Top 5 at each position

[Poupou Escobar]

So good you'd almost expect them to have won the comp :lol:

I guess the point is, everyone goes on about how important the spine is, yet the past two premiers have shown you don't need a great spine if you're strong on the edges and have a decent front-row.

There are plenty of better spines around than Manly and St George (even when they had Boyd). Interestingly both teams had the best edge defence in their respective premiership years.

 

[firechild]

Foran, Stewart and DCE were selected for the 4 nations for their respective countries (Foran is a permanent half in the NZ squad and Stewart was the incumbent Australian FB before his knee injury in 2009). I'd suggest they're all well above "decent". As was suggested by a poll run on here late last year, Melbourne and Manly were clearly in front of everyone else as far as the quality of their spines.

 

[Raider_69]

I honestly cant think of many better spines than Stewart, Foran, DCE and Ballin

Its pretty much top 5 across the board. Name me a better spine? Storm maybe, which is why they are contenders year in and year out

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Foran, Stewart and DCE were selected for the 4 nations for their respective countries (Foran is a permanent half in the NZ squad and Stewart was the incumbent Australian FB before his knee injury in 2009). I'd suggest they're all well above "decent".

Don't be fooled - these are players that are made to look better by being surrounded by quality teammates.

Also, Four Nations is an exhibition tournament - whoever Australia picks is going to win because the opposition usually have too many weaknesses. Look how bad the Kiwis were with their first choice centres out. Australia could field their 5th and 6th best centres and still be strong out wide.

Stewart excels in the area where he is strong (support play) but is very one-dimensional. He's like a poor man's Billy Slater.

As was suggested by a poll run on here late last year, Melbourne and Manly were clearly in front of everyone else as far as the quality of their spines.

A poll run on here? Please. Most peole on LU have no idea.

Melbourne definitely have a grat spine, as proven by how three of them were in the top 5 for Dally M voting last year - Melbourne's spine players look good despite the lack of talent around them. Just like Jarryd Hayne (and Jonathan Thurston prior to last year).

Manly's spine players have a much easier job with all that talent around them. Of course, Cherry-Evans and Foran are still quite young (though both older than Hayne was when he won the Dally M Medal) and will continue to improve. Brett Stewart is on the decline.

Melbourne, Newcastle, North Queensland, Roosters and Wests all have better spines than Manly. None of them are as strong across the board though.

 

[Raider_69]

A poll run on here? Please. Most peole on LU have no idea.

...

Melbourne, Newcastle, North Queensland, Roosters and Wests all have better spines than Manly. None of them are as strong across the board though.

You've just confirmed yourself as one of them.
Manly's spine is miles ahead of those three

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Manly's spine is miles ahead of those three

No they're not mate. They've just got better teammates around them.

 

[Allstar Knights]

Warriors spine isn't far off - Locke, Maloney, Johnson and Friend..

Potentially, it could be better than Manly's imo, but definitely Melbourne/Manly are the top 2 spines right now.

 

[Raider_69]

No they're not mate. They've just got better teammates around them.

In 2012 (perhaps in 2005 we might be having a different discussion but since its not 2005)

Stewart is better than all 3 of Boyd, Bowen and Minichello. I dont see how this can be disputed. An arguement might be made for Boyd.

DCE is a better halfback than Giddley and Lui. Again a case might be made for Pearce but i think DCE is better.

Thurston is better than Foran, who is better than Mullen and Anasta. I think Thurston is more of a halfback but since he's playing 5/8th

Ballin is a better hooker than Payne, 2012 Buderus and Friend. Comfortable

Its not even close with those three sides. Not even close.
The closest is the Cowboys and the only reason they come close is because of how good thurston is. The Knights arent even in the running, even their own biased fans would have to agree with that. As for the roosters... absolutely laughable to suggest their spine is anywhere near the sea eagles

 

[Hutty1986]

lol, Poopoo. Gives his scum cheats a wrap & dribbles blatantly wrong sh*t about other sides, every time

 

[Raider_69]

i remember starting a thread last year about where Foran rated in the world of 5/8ths. I said at the time i thought he might have been the best 5/8th in the game and that the kiwis might think about moving Marshall to half and playing Foran in his best spot.
I havent changed my opinion. Thurston is the better player but Foran is one of the games best, the gap isnt as big as it initially seems.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

In 2012 (perhaps in 2005 we might be having a different discussion but since its not 2005)

We're not talking abut 2008 either - that was Stewart at his peak.

