Benny Elias

[simon says]

All this talk of the best of the last 30 years has got my goat.

Steve Walters and Buderus in front of Benny.....who IMO is the prototype for the modern day hooker.

I reckon we take for granted hookers that can kick,dummy,control play.....but ill tell you one thing,before Benny this was unheard of.

The test rake before Benny was Max Krillich,who was honest,but gee he would either pass from dummy half or have a dab himself,kicking,chipping,dummying,raking...etc etc were unheard of.

IMO....saying Walters is better than Elias is like saying Buderus is better than Farah or Smith........Walters and Buderus both hard and tanks......but their rivals can control a game like a 6/7.

Thoughts......

 

[tiger_nick]

Buderus better then Elias? hhahahaa what a joke.

Buderus without Johns, an above average first grader at best.

Simons right, Benny revolutionized the hooking role, before him the hooker was mainly a defender who could pass from the ground and sneak some meters when required. He made it into a specialist attacking role, and this was in the old 5 meter rule.

Benny was also a big game player, Buderus has never dominated an origin game like Elias would. If Buderus is NSW hooker again this year they wont get near QLD

 

[themanonthehill]

Haha buderus the same one who can't pass left to right
Please these morons have no idea ... there was nothing Benny couldn't do .. chip and chase, great service out of dummy hlf, play first receiver, good defender, could split a defence on a slow PTB (much like Robbie can - the other 2 can only do anything on the back of a quick PTB), field goals, charge downs (soufs in a major semi in 89 comes to mind - we were walking - currier scored 2 plays later), could milk a penalty when his team was going nowhere, could get a player riled and have them marched (that soufs spastic fenech comes to mind), and the amount of times he won scrums against the feed

Buderus is a f**king hack ... he wouldn't even make BRET's starting 13 ... farah is a light year in front of the prick and i'd take flanagan ahead of him.

As for walters .. he and his brother were over-rated and walters did nothing but scoot on quick play the balls

f**k em ... Shaiben was a god and the only one that will come close is ShaiRob

One of my big Balmain mates who gave it away when we merged made me a Benny DVD ... if you don't blow a load watching how good benny was then you are not football !

 

[madunit]

I can't believe there has actually been a debate over this, In all honesty I think it's quite fair to say that Benny is the greatest hooker to ever play the game. Hookers nowadays are more diverse because of the way Benny played. He was an innovation for Rugby League.

 

[baddog]

pains me to say it, but benny is no.1, changed the game for hookers like gilly did for keepers.

steve walters wasn't even the best hooker in his family.

 

[innsaneink]

Maybe he woulda been there if they made it top 50.

Looks like hes not as good as old balamin fans make him out to be...wasnt even good enough to win a comp.

 

[themanonthehill]

So according to ink logic wests didn't have a good player from 1952 on

 

[innsaneink]

All his rivals managed to win a comp.
Looks to me like the black n gold goggles have been well and truly dusted off.

 

[themanonthehill]

Daniel Fitzhenry has won a comp
Eric Grothe Jr hasn't .. so by your logic Fitzy is better grothe
You really are a tool

 

[madunit]

Jason Croker has won a Grand Final and Wally Lewis hasn't, thus Croker is better?

hahaha

 

[tiger_nick]

So Shane Perry is a better player then Tommy Radonikis is he ink?

 

[HOT028]

Maybe he woulda been there if they made it top 50.

Looks like hes not as good as old balamin fans make him out to be...wasnt even good enough to win a comp.

you are kidding yourself, wake up.

 

[themanonthehill]

So Shane Perry is a better player then Tommy Radonikis is he ink?

Hahahaah goooooooooooooolllazo
Screamer into the top corner !!!
Ink is being an arumentative tool end of story
While Benny was carving up week after week Ink was watching legends like alan fallah and a past it joe thomas

 

[Eddie.]

ink is just being a bitter and grumbling turd

instead of debating the subject in terms of their ability, he grunts "wasnt good enough to win a comp" and walks away

 

[themanonthehill]

Incidentally i havent bought the RLW
But where was Brett kenny
The fact Lockyer, Fittler, Lewis were ranked ahead of him shows the poll has no idea
Brett Kenny was the supreme 5/8 in the 1980s and did it week after week , year after year
Lewis played 3 games a year and put in the odd good game for COmbined Brisbane at Leichhardt oval

 

[innsaneink]

ink is just being a bitter and grumbling turd

instead of debating the subject in terms of their ability, he grunts "wasnt good enough to win a comp" and walks away

Hahaha
And eddies a positive ray of sunshine.

Poor benny, no ring, no top 30, and working for a silvertail sugar daddy, I heard on Sat he tipped the Sea Eagles to win the comp....talk abouut a sell-out, add loyalty to that list of 'dont haves' too.

 

[simon says]

Elias was in the top 30......he is behind Walters,Buderus and Cam Smith.

Its a shame IMO that the greatest hooker to ever play the game isnt even in the top three for the last thirty.

And peeps......dont bite at Ink.....he is lonely and has little excitement in the off season.

 

[simon says]

I can't believe there has actually been a debate over this, In all honesty I think it's quite fair to say that Benny is the greatest hooker to ever play the game. Hookers nowadays are more diverse because of the way Benny played. He was an innovation for Rugby League.

Spot on.......but not regarded at all for his contribution.

I think its fair to say that he is ranked by most fans and judges behind Steve Walters and I justy dont get it......I always thought Kerrod was the better of the two brothers,and both not even close to Benny's all round game.

They were good runners behind a quick play the ball.But you surely didnt see too many dummies,kicks,tries/assists.....etc etc etc.

Benny is very unfairly judged IMO.

 

[tiger_nick]

Elias was NSW's best player in the late 80s, early 90s. Steve Walters was a great player aswell, but didnt have nearly the amount of tricks in his bag that Benny did.

Cam Smith? WTF? Why does two good years put him ahead of others that had 10 great years at the top?

MOTH is right, Kenny being so low shows the credability of the poll. I remember watching a Origin special a year or two back and all the greats from the QLD teams of the early/mid 80s were saying how Kenny was the only Blues player they feared. Gene Miles said they breathed a sigh of relief when he was picked at center as he was the only player who could match Lewis.

 

[themanonthehill]

Elias and Kenny were for me the 2 players of their generation
Benny changed the way the game and their position was played ... how many players in the modern game can say that ?
Kenny was an absolute freak ... infrequent poster tottie saw kenny painting a shop in the city last yr .. kenny was shocked anyone knew who he was and was a very humble bloke he said ... kenny remains to this day my favourite non tigers player ever ... an absolute footballer

Lewis, Fittler, Daley don't get near him