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best nz five eighths since the 80's

sup42

sup42

Juniors
Messages
2,466
1. Marshall (World cup winning Captain, Grand final Winner, Golden Boot, Captain of Four Nations Champions)

2. Foran (World cup Winner, Grand final Winner Four Nations Winner)

3. Henry Paul (Challenge Cup Winner) 24 test Caps, 121 points for NZ) arrived 24 hrs before tests and went to training straight off the plane. Dual international, Halfback, Stand off, Center, Back row, Loose Forward. Former world record holder for most consecutive Kicks in the game.

4. Robbie Paul ( Similar to Henry, fly a million miles and play the next day) Not a lot between them, Henry was a better tackler).

5. Olsen.
Can't leave him off a NZ five eight discussion.
Have to find a spot for one of the Mutants that grow and extra leg when they pull on the Jumper.
Pride, passion, commitment to your mates, a statistically unlikely horror opponent for Wally.
 
legs 11

legs 11

Juniors
Messages
169
dont think sherlock was very memorable and i dont think clayton was ever a five eighth...
 
JJ

JJ

Immortal
Messages
32,716
sup42 said:
5. Olsen.
Can't leave him off a NZ five eight discussion.
Have to find a spot for one of the Mutants that grow and extra leg when they pull on the Jumper.
Pride, passion, commitment to your mates, a statistically unlikely horror opponent for Wally.
Click to expand...
Olsen could be a beast - and certainly played well at times, but lets remember the series he's best remembered for we lost 2-1, and he played 14 tests against Australia for just the one win... whether that classes him as a horror opponent for Wally or Australia I am not sure tbh
 
sup42

sup42

Juniors
Messages
2,466
Tony Kemp was the best New Zealand field Kicker I have ever seen.

Massive boot on him with pin point accuracy.

He had the ball on a string.

Very unlucky to have played before the forty twenty rule was introduced, he would have been lethal.

Improved Stacey Jones Kicking during his disastrous tenure at the Warriors.

Jones went from very poor at field kicks to averagely good / reasonable.

As for the other Waitara player being bandied about, Dave Watson, he was a genius when he was on fire, unstoppable.

Off field issues left him a 'what could have been' story.

Be good to see another name come out of the Waitara stable. League town through and through. The Cayless bro's were the last I can think of with Blood ties / Ancestry to Waitara.

Isaac Luke is still flying the Naki flag which is good to see.
 
Blair

Blair

Coach
Messages
11,204
Graeme West, who captained the Kiwis (in the absence of the injured Mark Graham) in that famous '83 win at Lang Park, was also from Taranaki. A second-rower, at 6ft 5in way too big to play in the halves!

From Hawera, I believe.

A long pro career with Wigan in the UK.

I agree that Kemp's playing and coaching/recruitment career should be kept separate. He was an effective professional player, one of the second generation of kiwi players to make it in Sydney.

Frano Botica was a successful convert from union.

Watson was a tobacco smoker, I recall. Imagine that now.

Former All Black, Doug Rollerson, who passed away yesterday, was a hero of mine during the mighty Manawatu Ranfurly Shied and National Championship-winning days of the late-70s and early-80s. He was poached (by Bernie Wood) to league in 1982. He had a go in the halves at the North Sydney Bears but was ineffective, largely due to injuries.

Brilliant union player though, finest moment came in the 1981 'flour-bomb' test versus SA at Eden Park, which included a drop-goal that just creaked over the bar during that hectic, dramatic test, the climax of the ill-fated Springbok tour.

When Manawatu won the NPC in 1980, they had eight All Blacks. Imagine that now.
 
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Bobby DIGital

Bobby DIGital

Coach
Messages
12,722
Blair said:
Watson was a tobacco smoker, I recall. Imagine that now..
Click to expand...

Word on the street is that he liked to smoke more than just tobacco, and that may have contributed to him not fulfilling his potential. Dave Watson was a super talented player. I still remember his feats in the test series of 1991. He also looked exceptional for a short time in a stint for Cronulla.

Yogi Rogers was the man in Wainui.
 
Shaun Hewitt

Shaun Hewitt

First Grade
Messages
6,512
sup42 said:
1. Marshall (World cup winning Captain, Grand final Winner, Golden Boot, Captain of Four Nations Champions)

2. Foran (World cup Winner, Grand final Winner Four Nations Winner)

3. Henry Paul (Challenge Cup Winner) 24 test Caps, 121 points for NZ) arrived 24 hrs before tests and went to training straight off the plane. Dual international, Halfback, Stand off, Center, Back row, Loose Forward. Former world record holder for most consecutive Kicks in the game.

4. Robbie Paul ( Similar to Henry, fly a million miles and play the next day) Not a lot between them, Henry was a better tackler).

5. Olsen.
Can't leave him off a NZ five eight discussion.
Have to find a spot for one of the Mutants that grow and extra leg when they pull on the Jumper.
Pride, passion, commitment to your mates, a statistically unlikely horror opponent for Wally.
Click to expand...

This would be the list of players I remember watching, except Ngamu in at 5, can't say I ever saw Olsen.
 
Blair

Blair

Coach
Messages
11,204
Sam Panapa.

Te Atatu Tigers, Wigan, Sheffield, Salford, Auckland, Kiwis, Samoa and Tokelau. 1986 to 1996.
 
Beavers Headgear

Beavers Headgear

Coach
Messages
10,077
Remember when everybody thought we had a great one in Tasesa Lavea, he faded out extremely quickly after a magic debut season.
 
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