Stewart is better than all 3 of Boyd, Bowen and Minichello. I dont see how this can be disputed. An arguement might be made for Boyd.

I reckon he's as good as Bowen and Minichiello (3 different types of fullback) but Boyd is better than all of them (Boyd is the same type of fullback as Minichiello only better).

DCE is a better halfback than Giddley and Lui. Again a case might be made for Pearce but i think DCE is better.

Pearce and Lui are both better than DCE and Mullen is as good. You'll see how good Mullen is this year under a decent coach.

As for Lui, he's a gun. I think people refuse to see how good he is because he's a wife-beating scumbag but the guy can play. I reckon he's better than Pearce. I dare say there's only a couple of NRL halfbacks better than him.

Thurston is better than Foran, who is better than Mullen and Anasta. I think Thurston is more of a halfback but since he's playing 5/8th

Foran is better than Gidley and Anasta, true, but he is the best player in Manly's spine.

Ballin is a better hooker than Payne, 2012 Buderus and Friend. Comfortable

Jake Friend is vastly underrated, and Buderus has still got it. Matt Ballin is just a tackling machine. He's Matt Keating, only with better halves to pass to. He might be better overall than Payne at this stage of Payne's career but Payne is surely still better in attack.

Its not even close with those three sides. Not even close.
The closest is the Cowboys and the only reason they come close is because of how good thurston is. The Knights arent even in the running, even their own biased fans would have to agree with that. As for the roosters... absolutely laughable to suggest their spine is anywhere near the sea eagles

I think you're confusing team effort with the quality of individual players. It's like the people that no longer rate Hayne because Parra is so shit.

 

[Dazraider]

Fullbacks
Billy Slater
Brett Stewart
Josh Dugan
Jarrod hayne
Matt Bowen

Wing
Akuila Uate
M Vatuvai
L Tuquiri
B Morris
M Gordan

Centre
Jamie Lyon
Matt Cooper
Greg Inglis
W Tonga
S Kenny Dowel

Five Eigth
Benji Marshall
Jamie Soward
T Campese
James Maloney
T Carney

Halfback
Johnathan Thurston
Cooper Cronk
Daly-Cherry Evans
S Prince
S Johnson

Prop
J Graham
Petero Civoniceiva
S Burgess
M Scott
D Shillington

Hooker
Cam Smith
D Buderus
Robbie Farah
Aaron Payne
N Freind

Second Row
Sam Thaiday
Gareth Ellis
N Hindmarsh
Feleti Mateo
T Learoyd lahrs

Lock
Paul Gallen
Luke Lewis
Glenn Stewart
Corey Parker
Shaun Fensom

 

[Big Pete]

I'm not overly convinced on Stewart being THAT great either. He had a good season last year and finished the year stronger than Bowen & Boyd but both those players played a bigger part in their team and had more responsibility than Stewart. Stewart simply had to concentrate on his job at the back, he had his brother, the halves, Ballin and even Lyon doing all the creating. Meanwhile, Boyd essentially had to throw the most important pass in essentially every Dragons raid & Bowen was virtually playing fullback, five eigth and halfback at one stage for the Cows and carried them to a lot of victories.

Keep in mind Stewart spent 2009-10 on the sidelines while Boyd (& to a lesser extent Bowen) posted runs on the board and it's clear to see that they're at least on the same level as Stewart.

Also when you look at the Cowboys 9 situation, you're not just including Payne because Segeyaro plays just as big a role in the scheme of things. He started off a little bit out of his league, but by the end of it, Segeyaro became something of a weapon.

Wouldn't write off Jake Friend either. His contributions to the Roosters 2010 campaign went largely uncreditted...even by his own coach who thought it'd be a smart idea to play old man Riddell ahead of him. Wasn't surprised to see the Roosters achieve more success after Friend was given the starting gig. Again, I don't know if I'd place Friend above Ballin just yet, but they're at least on the same level.

