Lockyer was the best I ever saw. He was... he was like poetry in motion. He was like Renoir and Monet. He was as graceful as a fawn and as majestic as a racehorse. When he ran the ball something always happened. It was a sight to behold watching him in full flight. He's not half the 5/8 as he was fullback. And he is as tough as they come. He was... the greatest.
Of the current players playing fullback at the moment, Mini and Slater are the two best I have seen. They are both very different; Slater been as quick and agile as he is while Mini was unpredictable and broke tackles at will. When they were both at their very best - the peak of their careers - Mini wins for me. Call it bias, but I have doubts that we would have got to those grand finals without him. He was that club at that point in time. He was heading back to that form at the end of the season. Very exciting for the club I must say.
Slater is.. well.. Slater. What can you say that hasn't already being said? As quick as they come, outstanding support play, individual brilliance in buckets - teams just hang off him which is a sign of a great player. He has the occasional brain explosion and can go quiet if he gets belted but give him an inch and he will take a mile. Just a joy to watch.
An honorable mention must go to Luke Phillips. He wasn't in the same class as most of these guys, but he was as tough as they come. His positional play was fantastic, his defence was outstanding and I will never, ever, forget that performance in the 2000 grand final. One of the bravest - not to mention best - performances I have ever seen on a football field. If the Roosters had of won he would have been a Clive Churchill Medallist. He kept us in the game, and one of my favourite football memories is seeing him dive to catch a ball with the defence bearing down on him. One of the most underrated players in the last 20 years.
