Best Canberra side ever

[jed]

it's possibly worth pointing out, a number of the folks here are probably a titch young to have seen some of the greats like Backo & Jackson playing. and unfortunately, when channel 9 choose to show highlights from the early years of the Raiders, it's only 30 seconds at a time.

I personally remember watching games from the late 80's onwards, so I was fortunate to see Peter Jackson playing, as well as seeing him in action in some of the Origin games (which thankfully you can buy highlights of on DVD)

 

[Kris_man]

where's your best ever Raiders team, jed?

 

[jed]

it's impossible to rate players across different eras. it's all well and good to say that so-and-so is better than someone else, but it they'd both been given the same opportunities, allowed to have the same training techniques, different players would reach different levels.

I've compiled a few teams in other threads (I can't be bothered digging them up), so I'll give you a new one.


1 Mullins
2 Nandruku
3 Meninga
4 Nagas
5 Ferguson
6 Daley
7 Stuart

8 Lazarus
9 Walters
10 Davico
11 Wiki
12 Furner
13 Clyde

14 Croker
15 Kennedy
16 Lance
17 Lomax

I was almost tempted to simply write down the '94 side though - they were absolutely brilliant, and played together as a team should.

 

[Anonymous]

I was almost tempted to simply write down the '94 side though - they were absolutely brilliant, and played together as a team should.

Aside from 3 positions, mine was the 94 side, I did it without even realising!

 

[Kris_man]

mine was the 94 team, bar 4: belcher, davico, lazarus and ferguson. Timbo - did you realise that yours and my teams are identical apart from the no.4 position? (Kenn'y my favourite ever player, but i couldn't leave Mullo out)

 

[hrundi99]

Davico x2?

 

[Kris_man]

Davico x2?

:lol: oops!

 

[greeneyed]

Sam Backo on the BENCH, with Davico in the starting lineup?

yeah that's correct, and there's two reasons for it:
1) i have never seen Backo play one game.
2) Backo didn't play many seasons for the Raiders.
3) Luke Davico was an awesome front rower. he, like mclinden and wiki, has been the lynchpin of the Raiders side over the past 5 or so years. any success we've had has been due to them.

What about Peter Jackson in the centres??????

as i said later on, i forgot about Peter Jackson. once again thuogh, i never saw him play. i'd have him in the centres in the B team, with Joel Monaghan going on to the bench.

I will have to give this B team thing some further thought, now I am home........ However, if Joel Monaghan is in a Raiders B team then the second tier is surprisingly weak......

Peter Jackson represented Australia from the Raiders as did Backo. Davico never made a rep team. Backo was so much more damaging as a front rower than Davico it wasn't funny...... Davico lasted longer, but Backo was a top class, very tough, front rower... not many brains, but he didn't need them to do the job......

 

[girvie]

1 Brett Mullins
2 Sean Hoppe
3 Mal Meninga
4 Peter Jackson
5 Noa Nadruku
6 Laurie Daley
7 Ricky Stuart
8 Steve Trindall
9 Steve Walters
10 Darren Fritz
11 Ruben Wiki
12 David Furner
13 Brad Clyde
14 Ken Nagas
15 Phil Blake
16 Quentin Pongia
17 Jason Croker

 

[thickos]

1.Belcher
2. Ferguson
3. Meninga (c)
4. Mullins
5. Nadruku
6. Daley
7. Stuart
8. Lazarus
9. Walters
10. Lomax
11. Wiki
12. Furner
13. Clyde

14. Croker
15. Jackson
16. Backo
17. O'Sullivan

coach: Tim Sheens

With my 'B' team reading:

1. Schifcofske
2. Vainikolo
3. J. Monaghan
4. Matt Wood
5. Nagas
6. McLinden
7. Henjak
8. Pongia
9. Woolford
10. Davico
11. Coyne
12. Barnhill
13. Kennedy

14. O'Hara
15. David Grant
16. Blake
17. Brent Todd

coach: Wayne Bennett

 

[greeneyed]

1 Brett Mullins
2 Sean Hoppe
3 Mal Meninga
4 Peter Jackson
5 Noa Nadruku
6 Laurie Daley
7 Ricky Stuart
8 Steve Trindall
9 Steve Walters
10 Darren Fritz
11 Ruben Wiki
12 David Furner
13 Brad Clyde
14 Ken Nagas
15 Phil Blake
16 Quentin Pongia
17 Jason Croker

Trindall and Fritz! Classics! You really are Steve aren't you?

