Your five most underrated players of the NRL era (1998-2018)

[Canard]

Tedesco tearing his ACL on debut, Lui's off-field indiscretions etc.

The Tigers should have been the team of the decade.

For mine, Robert Lui was an overrated player with limited attacking skills and below first grade defence.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

Can a guy who won a Clive Churchill and played 15 times for QLD and 14 times for Australia be in this discussion?

I'd say he was pretty rated.

Remember reading in big league that in terms of pound for pound some of his Olympic style lifts were the best the broncos club have ever seen by some margin.

In a pack that had internationals Rauhihi and O'Donnell in it one bloke could hit like a truck and do it often on the likes of moimoi, webcke, mason etc even though he wasn't the biggest of backrowers.

Steve Southern

 

[Bronco18]

For mine, Robert Lui was an overrated player with limited attacking skills and below first grade defence.

I thought he came in looking like a great prospect in the Tigers 2010 finals push.

In the end, just another player with a good breakout year who couldn’t expand his game.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

lui has done pretty well for himself in the ESL. I'll chuck in Tim Moltzen just existing in with the tigers curse

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Jason Smith.

I hear that guy was far better than I gave him credit for. He even has a highlight reel on Youtube that's almost 2 minutes long!

 

[Rhino_NQ]

Jason Smith.

I hear that guy was far better than I gave him credit for. He even has a highlight reel on Youtube that's almost 2 minutes long!

You can only dream of going for 2 minutes

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

You can only dream of going for 2 minutes

You know how I could remedy that? By popping a cap in your fat ass and taking the tusk.

 

[TheDalek079]

Jason Smith - 16 games for Queensland?

Never heard of the f**ker

 

[Rhino_NQ]

You know how I could remedy that? By popping a cap in your fat ass and taking the tusk.

Rhinos have tusks?

 

[typicalfan]

Jason Smith.

I hear that guy was far better than I gave him credit for. He even has a highlight reel on Youtube that's almost 2 minutes long!

Rating players based on their YouTube clips. What a bleeding maroon.

 

[Big Pete]

For mine, Robert Lui was an overrated player with limited attacking skills and below first grade defence.

It was just another headache for the Tigers to deal with. The Marshall/Lui combo had been the Tigers best since Marshall/Prince and had taken them to two finals series. After it all went down with Lui, the Tigers had to rely on Moltzen and he simply wasn't as effective at halfback.

As an outsider, it's one of those losses you don't really think about until you see how rough the Tigers have had it at 7. It started a domino effect at the club where they were constantly on the search for a 7 and had to promote their junior players before their time.

Brooks' career suffered because he was thrown straight into the rigors of first grade and had to learn on the job. In hindsight, he shouldn't have been their full-time halfback until 2015.

Tedesco's injury was such a huge moment for the club. The Tigers were considered genuine premiership favourites and Tedesco was set to have a break-out 2012 season before it all came crashing down in the first half of the season. Instead they're swapping between Tom Humble, Tim Moltzen & Beau Ryan in the position and can barely gain their bearings.

It took Teddy 2 years to recover from his injury and by that point, the club was a shambles.

 

[King hit]

Jason Smith.

I hear that guy was far better than I gave him credit for. He even has a highlight reel on Youtube that's almost 2 minutes long!

I bleed Maroon = Fraud
Jason Smith = 16 games for QLD, 15 for Australia and a premiership winner

 

[Big Pete]

Bluey is an interesting case Rhino.

The Cowboys run into the finals was built on players like him, David Myles, Shane Tronc, Rod Jensen etc. playing their best football and lending support to the Bowen, Sing and Rauhihi's of the side.

However there also came a time where Southern was just taking up room and seemed to be living on past accomplishments. It boggles my mind how he was still with North Queensland as far as 2010, when his best football was behind him as early as 2006.

