Biggest waste of talent ever

[Kiki]

interesting thread. ive always wondered how much talent is an actual factor in producing a successful footy player and how much is mental strength and work ethic.

what do u guys think?

 

[yosemite]

Blake Green. So hyped up in the early years- schoolboy superstar, the next big thing.

Nowadays a nuffie. Bust city.

 

[Broncodr01d]

Shane Whereat (sp) and Eion (sp) Crossan.

 

[_snafu_]

interesting thread. ive always wondered how much talent is an actual factor in producing a successful footy player and how much is mental strength and work ethic.

what do u guys think?

I think you need both.

 

[Iafeta]

Kosef at least achieved more than so many first graders. Won a premiership, played for NSW and Australia. You're right he wouldve played a lot more if it wasnt for his injuries.

At Parramatta, Danny Sullivan. Played 5 First Grade games in 2001, was only 19 at the time, Junior Kangaroos player, great future ahead of him, unfortunately a bad knee injury ruined his career. Didnt play a game until 2004 I think, wasnt the same.

I think he got golden staph infection didn't he? You're right, in the lower grades he was enormous. He came over to the Warriors and played his final game, his knee gave way again. Terrible luck for such a talent.

 

[_snafu_]

Darren Clarke

 

[Iafeta]

Marcus Perenara (Warriors) would have to be up there! Groomed to be partnering Stace but simply lost his way IMO.

He was talked up big time. Unfortunately, by the time he got to first grade it looked like he'd swallowed a cow whole. His figures in Bartercard were amazing.

 

[Iafeta]

PJ Marsh. Absolutely destroyed it for the Warriors, most incisive hooker we'd ever had, and in combination with Stacey Jones it was straight up lethal. Sadly, he had that horrific neck injury at Parramatta and despite a lot of effort by Parramatta, Brisbane and himself he was never anything like what he was. I know he got a Queensland cap again, but seriously, when he was a Warrior he was just a brutal player.

 

[Iafeta]

This. He would have been an awesome player -- rated him very highly. He went to the Warriors a few years ago didn't he?

Yes he did. 2004. Only game was against Penrith at Ericsson, Warriors got mauled and Sullivan's knee gave out again and that was all she wrote.

 

[Kiki]

I think you need both.

yah i think so too. when we interviewed Peter Mortimer in May we asked him about that and he said a similar thing.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

PJ Marsh. Absolutely destroyed it for the Warriors, most incisive hooker we'd ever had, and in combination with Stacey Jones it was straight up lethal. Sadly, he had that horrific neck injury at Parramatta and despite a lot of effort by Parramatta, Brisbane and himself he was never anything like what he was. I know he got a Queensland cap again, but seriously, when he was a Warrior he was just a brutal player.

He was a brilliant player when he came back to Parra in 05. But when he left, he hardly saw first grade. I wish we never let him go the 2nd time.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

interesting thread. ive always wondered how much talent is an actual factor in producing a successful footy player and how much is mental strength and work ethic.

what do u guys think?

Instead of looking at a player with his talent vs work ethic, look at whole teams.

I look at St George and on paper they are one of the least talented teams around, but their work ethic got them far. Parramatta and Penrith on the other hand had all the talent in the world but they had no worth ethic to put it together.

Brisbane and Melbourne do both, bring out the best of their talent with their work ethic and mental toughness.

Then there is a team like the Bulldogs who are built on mental toughness, but arent always blessed with work eithic or talent.

Player wise, Hindmarsh isnt that talented, but he works his arse off and it pays off, same with Dallas Johnson and Alan Tounge. Vice versa, Frank Pritchard, great talent, no work ethic or mental toughness.

So IMO, id rather a work ethic then talent.

 

[Fein]

Tricky Trindall.

Should have reached the very top but he just had to be a naughty boy.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Blake Green. So hyped up in the early years- schoolboy superstar, the next big thing.

Nowadays a nuffie. Bust city.

I played for the same junior club as Blake, about 5 age groups below him. In 2003ish at my footy end of season presentation one of the blokes at the club got up and said if Blake Green ever got a gig in first grade he would absolutely kill it. Several other players from the club have gone onto bigger and better things (L'estrange, John Williams and Wolfman are 3 off the top of my head) but the club rated Blake ahead of all of them.

 

[Kiki]

interesting Tezza, i think thats very true.

didn't Wayne Bennett say earlier in the year he would rather a star team than a team of stars?

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

interesting Tezza, i think thats very true.

didn't Wayne Bennett say earlier in the year he would rather a star team than a team of stars?

It got you guys the minor premieship.

 

[Whos Ya Daddy]

Sione Faumuina

 

[dikefalos]

jamie olejnik had a ton of potential playing in the centres for manly in the mid nineties but for some reason went off the ball & vanished.

 

[Iafeta]

Sione Faumuina

Without a doubt.

I reckon the Warriors had three underrated players coming through who could have made a big difference, but didn't for various reasons. Sione, he didn't because he lost his mind to the booze, but he was a freakish player. I haven't seen as good a 10 minute period from a backrower as I saw at Parramatta Stadium in the game where PJ Marsh went off injured. The Warriors were down something like 14-4 at the break, and Sione almost singlehandledy had the Warriors in the lead within 10 minutes. A couple of linebreaks, 1 IIRC was a 70m try, and a chip and chase from his own half to put his man in the clear. Something like that, it was amazing to watch.

The other two names are Tevita Latu who was so quick out of dummy half, and I thought we had something precocious when he tore Brisbane a new one in 2003 at home. Sadly he got sick, and then he got the 'You're a rep star, and a Kiwi, so henceforth you're nothing' NRL treatment when he did something totally stupid. The other name is Vinnie Anderson, and I say that not as a centre, but as a backrower. He loved to work hard in defence and worked hard out of dummy half. He'd never break a game open but he was sort of an Awen Guttenbeil type player hanging out in the centres, capable of offloading up the guts and a strong defender. Still stumped he spent most of his Warriors career in the centres, and then of course, the club gave him the heave-ho for choosing representative honours ahead of a full off season which they were not thrilled about at all.

 

[Noa]

John Doyle from the Cowboys

In nominating him though I dont think anyone who has had career ending injuries could be described as having wasted their talent. Unrealised talent maybe but not wasted.