How good was Offiah?

[AlwaysGreen]

He was good in his time but I reckon if you put him up against giants like Manu Vatuvei, Lote Tuquiri, that AFL guy or even overrated Wendall he would struggle.

One of those players you love to watch but wouldn't neccessary want in your team.

 

[Jason Maher]

Top 5? In no particular order:

Wishart
Sailor
Offiah
Blacklock
Hancock

Didn't get to see Grothe Snr, unfortunately. Saw him last night in a replay of the '82 GF. Was he really that fast, or was everyone else so much slower back then (due to not being full-time professional athletes)?

 

[Green Machine]

Martin Offiah is clearly one of the best wingers of the past 20 years, Hazem El Masri better than Offiah what a load of sh*t El Masri was a poor man's Jason Robinson. Just because El Masri was phenomenal goal kicker doesn't mean sh*t. Im not saying El Masri was a bad player but he wasn't fit to lace Offiah's boots. Before El Masri started kicking goals he wouldn't of even been one of the best 5 wingers in the NRL.

Offiah is the 3rd leading try scorer in the history of Rugby League. He scored 34 tries in 38 tests also. He scored 9 tries in 12 matches for Easts in 1989 when Easts were a poor side and 11 tries in 14 games for St George in 1991 when they were a boring side.

If he stayed in Australia after 1989 people would rate him far more. In 1992 he was superb in the World 7's he was the best player in the tournament by a mile scoring 4 tries in the final. People might say it was only 7's but he was the best player in the tournament by a mile and teams took the 1992 sevens seriously everyone picked a full strength squad.

He was superb on the lions tour in 1992 too also, I think he was over the hill after 1994. But in his prime he was superb especially in the 1992 ashes series and only Blacklock comes close in the past 20 years as far as being just a natural try scorer but Offiah was better than Blacklock.

People should also remember the Wigan side that Offiah played for was as good as any side in Australia. They beat Penrith in the World Club Challenge, They went 1-1 with Brisbane winning in Australia. They pushed Australia in the 1994 Kangaroo Tour in a game which was regarded as the unofficial 4th test. Wigan only really gained true ascendancy once they signed Offiah from Widnes who were basically equals with Wigan until that point in time.

It's a true shame we never got Canberra 1994 vs Wigan 1994 it would of made a fantastic game but unfortunately the Super League war ruined that.

Really Offiah is a true great of the game and constantly scored tries yes his defence wasn't the best but as i said he is the 3rd leading try scorer in the history of the game. He proved himself on the international stage, He proved himself in Australia and obviously he did in England the guy was a fantastic player and one of the best wingers to ever play the game.

That game was never scheduled due to the Kangaroo Tour. There was no WWC in 1990 for the same reason,

 

[Cranky]

Willie Carne deserves a mention. He was the best in the country during the early nineties until people started trying to rip his head off.

Seemed to loose confidence after that.

 

[manoj p]

No coincidence that Offiah had been taken off injured just minutes before Ricky Stuart made the break that led to Mal Meninga's famous 2nd Test try in 1990 at Old Trafford.

Offiah was part of a top Gt Britain team that came within a whisker of beating Australia in a series for the first time since 1970.

Great player no doubt.

Well said XIII.

While Loughlin (Offiah's replacement) did stretch for the intercept to get it back to 10 - 10 (Eastwood should have kicked the goal), I have no doubt Offiah would have run down Stuart in those last seconds if he hadn't been off the field injured...

 

[manoj p]

I recall seeing a youtube vid of him scoring 8 tries against Wigan. In fact, go on youtube and check some footage of him. Then try and think of an Aussie winger who could do stuff remotely like that. Beaustead and Tingha were the closest.

I think you are thinking of the ten, that's ten (10), tries Offiah scored against Leeds in one, that's one (1), match...

1992 from memory.

Gene Miles had a field day in the centres for Wigan.

 

[manoj p]

Love all these lists of wingers going back 25 years...

The game is 116 years old.

 

[Goldfields_Titans]

He was good enough to play at Salford so I'm happy.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

I'm 40

No way he'd make it into my top 5. Below list is in their prime fully fit.

