Players you rated...

[kooriguy]

ditto for ryles.. thought he was the next paul harrogan now he just another DRAGon player

 

[Tom Shines]

Dane Carlaw- fair dinkum when he burst onto the scene I thought Brisbane had a great 2nd rower on their hands..now he plays like a sissy!

You could say the same about Shane Watson and Nathan Hauritz.

 

[lockyno1]

You could say the same about Shane Watson and Nathan Hauritz.

Do we really need to bring Haurie and Sunshine into this..it has nothing to do with cricket!

Another one is Adam Dykes. He could have been anything but is constantly injured!

 

[kooriguy]

benji marshall i serisously thought he might be able to stay uninjured for one season

 

[lockyno1]

Benji will come good though when he is moved from 5/8th to fullback.

 

[nqcowboy87]

luke dorn some of his games for the northern eagles were good

 

[Prodigiousman]

Michael Hodgson was considered a better prospect than Nathan Hindmarsh in the late 1990s and could have been a Nik Kosef clone at lock forward... but injuries (knees I believe) and a decision to turn him into a prop at Canberra when he moved there put pay to his natural talents and he ended up as the solid go-forward man you see now.

Really should've been so much more - the game is crying out for some ball playing locks and I don't mean guys who can off-load after hitting the line.

Kosef, Jason Smith, Nikau, Langmack, Nick Graham, Ian Russell, Jim Dymock... ah the memories...

Current day players in that mold?

The closest things we have are Dean Young, Dean Widders, Ashley Harrison and Daniel Abraham... not a great player amongst them. Young and Harrison are probably the best of the lot but both are coming back from major knee trouble so we can't rely on them re-finding their ball playing ability.

 

[Raider_69]

dont worry Prod man, they arnt far away, ball playing backrowers are making a comeback in the mould of Feleti Mateo, Greg Bird, Terry Campese etc

 

[pantherz9103]

There was a time when at Penrith I thought Brad Drew might have a big future. He went to the Eels and had a great 2001 but after that he became the butt of jokes at Canberra.

Luke Rooney also had a great few years and was almost the best winger in the game circa 2004. But then Girdler retired and he caught a cold outside Franze in 2005. Now injured when he was starting to find touch again in '07.

 

[Prodigiousman]

Mateo and Bird are not ball players. They are run first, offload second guys - very talented sure but they don't create like the kind of player I listed.

Don't confuse ball playing ability with second phase ability.

They are very different.

In fact all this talk about the death of the five-eighth actually has had a very similar impact on the lock forward. Look at Cronulla's lineup against the Dragons last night and the Storms against the Warriors - no five-eighth and no lock of the original ilk. All defensive or running second rowers.

 

[Phillips]

David Schrader

i remember watching his first grade debut scored 2 tries... his brother is also a very good footballer

 

[Bazal]

Mateo and Bird are not ball players. They are run first, offload second guys - very talented sure but they don't create like the kind of player I listed.

Don't confuse ball playing ability with second phase ability.

They are very different.

In fact all this talk about the death of the five-eighth actually has had a very similar impact on the lock forward. Look at Cronulla's lineup against the Dragons last night and the Storms against the Warriors - no five-eighth and no lock of the original ilk. All defensive or running second rowers.

Agreed on Bird...but Feleti came through the grades playing five-eighth, played there and at first receiver for Tonga recently and would probably be our second choice 6 atm if not for his amazing growth spurt, he's just too big these days...I rate him a better ball player than Finch to be honest.

 

[Deleted member 10972]

Anasta is going to end up being a ballplaying backrower/lock. He has moved there for Roosters this week, just needs to take on the line more. Setaimata Sa looks to be in the Mateo mould.

 

[Prodigiousman]

Agreed on Bird...but Feleti came through the grades playing five-eighth, played there and at first receiver for Tonga recently and would probably be our second choice 6 atm if not for his amazing growth spurt, he's just too big these days...I rate him a better ball player than Finch to be honest.

just because he played in the #6 doesn't mean he is a ball player - and that's my whole point.

I've seen him play this year in each game and I really like what I see in Mateo but he is a runner and an offloader with a lot of skill and agility - exactly what clubs have been after for the last half dozen years. And good luck to him but he is not a ball player like Smith, Dymock, Kosef, Russell, Graham etc - we've phased those players out in favour of the Mateo prototype.

