BRISBANE 1998 v NEWCASTLE 2001

[Kaz]

think they did in 1998, i think they flogged us acutally in the 1997 SL vs ARL grand final replay.

They did 26-6. We weren't missing many players either (O'Davis, Albert, Moodie, Peden) so the scoreline did surprise me.

And it was pouring if my memory is correct.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Mate nice comparison. Didn't agree with everything you've said but a fun read nonetheless.

Maybe we should start a comparisons thread where everybody puts in their matchup .... kicking off with Raiders '94 vs Broncos '98

That's a brilliant idea.

It could be something like this:
Canberra 94 Vs Brisbane 98
Parramatta 82 Vs Brisbane 92
Manly 96 Vs Brisbane 00
St. George 59 Vs Easts 75

Then youve got
Parramatta 01 Vs Manly 95
Bulldogs 02 Vs St George 93
Balmain 89 Vs Cronulla 88

It'll work good.

 

[thickos]

Absolutely no contest whatsoever.

The 1998 Broncos were simply the best of the 90's era.

Simply brilliant!

The 1994 Raiders outfit were very impressive, but IMHO, lacked the completeness from 1-13 that the 1998 Broncos possessed.

The 1998 Broncos VS the 1994 Raiders would have been a crackerjack to watch.

If only.

I always thought the Broncos of '92 were the more complete team than the '98 model. Renouf was in his prime back then - so many length of the field tries. Then again that team did not have Lockyer or Big Dell so its a tough one.

Not sure if anyone else knows but are there any other teams in recent memory that have every position filled by a rep player? The 94 Raiders had

Mullins (NSW, Aus)
Nagas (NSW, Aus SL)
Meninga (QLD, Aus)
Wiki (NZ)
Nadruku (fiji)
Daley (NSW, Aus)
Stuart (NSW, Aus)
Pongia (NZ)
Walters (QLD, Aus)
Lomax (NZ)
Croker (NSW, Aus)
Furner (NSW, Aus)
Clyde (NSW, Aus)

:shock: I'm a Raiders fan and that team still blows me away.

 

[League Freak™]

That 1994 Raiders side was the best team I think Ive seen.

The Broncos had a few good sides....I thought their 1998 side was one of the weaker Premiership winning ones.

 

[Dragon Fanatic]

Raiders of 1994 to demolish both of them

I wouldn't go that far, but I think the Raiders of 90, 94, Broncos of 92, 93, 98, 2000 could all easily win against any team in history. Against each other it'd be a toss of the coin and one hell of a game.

You are kidding mate!
Saints of '65
Souths of '68
Easts of '75
Parramatta of '82

So you reckon that the Canberra side would beat those? Pfft maybe a chance with Eels but wouldn't get close to the other three.
1965 Dragons

1. Graeme Langlands
2. Eddie Lumsden
3. Reg Gasnier
4. Billy Smith
5. Johnny King
6. Poppa Clay
7. George Evans
8. John Raper
9. Norm Provam
10. Robin Gourley
11. Billy Wilson
12. Ian Walsh
13. Kevin Ryan


1.Graham Langlands V Brett Mullins
Even comparing these two would be a disgrace to the Immortal "Changa".
Langlands by a galaxy.

Eddie Lumsden V Kenny Nagas
Eddie Lumsden is one of the best wingers ever and him and Johnny King where the Australian wingers at the time when the Poms were very very strong. Lumsden with his upper body strength, dazzling step and rock hard defence he is definitely better than Nagas. One thing Kenny had over him was speed.

Reg Gasnier V Mal Meninga
Meninga would have beaten any body as the best centre ever other than Reg. Reg had it all and is just a class above Mal.

Billy Smith V Ruben Wiki
Wiki has size and strength and while Billy became one of the greatest halfbacks ever he started off has a classy centre with deceptive speed, agility, and an unrivalled slight of hand. Billy wins hands down.

Johnny King V Noa Nadruku
What a mismatch. King scoring a try in every Grand Final he ever played in and one of the best wingers ever, played for Australia and had blistering pace. Noa while tough his greatest claim to fame was playing for Fiji. Johnny wins easy.

Poppa Clay V Laurie Daley
Another great match up but Poppa was a great player behind an even greater pack of forwards but Daley had speed, agility slight of hand and was a great tackler. Daley wins here.

George Evans V Ricky Stuart
George Evans while largely a no name was a great player but just didn’t have that class and speed about his game that Stuart did. Stuart wins.

Kevin Ryan V Quentin Pongia
Ryan was one of the hardest most brutal and unforgiving forwards in Rugby League’s history. Quentin while good had absolutely nothing on Ryan.

Ian Walsh V Steve Walters
Another mismatch. Ian Walsh was a great player and after this year was a great captain as well. Ian had a good pass good scrummaging skills and could tackle all day. Steve while played for QLD was the worst of the brothers and Walsh would have killed him in a scrum. Walsh wins easy.

Billy Wilson V John Lomax
Close one. Billy captained St George there for a little while but was also a huge bloke who was tough as nails. Lomax who was fit as a fiddle and always go 100 miles and hour. I think just on pure toughness and class Billy gets it.

