Legacy of the 'big 3'

[Cherry_poppins]

Cronk - nice cheat, bit freaky off the field with his village

Slater - a grub with a weasel voice who has always been second or third best in position, heavily overrated cheat

Smith - absolute 3 contract grubby cheat, wanted a penalty for diving when any opposition player broke his neck, has a 99-100 forward pass ratio but he refs his own games, grub grub grub political grub

 

[ANTiLAG]

Don't mind the plaudits for kung fu Billy or Grubby Smith.

Cronk is nowhere near their class. A fine halfback but behind the greats of the game.

So big 2 and a mid size.

People always underestimate how bloody good made structured halves can be. I'd take a backline maestro like Cronk over DCE anyday. Just like I'd take the big passing and big kicking maestro of Ricky Stuart over the jinking jiving crabbing small kicking game of Langer.

Plus Cronk can tackle well. He played games at lock in the middle third. Just because he doesn't side step like Johnson his full pace runs with blind inside balls to Slater typically achieves the same result.

Many halves have different attributes that make them stars and Cooper, imo, is more than complete enough to be considered a great. It must be a coaches dream to have a half who can provide guidance to the team as a cohesive unit and tackle well.

Who'd you rather have than Cronk (bar JT) of this recent era?

Benji? Johnson? Turnstile Maloney? Tackling Pearce with less attack?

Execution of set and structured plays matters and Cronk is a master of it. Is he Andrew Johns? No. Does he have the same freakish all round potential of Morgan? No. But he achieved with excellent execution of his catches, kicks, passes, runs and tackles again and again and again. While the talents of Blake, Lockyer and Langer never even learnt to tackle well.

 

[Cherry_poppins]

People always underestimate how bloody good made structured halves can be. I'd take a backline maestro like Cronk over DCE anyday. Just like I'd take the big passing and big kicking maestro of Ricky Stuart over the jinking jiving crabbing of Langer.

Plus Cronk can tackle well. He played games at lock in the middle third. Just because he doesn't side step like Johnson his full pace runs with blind inside balls to Slater typically achieves the same result.

Many halves have different attributes that make them stars and Cooper, imo, is more than complete enough to be considered a great. It must be a coaches dream to have a half who can provide guidance to the team as a cohesive unit and tackle well.

Who'd you rather have than Cronk (bar JT) of this recent era?

Benji? Johnson? Turnstile Maloney? Tackling Pearce with less attack?

Execution of set plays matters and Cronk is a master of it. Is he Andrew Johns? No. Does he have the same freakish all round potential of Morgan? No. But he achieved with excellent execution of his kicks, passes, runs and tackles again and again and again.

DCE can actually tackle, he'd still be my choice for halfback

It's a organising 5/8 we need

 

[ANTiLAG]

DCE can actually tackle, he'd still be my choice for halfback

It's a organising 5/8 we need

So he can line break, kick big and tackle but not organise.

I'd take Cronk over DCE in a heart beat. Its a team game and the halves are there to link and organise the team in attack.

 

[jk13]

Yeah it's terrible what happened to Parra, they would never go over the cap.

haha we only cheated people out of the spoon, no one is upset except ourselves. For mutiple years you denied teams not only playing in a grand final but winning it as well nd to top it off celebrate your cheating, you can't get more scummy than that

 

[Spade]

1 premiership is shit considering that spine but the winning percentage is close to or above 70% over that period which no other team comes close to.

 

[Spade]

Cronk - nice cheat, bit freaky off the field with his village

Slater - a grub with a weasel voice who has always been second or third best in position, heavily overrated cheat

Smith - absolute 3 contract grubby cheat, wanted a penalty for diving when any opposition player broke his neck, has a 99-100 forward pass ratio but he refs his own games, grub grub grub political grub

your a dickhead

 

[ANTiLAG]

1 premiership is shit considering that spine but the winning percentage is close to or above 70% over that period which no other team comes close to.

I believe their legacy will be noted more for Origin success than premierships.

1 premiership is shit considering that spine but the winning percentage is close to or above 70% over that period which no other team comes close to.

Unlike most club spines - they achieved a lot of success together at rep level. This is added to all their gf and finals appearances even if titles are stripped.

Canberras great spine was 2 qld (Belcher) and 2 NSW. Mullins was later.

Brisbanes spine had Krrd Walters as his brothers supoort at hooker and Kev Walters success was limited in Origin. O'Niell was all over the place and Lockyer came late.

Manly's 90s spine (Toovey, Lyons, Hasler) did not play much origin together and Ridge was a Kiwi.

Bedsy, Joey, lost Matty early and Robbie (Qld) and Hughes (club centre with 1 NSW series at fb) don't rival tge Melbourne big 3 or big 4 for Origin continuity.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

People always underestimate how bloody good made structured halves can be. I'd take a backline maestro like Cronk over DCE anyday. Just like I'd take the big passing and big kicking maestro of Ricky Stuart over the jinking jiving crabbing small kicking game of Langer.

Plus Cronk can tackle well. He played games at lock in the middle third. Just because he doesn't side step like Johnson his full pace runs with blind inside balls to Slater typically achieves the same result.

Many halves have different attributes that make them stars and Cooper, imo, is more than complete enough to be considered a great. It must be a coaches dream to have a half who can provide guidance to the team as a cohesive unit and tackle well.

Who'd you rather have than Cronk (bar JT) of this recent era?

Benji? Johnson? Turnstile Maloney? Tackling Pearce with less attack?

Execution of set and structured plays matters and Cronk is a master of it. Is he Andrew Johns? No. Does he have the same freakish all round potential of Morgan? No. But he achieved with excellent execution of his catches, kicks, passes, runs and tackles again and again and again. While the talents of Blake, Lockyer and Langer never even learnt to tackle well.