And it is a real shame because surely there's room in the game for both.

Also i think you are being very harsh on Finch - sure he's not in great form but he is a ball player - no matter how ordinary he goes at times. Personally I think he's a good player but is hardly being used in the Parramatta structure this season at 5/8. But that's another topic.

 

[roopy]

The quickest fall from grace was Justin Ryder.
Hit firstgrade with a bang and his hard running and elusive style coupled with crunching defence saw him being declared the next big thing within a few games in firstgrade - then someone put up a bomb and everytone in RL saw he couldn't get his 5'6" frame an inch off the ground and couldn't catch the ball anyway.
That was the end of him.
He went from future rep player to a guy not worth a run in PL in the time it took for firstgrade coaches around the country to write down he was hopeless under a high ball.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

...but Vatuvei is useless under the high ball and he's an international and first grade regular....

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

btw, I certainly don't remember Ryder for hard running and crunching defence, I remember him as a comical scrawny ginger midget.

 

[Bazal]

From Parramatta...

Michael Witt-Was the next Sterlo in some circles, but never had the attitude to make it. Seemed to expect to play first grade and be unwilling to earn it.

Steve Witt-I wish I knew what happened here. Steve made Michael's promise on the field look like nothing, he was brilliant through the lower grades and I believe could play everywhere from 1-7, as well as hooker, with what seemed to be consumate ease. Never got a first grade gig at Parra, then went to Newcastle and collapsed in a heap. Now sells houses.

Willie Tonga-There was an uproar when he was released, despite his defensive ineptitude and what I saw to be a bit of MIA syndrome, he was obviously talented. Showed what he could do in 2004, but since then has been on a greasy slope

Danny Sullivan-As a fan, Danny was a tragedy. The most talented forward I've seen from Parramatta since Nathan Hindmarsh, bar Feleti Mateo. But a horrific run of knee injuries ended his career at age 22 or something. I believe his knee is so bad he can't even play park footy anymore...which is a great shame as he could have been anything.

Pat Richards-Another supreme talent cruelled by injuries. It was good to see him do well in 2005, but compared to what he could have been he was a shadow of a player

Ashley Graham-Was a great lower grader and had a great debut season until he suffered that terrible broken leg. Since then he just hasn't been the same...he's been a poor lateral defender, had no confidence in running the ball and lost his pace. Seems to be getting back to some sort of form though

Justin Tsoulos-Came through as a mountain of a kid, and belted the Knights on debut, put some bellringers on guys like Shane Webcke later on...got injured and put on a lot of paunch, and since then has had very little involvement with first grade.

Matt Gruszka-A big, fast centre who never cracked first grade...got injured, went to the Cowboys I believe and is now running around in Jim Beam cup games.

Brett Anderson-Played some great cameos in first grade in 2005. Was quick and agile, and very good under the high ball. Signed with the Cowboys after several clubs chased him, then broke his leg before leaving. Re-broke the leg at NQ and has done nothing that I've seen since.

Ronald Prince-Utility back in the Luke Burt mould...could kick goals, score tries and set them up. Played some first grade games in 2003-2004 when we sucked and was consistently good for us, but when guys returned from injury he was dropped again. Went to Wests Tigers, where I can't recall him playing a first grade game, and I believe he is now in the Dragons PL or part time squad

 

[lockyno1]

Manu was awesome this week!

 

[Prodigiousman]

The quickest fall from grace was Justin Ryder.
Hit firstgrade with a bang and his hard running and elusive style coupled with crunching defence saw him being declared the next big thing within a few games in firstgrade - then someone put up a bomb and everytone in RL saw he couldn't get his 5'6" frame an inch off the ground and couldn't catch the ball anyway.
That was the end of him.
He went from future rep player to a guy not worth a run in PL in the time it took for firstgrade coaches around the country to write down he was hopeless under a high ball.

the only reason Ryder got any raps early was because Rabs and Fatty loved to call out 'night ryder!' during the call... he scored some handy tries that were of a real finishers quality but where you got the idea people thought he would be a future star is anyone's guess let alone a rep player.