Norm Provan V Jason Croker
Mismatch once again. Sticks last year with St George was a tall rangy fellow who tackled like a machine and ran like a bull at a gate. Always giving instructions and taking the team forward was a keystone in the 11 premierships. Jason doesn’t rate a mention in the same breath as Sticks.

Robin Gourley V David Furner
Gourley was again a hard tough fit forward but Furner was so inclined to lift a sode when it was needed. Always reliable and made 100000 tackles a game great player and wins it here.

Johnny Raper V Bradley Clyde
Another brilliant matchup but the immortal Chook obviously wins. Clyde was such a great player though and I rated him highly but Raper was in a lass of his own and one of the best players to ever grace a football field.

St George 10
Canberra 3

Saints would have won easily.

 

[salivor]

The 2001 Knights are just about the weakest Premiership winning sides I've seen. They had poor defence and managed to shock an Eels side that had completely dominated the competition up until that point.

Whats that say about the competition then, if an extremely weak side can win it? And who really cares about defense when you have one of the best attack sides in the comp.. It musnt be a bad way of thinking if we finished 3rd on the ladder and won the comp.

If the eels really dominated the season they would have won it. If they were really as good as everyone makes out then they wouldnt have been shocked in the gf as you put it.

The knights beat the eels twice in 2001 and lost once. We had them accounted for. Statistically the eels of 2001 were the best side since rugby league was born and that is all the eels can claim from 2001.

It doesn't tell you anything about the competition, it just tells you that the way league and most sports competitions are set up is that you can completely dominate a competition but if you don't turn up to play for one match your gone.

You just stated the evidence that statistically they were the best side league has ever seen. When talking about the best sides of the last decade the Eels of 2001 will be named among them, the Knights won't, simple no matter how much your blue and red heart tells you so.

As I said in my first paragraph, it's the nature of the competition, we've seen many great teams dominate a competition and fall over on grand final day, doesn't mean they weren't a great side. The Eels had 40 bad minutes in their great season and that was enough to blow it.

The Knights of 2001 were against the odds winners while the Broncos were front runners and favourites from opening day to the final whistle of the Grand Final.

 

[Red Bear]

Absolutely no contest whatsoever.

The 1998 Broncos were simply the best of the 90's era.

Simply brilliant!

The 1994 Raiders outfit were very impressive, but IMHO, lacked the completeness from 1-13 that the 1998 Broncos possessed.

The 1998 Broncos VS the 1994 Raiders would have been a crackerjack to watch.

If only.

I always thought the Broncos of '92 were the more complete team than the '98 model. Renouf was in his prime back then - so many length of the field tries. Then again that team did not have Lockyer or Big Dell so its a tough one.

Not sure if anyone else knows but are there any other teams in recent memory that have every position filled by a rep player? The 94 Raiders had

Mullins (NSW, Aus)
Nagas (NSW, Aus SL)
Meninga (QLD, Aus)
Wiki (NZ)
Nadruku (fiji)
Daley (NSW, Aus)
Stuart (NSW, Aus)
Pongia (NZ)
Walters (QLD, Aus)
Lomax (NZ)
Croker (NSW, Aus)
Furner (NSW, Aus)
Clyde (NSW, Aus)

:shock: I'm a Raiders fan and that team still blows me away.

The 2000 Bronco's were the worst of their premiership winning sides. They were a side on there way out then(Barely any of them are still there now).

 

[Edwahu]

Raiders of 1994 to demolish both of them

I wouldn't go that far, but I think the Raiders of 90, 94, Broncos of 92, 93, 98, 2000 could all easily win against any team in history. Against each other it'd be a toss of the coin and one hell of a game.

You are kidding mate!
Saints of '65
Souths of '68
Easts of '75
Parramatta of '82

So you reckon that the Canberra side would beat those? Pfft maybe a chance with Eels but wouldn't get close to the other three.

The game is of a much higher standard and the professionalism is so far ahead of where it was in the 20-40 years ago that all those sides would get slaughtered by the great modern teams.

 

[pennywisealfie]

Raiders of 1994 to demolish both of them

I wouldn't go that far, but I think the Raiders of 90, 94, Broncos of 92, 93, 98, 2000 could all easily win against any team in history. Against each other it'd be a toss of the coin and one hell of a game.

You are kidding mate!
Saints of '65
Souths of '68
Easts of '75
Parramatta of '82

So you reckon that the Canberra side would beat those? Pfft maybe a chance with Eels but wouldn't get close to the other three.

The game is of a much higher standard and the professionalism is so far ahead of where it was in the 20-40 years ago that all those sides would get slaughtered by the great modern teams.

yep exactly what i was gonna say some of the weaker teams in the comp now would probably beat the great sides of the 60s and 70s.

Broncos 98 is the greatest team of all time. i cant believe knights of 2001 was even said in the same breath. as if brad thorn wasnt better then ben kennedy, langer better then johns. and as if walters was carried by langer, walters may have been slow but he was pure genius.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

You just stated the evidence that statistically they were the best side league has ever seen. When talking about the best sides of the last decade the Eels of 2001 will be named among them, the Knights won't, simple no matter how much your blue and red heart tells you so.