1. E Grothe Snr
2. Kerry Boustead
3. Wendell
4. L Corowa
5. Hazem

Surely you can come up with someone better than Hazem El Masri. Hazem shouldn't make it in to the top 15 of somebody who would have seen as much footy as you have.

If Matt Sing doesn't make into anyone's top five then it's not worth reading.

QFT.

Matt Sing is still the best winger I have ever seen, I'm 31 so I barely remember grothe Snr and the others from that era back so i don't really have a lot of time up compared to the more seasoned posters. Club bias aside (he wasn't up here that long anyway) i can't think of a more complete winger that could attack and defend like him. And he had no bullsh*t in his game.......... Actually I lie, I remember he was pretty cheeky to Andrew Gee when he tapped the ball wrong from a 20m restart which gave the roosters the game via the penalty kick. But Andrew Gee is a merkin so it doesn't count.........

I agree with everything said, particular Andrew Gee being a merkin :lol:

I'm a bit younger but I would have Sing over Sailor, Blacklock, Hancock, Tuqiri, El Masri :lol: any winger from 1990 onwards Sing imo trumps them all.

Beave you would probably enjoy this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWv038sg468 It's all Roosters footage but you'll appreciate it I'm sure.

 

[taxidriver]

i didn't include Sing because he played a stack (close to half his career i think?) of footy in the centres

 

[Mr Fourex]

I think you are thinking of the ten, that's ten (10), tries Offiah scored against Leeds in one, that's one (1), match...

In the English league where they can't tackle for sh*t........no wonder he boasts try scoring feats like that

 

[Bobby DIGital]

LOL @ people mentioning Sing & El Masri. Even Nadruku & Nagas were better than those guys.

Offiah is without a doubt the best winger i've ever seen. I still have 2 games from the 92 ashes series on tape and I like to watch Chariots in action every now and then. 10 tries in one game, amazing. What challenge cup final did he score that length of the field try in? Was it vs Leeds?

Unbelievable player.

 

[manoj p]

In the English league where they can't tackle for sh*t........no wonder he boasts try scoring feats like that

Poor effort.

It was 1992. At a time when both UK club and international sides were highly competitive with Australian clubs and Australia.

Fail.

 

[taxidriver]

Love all these lists of wingers going back 25 years...

The game is 116 years old.

so you'd expect lists of the top 5 people had seen to include players they had never seen?

interesting

 

[Danish]

so you'd expect lists of the top 5 people had seen to include players they had never seen?

interesting

That Albert Baskerville was a brilliant winger.


The oil paintings I've seen of him in action are unbelievable

 

[Borat.]

I'm 40

No way he'd make it into my top 5. Below list is in their prime fully fit.

1. E Grothe Snr
2. Kerry Boustead
3. Wendell
4. L Corowa
5. Hazem

FTW HAZEM!!!!! Pure gold hahahaha ROTFL.....you cant be serious

:crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy:

 

[manoj p]

so you'd expect lists of the top 5 people had seen to include players they had never seen?

interesting

No. I expected the people commenting to have some clue about the game.

Wrong. My bad.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

What challenge cup final did he score that length of the field try in? Was it vs Leeds?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBtoUy5cHYU

 

[Desert Qlder]

I don't believe blinding speed and scoring tries are the only traits in determining a great winger. Other factors such as defense, reading of the play and positional play are very important also. Very few wingers have a 'good football brain' and it's these ones which become the great ones.

Hazem, Luke Burt and Sing are a few that spring to mind that have these qualities. And Matt Sing simply had it all. Watch him score tries, watch him blitz the defenders, watch him backing up his team-mates for the final pass and watch him make amazing defensive efforts (including if I recall correctly about four held-up tackles in an Origin match circa 95). He was the complete package and did it over a lengthy period at various levels of the game.

There certainly won't be any youtube videos of Offiah making tragic defensive errors or stupid mistakes. Not to denigrate the man as he was most certainly a memorable player in our games history.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Offiah was a great winger in an era where all that was required of a winger was to get the ball over the line. Now a winger has to do that ad well as make the hard yards from kick returns and is expected to make big decisions on when to come in in defence. The high ball to the wing is also more prevalent these days.
Growing up offiah was one of my favourite players and a very good winger. If he was around today he'd be lucky to be in first grade in Australia.