52 tackles and remember that the MOM vote is taken about 10 minutes before the end of the match. What a player, my bloody hero.
As said we have been blessed with some great players over the years including some great prop forwards. As a young lad I loved watching big George Ballantyne , then there was the great Trevor Skerrett who was as good as any prop in the world , he was the player of the series on the Aus tour of 79. Later on we had Darren Fritz who was magnificent for us . Fafita gets better and better and imo is the best prop in SL, The two tries against Huddersfield, whose defense was excellent would not have been scored by any other SL player, he is the heartbeat of the team, the fans favorite, a hero , a marketing dream. All that said my favorite prop has to be the great John Burke, what a player, what a tackling machine, hard, uncompromising , non nonsense , plenty of dog in him. I remember the 1979 cup final when him and Skerrett were up against Jim Mills and Glyn Shaw. Skerrett was hit late in ribs with a cheap shot third man in shoulder by Keith Elwell that really hurt Trevor, his game was effected . John Burke took Mills and Shaw on, he just kept taking it to them. Toppo won the Lance Todd that day, the second time only that a player on the losing side had won the Mon of the match. The lance Todd was and still is voted on by the assembled press. That day in 1979 John Burke was runner up to Toppo , the press could not believe that a player had made 52 tackles and remember that the MOM vote is taken about 10 minutes before the end of the match. What a player, my bloody hero.
I used to love watching Fritzy scatter people around, and his offload(s) to Andy Mason I seem to recall were excellent! But surely he was at his best in the S/R? I would give a mention to Adrian Shelford who had his moments for us, also Justin Poore who was a bit of a character, although he did leave on not great terms if I remember correctly. Tronc did look awesome in his very brief stint. I did have a soft spot for Korki, and Darrell Griffin did a great job for us in 2004. Fifita has to be now in the top 3 props ever to have played for us I would think, long may he continue.......
I used to love watching Fritzy scatter people around, and his offload(s) to Andy Mason I seem to recall were excellent! But surely he was at his best in the S/R? I would give a mention to Adrian Shelford who had his moments for us, also Justin Poore who was a bit of a character, although he did leave on not great terms if I remember correctly. Tronc did look awesome in his very brief stint. I did have a soft spot for Korki, and Darrell Griffin did a great job for us in 2004. Fifita has to be now in the top 3 props ever to have played for us I would think, long may he continue.......
Probably, other than those in the 1960's, after all they actually won stuff!
Probably, other than those in the 1960's, after all they actually won stuff!
Yeah true, I didn't start until about '84 ish, so only have what my dad told me, and obviously old games watched. I suppose it's a massive cliché, but it is a completely different game nowadays.....?