 

[broncos70]

nathan friend>jake friend any day of the week

 

[Dragon2010]

What is with all the DCE love the kid is overrated and made to look better around a strong team on the paddock with Foran and other good players your game will look better. There are better a ton of better halves DCE.

 

[firechild]

So what we deduce from this thread is that Foran and DCE are way overrated. Stewart is an average FB, Ballin only looks good because he has overrated halves to pass to, our props are all shit, Stewart isn't in the top 5 locks in the game (which would make him average at best) and Watmough may or may not be considered in the top 5 second rowers. They're all made to look better than they are by the talent around them. Considering the above, that means the talent is pretty much Jamie Lyon (he must be the one making the others look good). Geez, Lyon must be the best player to ever lace on a pair of boots because he's carried this team of nuffies to 2 premierships, one by a record score. But even then, he's about the 3rd or 4th best centre in the game.

:crazy:

 

[Hutty1986]

Lyon is also fat & looks slow on the uptake.

 

[firechild]

Lyon is also fat & looks slow on the uptake.

You're looking at the wrong bloke. That's George Rose.

 

[Noa]

Using the scientific methodology of if we were in the schoolyard who would I pick 1st to 5th, with some thought to actual form, Id go.

Fullbacks:
1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Jarryd Hayne
4. Brett Stewart
5. Matty Bowen

Wingers:
1. Akuila Uate
2.Jason Nightingale
3. Michael Gordon
4. Manu Vatuvei
5. Jharal Yow Yeh

Centers:
1. Greg Inglis
2. Jamie Lyon
3. Chris Lawrence
4. Justin Hodges
5. Jack Reed

Five Eighths
1. Benji Marshall
2. Kieran Foran
3. Todd Carney
4. James Maloney
5. Jamie Soward

Halfbacks
1. Jonathan Thurston
2. Cooper Cronk
3. Daly Cherry-Evans
4. Shaun Johnson
5. Mitchell Pearce

Props:
1. Matthew Scott
2. Petero Civinoceva
3. Ben Hannant
4. Aiden Tolman
5. Russell Packer

Hookers:
1. Cameron Smith
2. Robbie Farah
3. Matt Ballin
4. Jake Friend
5. Michael Ennis

Locks
1. Glenn Stewart
2. Luke Lewis
3. Paul Gallen
4. Corey Parker
5. Greg Bird

Second Rowers
1. Gareth Ellis
2. Adam Blair
3. Sam Thaiday
4. Simon Mannering
5. Anthony Watmough

 

[851]

Using the scientific methodology of if we were in the schoolyard who would I pick 1st to 5th, with some thought to actual form, Id go.

Fullbacks:
1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Jarryd Hayne
4. Brett Stewart
5. Matty Bowen

Wingers:
1. Akuila Uate
2.Jason Nightingale
3. Michael Gordon
4. Manu Vatuvei
5. Jharal Yow Yeh

Centers:
1. Greg Inglis
2. Jamie Lyon
3. Chris Lawrence
4. Justin Hodges
5. Jack Reed

Five Eighths
1. Benji Marshall
2. Kieran Foran
3. Todd Carney
4. James Maloney
5. Jamie Soward

Halfbacks
1. Jonathan Thurston
2. Cooper Cronk
3. Daly Cherry-Evans
4. Shaun Johnson
5. Mitchell Pearce

Props:
1. Matthew Scott
2. Petero Civinoceva
3. Ben Hannant
4. Aiden Tolman
5. Russell Packer

Hookers:
1. Cameron Smith
2. Robbie Farah
3. Matt Ballin
4. Jake Friend
5. Michael Ennis

Locks
1. Glenn Stewart
2. Luke Lewis
3. Paul Gallen
4. Corey Parker
5. Greg Bird

Second Rowers
1. Gareth Ellis
2. Adam Blair
3. Sam Thaiday
4. Simon Mannering
5. Anthony Watmough

That is a pretty good wrap up,I would put Gallen at the top of the locks,although Lewis and Stewart are fantastic players,so its hard to argue,but I agree with the rest.