Danny Sullivan
Jamie Lyon
Kris Inu
Tim Smith
Jarryd Hayne
Special mention to Marmin Barba...I don't watch anything like the lower grades I used to, being stuck with a job and rent and such down in CanBra now, but from what I have seen he looks like he may get a mention in these lists in the future. Hope he kicks on, a lot here haven't!
There were a lot of incredibly talented blokes in the lower grades as well. Always, always rated Blake Green but he never really kicked on at NRL level. Is doing so in a big way in the ESL though, last I checked he was leading halves for try assists and behind only Brett Hodgson in total, so good on him.
ERIC GROTHE SNR.
I'm going back to 78 - 79, when Mr Eric Grothe was carving up in the Under 23's when he was 18.
At the old Cumberland, when the Eels started their resurgence in the mid to late 70's, and there were no night games, Cumberland used to be half-3/4's full during the Under 23's.
Eric became a massive crowd favourite as early as that, and scored the same scintillating tries in those grades at that young age as he went on to do during all his years in first grade. He progressed very quickly through reserve grade to make the First Grade team in 1980, I think. He was a freak, in the under 23's, and very very quickly became a massive crowd favourite.
I've seen all the others mentioned come through the grades, but I seriously do not recall anywhere near the excitement for any of them, that rivalled Eric's progress through the grades.
The only others that would come remotely close would be Mick Delroy and Danny Crncovic or even Brian Jackson or David Woods.
Suity
Agreed, powerful explosive wingers, centers and fullbacks with lightning speed are so exciting to watch, bursting through tackles scoring long distance tries or bumping off many players on their way to scoring.
It would be hard to go past Eric Grothe Snr - Still one of my most favourite Eels.
As a winger, a true immortal of the game - a huge crowd favourite.
He was so well liked by almost everyone. A very clean player.