A player you thought was gun who was bum???

[nqboy]

Owen Cragie - talent to burn...he really could have been something special.

His attitude makes Perry look like an Immortal.

Good call.

 

[nqboy]

Phil Carey, I can still remember the byline in RLW when Arko signed him, "He will play tests". Never looked like it, speed to burn but always appeared overweight.

 

[Collateral]

Luke Branighan

 

[Raider_69]

talent is one thing Raider69....80% of players have that....putting it on the park is another.

isnt that the point of this thread?
highlighting the exceptionally talented players who could of been anything but for one reason or another never reached potential?

 

[sting]

i heard this sonny bill williams bloke was supposed to be huge.....

 

[sooperdooper]

I have to say...is Soward gonna show somehting soon or what? Just hasn't lived up to the hype if you ask me. Same with Todd Carney. Perhaps this is the year they step up. I mean both have shown potential as good first graders but hardly look like future origin halves.

are you serious?
if you are i may as well say, when is jarrod mullen going to show something?
soward was in the winning flegg team in 04 played PL in 05 and a few nrl games...

 

[sooperdooper]

Tim Smith would be one who suprised many...probally most Parra fans. I don't think he was a junior superstar - did he ever make any jnr rep sides? Now he lookes well on his way to a rep jersey.

Tim Smith surprised no one..
we all knew of him and he had be tearing down the lower grades.
Was Aus Schoolboys half few years ack

 

[Mr Saab]

isnt that the point of this thread?
highlighting the exceptionally talented players who could of been anything but for one reason or another never reached potential?

yes, but saying mclinden should have played for australia if he was consistent is a little over the top.
It would be like me saying K Hunt should have been fullback for QLD the past 2 yrs.

 

[sooperdooper]

Did he play for the Jnr Kangaroos. I know the Knights wearn't one of those ten clubs then. :LOL:

Usually if someone is been chased by ten clubs then they would be talked up on here a lot. Never heard him mentioned until his debut week.

you must not follow jnr footy.
he tore down flegg and PL

i bet the knights were a good chance of chasing him..
jnr roos means nothing at all... heaps of players have played for them to end up in PL

mullen cpt of schoolboys? well done, shame he was useless in the games

 

[sooperdooper]

Did he play for the Jnr Kangaroos. I know the Knights wearn't one of those ten clubs then. :LOL:

Usually if someone is been chased by ten clubs then they would be talked up on here a lot. Never heard him mentioned until his debut week.

you must not follow jnr footy.
he tore down flegg and PL

i bet the knights were a good chance of chasing him..
jnr roos means nothing at all... heaps of players have played for them to end up in PL

mullen cpt of schoolboys? well done, shame he was useless in the games

 

[Bomber]

I have to agree with Mr Saab....I was convinced in 1997 that Andrew Dunneman was going to be the first Great Cowboys Halfback.....little did I know that I had to wait another 8-9 years for Thurston to arrive.....

 

[Raider_69]

yes, but saying mclinden should have played for australia if he was consistent is a little over the top.
It would be like me saying K Hunt should have been fullback for QLD the past 2 yrs.

No itd be like if in 5 years time if Hunt hasnt played rep footy, you saying K.Hunt had the talent to play for QLD.

I disagree that it was over the top, he has natural talent coming out of his arse, IMO easily one of the more talented players ive seen in the past few years. IMO he had the ability and talent to represent australia. He and Owen Cragie are the two biggest wastes of talent ive seen.

 

[wittyfan]

Sinclair was special. I remember him at 5/8 for a no-name Tigers outfit dominating Wally Lewis and carving Brisbane at Lang Park in the late 80s (I think). The Tigers still lost (again, I think).

I remember that game. All the talk afterwards was Sinclair playing Origin that year, but it never happened.

 

[jamesgould]

I'm a huge fan, but I'd have to say Mark Mclinden would be someone who never lived up to his potential.

Started with a flash, and was touted as the next big thing. His NRL career ended up being punctuated with shades of brilliance and vast periods of inconsistency. Ashame.

I thought he was mis-cast as a halfback. His kicking game was too inconsistent, when good he was a match-winner (vs Brisbane 2003), but when off he couldn't drive the side round the field to save himself.

Put him at fullback in one of the well-performing clubs though, and he would carve it up, I reckon!

 

[Special K]

Russell Aitken.

He was the 5/8 when Tim Smith was the half. Everyone went on about Aitken and how good he is and would be. Was called the best sharks jnr since ET etc.

Stephen Ross

Double australian schoolboy. Signed as a 17 year old or something and was expected to play NRL but had bad knees due to how bloody big he was for a centre(i think he was around 110kg) and was a bad trainer so never made it.

Nathan Merritt

So far ahead of PL standard, yet so far below NRL.

Paul Mellor

Nuff said.

Paul Franze

Sharks rookie of the year 2002. Owned Gasiner in the 2002 final - did a knee and went to become a running joke.

Oh there are heaps more!

 

[Iafeta]

Does anybody remember Ewan McGrady for the Bulldogs in the early nineties? Talk about a one hit wonder. Wes Patten and Leo Dyvenor (spelling?) were another two who couldn't perform on a weekly basis but had freakish talent when they were on form.

As far as current players for my team I'd say Epalahame Lauaki hasn't quite lived up to the billing he first recieved when bursting onto the scene in 2004 I think it was. I'm hoping he's going to get a chance to turn that around this year so he's not a lost cause just yet.

Agree with Hame.

Others from the Warriors who spring to mind are Evarn Tuimavave, just doesn't seem to have it despite his junior pedigree, and Tevita Latu. Awesome start after his first game, then went Apo and sh!thouse all at once last season and that ended his career at the Warriors.

 

[dubby]

Albert Fulavai. Was supposed to be the NBT, but was a NWB.

 

[Snoop]

There was kid called Jamie Olejnik, who came into grade with Penrith. He had more natural ability than Brad Fittler. His football career was a waste

Manly got really excited when we bought him but he only a played a few games (injuries) I think and from memory he had some off field troubles. Did he go to the Western Reds?

 

[albi]

whoopppeee dooo..
Owen Craigie should have played for oz if he didnt discover KFC
Craig Field could have played for australia if he had the mental attitude

So he had one good yr and was player of the yr at the raiders. hoooray.
McLinden had talent, but so have about 100 other players who didnt play for australia.

Mclindin won NRL rookie of the year, and represented Country Origin. He had the makings of a representative player, but not the consistency.

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

Anthony Xuereb from Penrith.. Was a gun when he came into First Grade and then dissapeared without a trace. I agree to an extent with Raider_69.. The things McLinden did were out of this world in his debut year but he kind of got found out with his defence..

Bit like how Phil Blake burst on to the scene when he started his career.. Though I think Blake's overall career will be looked back on as a little more higher achieving than McLinden's ever will be.. It seemed to go to his head fairly quickly.