Is Billy Slater the greatest full back rugby league has ever produced?

[Albert Rosenfeld]

Of the great Australian full backs Graeme "Changa" Langlands is an Immortal as is Clive Churchill. How does he compare to them?

Then there is the Frenchman Puig Aubert, who refused to tackle but was otherwise a freak with the ball in hand. Billy would seem to have it over the Gallic gentleman.

No Poms come to mind, nor do any Kiwis. So it is all a question of Slater vs Churchill and Slater vs Langlands.

 

[mave]

I wonder if he would have been as good if he hadn't played his whole career alongside Cronk and Smith.
If he would have been as good if he had been forced to move clubs halfway through his career and play with lesser spine players?

 

[JJ]

Yeah, nah, maybe, hard to say

 

[Dav0c]

Yes. He is the best player rugby league has ever produced. No one can deny this.

 

[Walt Flanigan]

Best I've seen? Maybe. Ever produced? couldn't say.

 

[The Beaver]

Best sportsperson that has ever played sport. Best bloke as well.

 

[mozza91]

Yeah it's either him or Jordan Tansey.

 

[skeepe]

He's got nothing on Brett Mullins.

 

[JJ]

Best sportsperson that has ever played sport. Best bloke as well.

You're confusing him with Mitchell Pearce

 

[Tommy Smith]

Voted "No. Graeme Langlands is."

I've seen highlights. With the 10m rule he'd be close to the GoaT.

Recency bias always wins in these debates.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

Yeah it's either him or Jordan Tansey.

Brett Mullins was one of those players as a kid i thought was the greatest thing ever alongside guys like Steve Renouf but than i got older and realized those guys never really did much in the Origin arena and modern players like Greg Inglis and Jarryd Hayne were actually much better players

 

[Lambretta]

Billy is the best I have ever seen.

Interesting that all three players named played for clubs with less than exemplary records on staying within the rules or doing the right thing

Souths boundary changes to ensure best advantage during the "live in the area of the club you play for" era

Dragons with bribary of referees to keep their Premiership run going (just ask Wests fans)

Storm with salary cap cheating

 

[mave]

I thought Billy boy, along with all the players and coaching staff were mere innocents in that scandal.

 

[kbw]

I voted yes based on his whole career. He has been an assistant coach at the Storm for a long time.
His positional play, attack, organisation is consistently good.
He made Cronk as much if not more than Cronk made him.

 

[kbw]

I thought Billy boy, along with all the players and coaching staff were mere innocents in that scandal.

Innocent in that they didn't organise it, but they knew and they willingly accepted the extra payments.
Innocent in they may not have known how rampant it was and what do you do if someone offers you $1million, say no I better only take $700K just in case ?

 

[mave]

Innocent in that they didn't organise it, but they knew and they willingly accepted the extra payments.
Innocent in they may not have known how rampant it was and what do you do if someone offers you $1million, say no I better only take $700K just in case ?

Hmmmmmm, hi Greg, do you like boats ? Do you normally get paid in marine craft, instead of $$ ?

Hello Cam, are you your own manager at the moment ?
Here, please sign these duplicate contracts...nothing suss.

 

[Pedge1971]

Billy just shades Garry Jack as the biggest merkin of a fullback ever.

Only because Jack was destroyed by Roberts when trying a typically merkin act on Ian.

Dont get the love for Billy. He is a failure by Australian standards at international level and a complete merkin.

Give me Churchill any day.

 

[King hit]

These goat debates are pretty silly at times because nobody has seen every single player play. Slater is the best fullback I've seen play but I know that Churchill changed the way fullbacks play. Slater wouldn't play the he does if it wasn't for Churchill. They were totally different eras as well.

 

[King hit]

Brett Mullins was one of those players as a kid i thought was the greatest thing ever alongside guys like Steve Renouf but than i got older and realized those guys never really did much in the Origin arena and modern players like Greg Inglis and Jarryd Hayne were actually much better players

But Mullins might be the player who played the most Origins and never lost. He played 5 and won them all and I can't think of somebody else with a perfect Origin record with that many games. He also scored 3 tries and did make the Maroons nervous when he got the ball. McGregor, Ettinghausen and Fittler had Renouf covered well in Origin from the games I've seen so I agree with that.

 

[kbw]

Hmmmmmm, hi Greg, do you like boats ? Do you normally get paid in marine craft, instead of $$ ?

Hello Cam, are you your own manager at the moment ?
Here, please sign these duplicate contracts...nothing suss.

Took a while for Inglis to accept the boat. He thought they didn't work in the rain too