TLDR, unionite drivel.

 

[ANTiLAG]

TLDR, unionite drivel.

If you didn't read it, how can you determine its unionite?

Or are you judging books by their cover still?

 

[Cherry_poppins]

your a dickhead

It's not a shock that a cheat fan would respect better cheats

 

[Cherry_poppins]

So he can line break, kick big and tackle but not organise.

I'd take Cronk over DCE in a heart beat. Its a team game and the halves are there to link and organise the team in attack.

He's our livewire,a non negotiable trait for a team who wants to be successful, I'm not sure there's ever been an organising livewire

You need one like you need a ginger

 

[ANTiLAG]

He's our livewire,a non negotiable trait for a team who wants to be successful, I'm not sure there's ever been an organising livewire

You need one like you need a ginger

I'm not sure how you're defining livewire. But if its the ability to break the line by playing vision, I'd say there's been plenty of greats who did both. Fittler's left foot, Thurston's show n go, Lockyers double round, Joey's passing after jinking, Benji's flick passing and stepping circa Tigers post Prince... plus they all went for the bullet pass to winger. Has DCE mastered this yet? Sticky was no 'livewire' but his massive cut out passes regularly fuelled space for one of the livliest wired backlines in NRL/NSWRL history.

Terry Lamb started as a livewire support runner and finished as a complete organisational player too imo. Greg Alexander was a special player too.

 

[Knightmare]

I'm extremely butt hurt Smith doesn't play for the Titans.
From all accounts he was all but wrapped up until an extra contract was thrown in front of his 'manager'.
The Titans could have used a smarmy merkin to get the refs onside over the past 10 years.

This.

And also why I'm baffled that there are Qlders who follow Qld NRL teams and insist it's "not his go" or that none of the Storm Big 3 had any idea they were cheating the cap- and think the only people critical of them are people in NSW butthurt about Origin (yours truly is more annoyed at Laurie "ummmm....I have no clue" Daley, Mitchell "overlap murderer" Pearce and Aaron "Hard Work" Woods, but I digress)...

They need to take off the Maroon tinted glasses for a second and understand that these players cheating the cap not only kept them at Melbourne- but it directly affected the fortunes of the Qld NRL teams. Either the Storm ended their seasons with stacked teams (vs Broncos 2007 and '08) or they stopped those Maroons stars going "home" full-time.

Captain Cleanskin would quite likely have gone to the Titans. Maybe Billy would've gone home to NQ and still be there to this day? Likewise, perhaps the Broncos would have got Cronk's dangerous kicking game instead of pissing away millions for Milford to disappear and Hunt to drop it under pressure? There's every chance that with Cronk at Brisbane, Kyle Feldt's try on F/T in the GF would be nothing more than a contender for "best consolation try ever seen" rather than the worst nightmare in 30 years of Broncos history...

Essentially: Any Qld Storm player who knowingly took part in their cheating, was indirectly stabbing the very people in the back who cheer them on at Origin time. It's akin to watching a dog defend its' abusive master...

 

[WaznTheGreat]

The big 3 are so overrated,they have already lost 4 grand finals(2006,2008,2009,2016) with a potential 5th this weekend and not to mention one of those grand final losses was a 40-0 thrashing,how can you be immortals if your losing grand finals 40-0?

Side note,yes indeed you read correctly,2009 counts as a grand final loss,Eels won that against the cheats and also Cam Smith didn't play in 2008 GF against Manly but he was still a Storm player at the end of the day so that counts as a loss for that lesbian.

4 Grand final losses and counting.

OVERRATED.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

Don't mind the plaudits for kung fu Billy or Grubby Smith.

Cronk is nowhere near their class. A fine halfback but behind the greats of the game.

So big 2 and a mid size.

In 2008 GF against Manly without Cam Smith ol mate Cooper Cronk lost 40-0

LOL @ Cooper Plod

 

[Cherry_poppins]

I'm not sure how you're defining livewire. But if its the ability to break the line by playing vision, I'd say there's been plenty of greats who did both. Fittler's left foot, Thurston's show n go, Lockyers double round, Joey's passing after jinking, Benji's flick passing and stepping circa Tigers post Prince... plus they all went for the bullet pass to winger. Has DCE mastered this yet? Sticky was no 'livewire' but his massive cut out passes regularly fuelled space for one of the livliest wired backlines in NRL/NSWRL history.

Terry Lamb started as a livewire support runner and finished as a complete organisational player too imo. Greg Alexander was a special player too.

Do you watch NFL? To me his similar to a triple threat QB in that he can be first or second receiver and still make plays by passing, deftly kicking or running and with his running game having a great dummy,a good step and mighty fend and is probably one of the leading tackle break counts in the league, with good defense for a position where being a good defender is virtually extinct

Furthermore other than Cronk or Thurston it seems that a good kicking game is all it takes to be a star 'cough' Cleary 'cough'

 

[The Beaver]

Do you watch NFL? To me his similar to a triple threat QB in that he can be first or second receiver and still make plays by passing, deftly kicking or running and with his running game having a great dummy,a good step and mighty fend and is probably one of the leading tackle break counts in the league, with good defense for a position where being a good defender is virtually extinct

Furthermore other than Cronk or Thurston it seems that a good kicking game is all it takes to be a star 'cough' Cleary 'cough'

Cronk leaves DCE for dead. Where was DCE in the final against Penrith?

 

[Cherry_poppins]

Cronk leaves DCE for dead. Where was DCE in the final against Penrith?

Where was the pack? It's hard to move when their 10 is 7 metres and yours is 12 metres

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Suffered a blow to the head? Double vision?

Looks like Stormfan22 still uses Roman numerals.

It's I premiership, not III.