 

[skeepe]

Hmmm... already given an A team, now for the B team

1. Clinton Schifcofske
2. Paul Martin
3. Matthew Wood
4. Peter Jackson
5. Ken Nagas
6. Mark McLinden
7. Ivan Henjak
8. Sam Backo
9. Simon Woolford
10. John Lomax
11. Ben Kennedy
12. Brett Hetherington
13. Gary Coyne

14. David Barnhill
15. Quentin Pongia
16. Craig Bellamy
17. David Boyle

 

[Prodigiousman]

Here's two ways of looking at it

Best of the Best (from the teams I saw since 1987)
1. Gary Belcher
2. Noa Nadruku
3. Mal Meninga (c)
4. Ruben Wiki
5. John Ferguson
6. Laurie Daley
7. Ricky Stuart
8. Brent Todd
9. Steve Walters
10. Glenn Lazarus
11. Jason Croker
12. David Furner
13. Bradley Clyde

14. Brett Mullins
15. Dean Lance
16. Ben Kennedy
17. Peter Jackson

With the A team in mind... here's the B team (players on A team bench incl)
1. Brett Mullins
2. Lesley Vainikolo
3. Peter Jackson
4. Ken Nagas
5. Sean Hoppe
6. Chris O'Sullivan
7. Mark McLinden
8. John Lomax
9. Luke Priddis
10. Quentin Pongia
11. Gary Coyne
12. Dean Lance
13. Ben Kennedy

14. Brett Hetherington
15. Clinton Schifcofske
16. Luke Davico
17. Sam Backo

 

[Kris_man]

another guy i forgot about: Matthew Wood. he was great - B Team for sure. but Brett Hetherington? he sucked :lol: :|

Prodigious man, i usually won't comment on other people's teams, but this time i will:
- Sean Hoppe, good choice, i forgot about him.
- Luke Priddis: seriously?? if you're allowed to include non-Raiders form, then sure, but if not, then he shouldn't be there.
- Luke Davico has Brent Todd for breakfast. seriously.

Peter Jackson represented Australia from the Raiders as did Backo. Davico never made a rep team.

not his fault. but yeah, seeing as thuogh i've never seen Backo, i'll have to take your word for it. you gotta admit though, Davico was a machine.

 

[ball boy]

kris priddis did play for australia while playing at the raiders

 

[greeneyed]

People are forgetting Kevin Walters for the B team too.

 

[Prodigiousman]

Kris Man - you're just after a confrontation - you seem to thrive on them...

Hetherington was a massive loss when he went to the Cowboys because we lost Ben Kennedy and David Furner in back to back seasons after Hetho left. Wiki is more of an enforcer defender than a breakaway/second phase attacking threat and the above guys were the ones we'd put all our efforts into keeping when we let Bradley Clyde go.

Make no mistake Hetho was a great second rower at the Raiders had a mighty offload and we haven't had a genuine backrow threat like him and BK/DF since. If not for major knee injuries in his stint with the Cowboys he'd have made them far more competitive in the seasons he was there.

Priddis I maintain was then and still is the superior player to Simon Woolford, we made a major error telling him he wasn't needed and he's proven that in his career since. By no means do I think having Priddis would've won us competitions that Woolford hasn't brought us - that would be foolish, but he was the better player and his pass first mentality worked beautifully with Daley, Woolford doesn't always subscribe to that theory. And besides who else do you pick at hooker. Think about the options before you criticise.

And as for Todd - how old are you Kris Man? just out of interest? I can totally understand if you rate Davico higher if he was in the team as you grew up, but if you saw Brent Todd he was a worker and an 80min man - that's what in truth got him in ahead of Lomax, Pongia and Davico. Sure the onus was on props to play longer minutes but if you have seen any of him with regularity (outside of maybe one game) Todd was the leader of the Raiders engine room - he was senior to Lazarus up front.

Anyway - do your worst...

 

[greeneyed]

I think Davico has been a good player for us over a long period; a loyal club player. However, he never really played up to the level of his potential IMO, probably mostly due in no small part to injury.

 

[Prodigiousman]

Davico was awesome over the 2000 and 2001 seasons, and very good in the last three years.

He proved that props mature in their late 20s and play their best when they hit that age group 27-30+

Sadly he will always think what if had injury not ruined his Origin chances.

 

[greeneyed]

In terms of front rowers, our greatest in order IMO were: Lazarus, Backo, Todd, Lomax. Davico doesn't make it in the top four for me. Pongia, Grant and Davico probably in the next lot.