Hmmm, knights 2 premierships Eels 0 Premierships.

No they wont be mentioned. The record books will have them statistically. But they wont be in the premiership collum and thats all that counts.

 

[thuganomics]

Brisbane by 6

 

[Mal Meninga]

I wasn't alive to see that Dragons team 'Dragon Fanatic', but if you're calling Steve Walters the "worst Walter" than give yourself ten champ! I'd say Steve by a few miles, followed by Kevin, than light years down the track is Kerrod. Where did Kerrod end up anyway?

And when Mal does get inducted to the immortals, he will no longer be 'a class below' Gasnier.

 

[Leagueguy]

The Broncos of 1997 should have been the greatest Bronco team, but Tallis didn't play. If he had of their forward pack would have been Tallis, Webcke , Lazarus , Thorn , Gee, Peter Ryan, Plath. The backline - Lockyer, Hancock, Renouf , Daren Smith, Devere, Sailor, Walters , Langer , Mundine. They could also draw on Phil Lee , Dennis Scott and all the Walker brothers. That is basically a team of 14 origin players at the time + Devere, Mundine and Peter Ryan. There were also and about 9 internationals. Could any team have beaten that side?

 

[salivor]

The 2000 Bronco's were the worst of their premiership winning sides. They were a side on there way out then(Barely any of them are still there now).

What a load of crap.
The 2000 Broncos won the minor premiership by 6 points over the nearest team, the Roosters. They were the best attacking and defensive team in the comp and ended up with a points differential of nearly double that of any other side. The only lost 6 games all season and completely dominated all year despite being totally written off after the poor 1999 season.

 

[Red Bear]

I didnt think the standard was that high in 2000 to be quite honest. And the team was on the way out, they were being carried by there older players(EG Walters). From that team there is Lockeyer, De vere(going), Webke, Tallis(1 year tops left in him), i think Carrol was there. Anyway, that was an old team, still a good team but a team on its last legs of glory(Langer gave em a boost in 2002 but then we saw what happened in 2003) They are now a younger team and look to have that formidible look again.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

The 2000 Bronco's were the worst of their premiership winning sides. They were a side on there way out then(Barely any of them are still there now).

Still a number of them playing for Brisbane

Brisbane 2000 team:
1. Darren Lockyer
2. Lote Tuqiri (rugby)
3. Michael De Vere
4. Tonie Carroll
5. Wendell Sailor (rugby)
6. Ben Ikin (still playing, come out of retirement)
7. Kevin Walters [c] (retired, assistant coach)
8. Shane Webcke
9. Luke Priddis (Penrith)
10. Dane Carlaw
11. Gorden Tallis (current captain)
12. Brad Thorn (rugby union, NZL)
13. Kevin Campion (North Qld)

14. Shaun Berrigan
15. Harvey Howard (retired, England)
16. Michael Hancock (retired)
17. Ashley Harrison (Souths)

 

[salivor]

I didnt think the standard was that high in 2000 to be quite honest. And the team was on the way out, they were being carried by there older players(EG Walters). From that team there is Lockeyer, De vere(going), Webke, Tallis(1 year tops left in him), i think Carrol was there. Anyway, that was an old team, still a good team but a team on its last legs of glory(Langer gave em a boost in 2002 but then we saw what happened in 2003) They are now a younger team and look to have that formidible look again.

I don't think the standard was much different in 2000, it was just a forgettable year in that it didn't produce much excitement and provided a very dull Grand Final.
I don't see what Brisbane being a team on the way out mattered. We are only judging this on individual years not an era. The 2000 Broncos on that season alone were still a very strong side and to me losing Carroll, Thorn, Hancock, Walker and Walters after that GF shouldn't have any reflection on the side.
Also if we could debate calling them a team on the way out. That year produced the likes of Meyers, Carlaw and Harrison who have all gone on to be great first graders.

 

[Kiwi]

The Broncos of 1997 should have been the greatest Bronco team, but Tallis didn't play. If he had of their forward pack would have been Tallis, Webcke , Lazarus , Thorn , Gee, Peter Ryan, Plath. The backline - Lockyer, Hancock, Renouf , Daren Smith, Devere, Sailor, Walters , Langer , Mundine. They could also draw on Phil Lee , Dennis Scott and all the Walker brothers. That is basically a team of 14 origin players at the time + Devere, Mundine and Peter Ryan. There were also and about 9 internationals. Could any team have beaten that side?

Tallis was playing, he sat out 96 not 97.

 

[undertaker]

The Broncos side of 1998 were very good, but both the Brisbane 1992 and Canberra 1994 sides would run riot over them. Brisbane 1992 vs Canberra 1994 would've been an interesting match. The ultimate match of the '90s

 

[Walt Flanigan]

8 year bump.........nice.

But yes i'd have to say that I haven't seen stronger teams than the 92 broncos and 94 Raiders.