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RLW top 100 players list

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
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85,224
The list is stupid because you can't compare blokes at vastly different positions (i.e. front row vs halfback) unless there's a massive gulf in talent, and if that's the case then why is Ben Creagh number 58 and Leuluai at 57? Would it have made any difference if they were listed the other way aorund?

The whole 1-100 ranking thing is idiotic. Better would be to just sort them into categories and allow players to be ranked in parallel with each other.

Honestly, who's better out of Marshall and Thurston? The fact we can argue about it means there is zero consistently measurable difference between the two players.

They are both superstars who regularly win games on their own. That should be the top category, and it should include Smith, Slater and Hayne.

After that you have the solid performers who can occasionally win games on their own - Lockyer, Foran, Thaiday, Gallen, etc.

Then there's your blokes who perform solidly every week, and after that there's however many categories you could put together.
 
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Eels Dude

Coach
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19,065
Definately trying to gee people up. I couldn't even be bothered reading through the whole thing I stopped after the top 10.
 
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12,137
not sure how that list was worked out (maybe games played and time on the sidelines were factors) but personally i rate burgess higher than pretty much every forward ahead of him on that list except gallen.

would have cameron smith at 1 and kieran foran at 2 as well.
unless there is some kind of statistic used to measure one player against another you might as well throw darts at a chart of player names it would mean just as much
 

spiderdan

Bench
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3,743
unless there is some kind of statistic used to measure one player against another you might as well throw darts at a chart of player names it would mean just as much
Like poupou said, can't compare players in different positions, but if I were picking a team, smith would be the first picked and foran second.
 

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
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74,109
It's pretty clear that he felt compelled to select Aussies, Poms and Frogs from ESL in the list. Not many of them would realistically make the top 100.
 

Eels Dude

Coach
Messages
19,065
Really?

Based on what?


I know he did a big hit on Fui when he was playing for England a thousand years ago --> but what has Burgess done in the NRL to suggest that he's a even a top 100 player? Let alone a top 20...

This year:

Tim Mannah
123 meters per game
44.5 minutes per game

Sam Burgess
93 meters per game
49.25 minutes per game


Before anyone goes banging on about stats - yes, they don't tell the whole story. But especially with props they are useful when it comes to meterage. Speed of play the ball is the next most important stat for a prop (Mannah consistently rates amongst the best in the comp) --> Burgess in more minutes produced fairly underwhelming meterage.

I rate Burgess as one of the best forwards in the NRL too. Your post is quite ridiculous really.

Firstly Burgess isn't a prop he's a backrower so the comparison with Mannah is irrelevent.

Secondly, Burgess only played 4 games this year because of injury so to say he was crap this year you're basing that on his efforts in just 4 games. You're bringing up stats to prove your point based on just 4 games. What's more relevent is the 127 metres and 29 tackles he averaged last year playing 22 games.

Thirdly it's not all about metres for backrowers. Adam Blair and Sam Thaiday are considered two of the best forwards in the game but they don't make that many metres. What they do have is the ability to stand in the tackle and keep the momentum going even if standing still that it takes 5 defenders to take them down and even then they can still get an offload away. That tires the defence out a lot. Burgess is in the same mould but better than both of them IMO.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
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85,224
I rate Burgess as one of the best forwards in the NRL too. Your post is quite ridiculous really.

Firstly Burgess isn't a prop he's a backrower so the comparison with Mannah is irrelevent.

One of the things that makes Burgess so good is the fact he can play both front row and edge forward to a high standard.

This year he started the year on the right edge but came back after his injury as a prop due to the club's front row shortage.

Thirdly it's not all about metres for backrowers. Adam Blair and Sam Thaiday are considered two of the best forwards in the game but they don't make that many metres. What they do have is the ability to stand in the tackle and keep the momentum going even if standing still that it takes 5 defenders to take them down and even then they can still get an offload away. That tires the defence out a lot. Burgess is in the same mould but better than both of them IMO.

I rate Burgess equal with those two (and Gallen) as the best forwards in the game. I'd say he's the worst defender of the four (for missing tackles) but makes up for it by being the strongest runner and biggest hitter.

He's good out wide but much better in the middle, and I doubt he'll be used on the edge next year. His defence isn't very sharp out there, and ideally he'd play on the same side as the five-eighth so he only has to worry about his own defence. On the right he has a halfback outside him, and with Taylor's shit defence on the other side of the field, it just gives Souths too many weaknesses to cover in the defensive line.

So it's not that he's a bad defender, it's just that you want a good one defending next to your 7.
 
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