It begs the question at what point does a player go from underrated to overrated? And vice versa, a player like Alan Tongue for instance spent a fair portion of his career being an ordinary footballer. Then he had a break-out 2006 and was never able to quite replicate it.

 

[Canard]

It was just another headache for the Tigers to deal with. The Marshall/Lui combo had been the Tigers best since Marshall/Prince and had taken them to two finals series. After it all went down with Lui, the Tigers had to rely on Moltzen and he simply wasn't as effective at halfback.

As an outsider, it's one of those losses you don't really think about until you see how rough the Tigers have had it at 7. It started a domino effect at the club where they were constantly on the search for a 7 and had to promote their junior players before their time.

Brooks' career suffered because he was thrown straight into the rigors of first grade and had to learn on the job. In hindsight, he shouldn't have been their full-time halfback until 2015.

Tedesco's injury was such a huge moment for the club. The Tigers were considered genuine premiership favourites and Tedesco was set to have a break-out 2012 season before it all came crashing down in the first half of the season. Instead they're swapping between Tom Humble, Tim Moltzen & Beau Ryan in the position and can barely gain their bearings.

It took Teddy 2 years to recover from his injury and by that point, the club was a shambles.

In the salary cap era, when to blood players is a crap shoot.

The smaller market clubs often can't afford to sit guys like Milford, Brooks, Moses etc in reserve grade when the Broncos, Roosters etc are throwing their chequebook around.

 

[roostersrule2]

The Tigers should have been the team of the decade.

Well, like, no lol

Should/could have been a better team but there were much better sides running around.

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

I’m pretty sure Davico was going to play if he didn’t get injured. Skandalis was a good player who should’ve gotten a crack.

Another player who has been forgotten is Simon Dwyer. He was building a big reputation as a destructive hit man before that injury. Remember his thundering hit on JWH in 2010.

It was a shoulder charge that hit JWH flush on the jaw. It was only not given a penalty as the video ref was too scared to give a penalty in the last minute for a kick to win the game. Any other time in any other game and it was a penalty and Dwyer is on report. That said he was a super talent who would have had a long career playing rep football. Awfully sad the way his career ended.

 

[Big Pete]

In the salary cap era, when to blood players is a crap shoot.

The smaller market clubs often can't afford to sit guys like Milford, Brooks, Moses etc in reserve grade when the Broncos, Roosters etc are throwing their chequebook around.

That's a trap a lot of clubs fall into. Player development is still a crucial part of the game and clubs underrate the value a stint in the NSW Cup or QLD Cup can do for their players. You look at the development of players like Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Daly Cherry-Evans, James Maloney etc. and they all spent time honing their craft.

Of course there's exceptions to the rule and Cleary was one of those young players with an old head on their shoulders, but very few halves have that trait. Luke Brooks certainly didn't but because of the situation the club found themselves in, they had to call him up early.

Brisbane and Sydney rarely go after those players. Their influence is felt more at the junior level where the Roosters go around to all the nurseries and pay overs for the best prospects. Brisbane on the other hand cast a wide net all across the South-East and even into Northern NSW. They rarely go after those type of players, it's usually desperate clubs that are lower on the ladder and desperately need a franchise half.

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

In the salary cap era, when to blood players is a crap shoot.

The smaller market clubs often can't afford to sit guys like Milford, Brooks, Moses etc in reserve grade when the Broncos, Roosters etc are throwing their chequebook around.

lol.. the Roosters pretty much had Lachlan Coote signed, sealed and delivered a few years ago when they decided not to offer Maloney a 3 year deal and suddenly his inlaws were moving to Townsville to live in a newly built house. That's the kind of advantage the Cowboys have.. We then signed Luke Keary instead.. What an amazing twist of fate that turned out to be.

 

[Big Pete]

Well, like, no lol

Should/could have been a better team but there were much better sides running around.

It didn't work out that way, but if you look at the players they had: Tedesco, Tuiaki, Lawrence, Marshall, Fifita, Dwyer, Taupau etc. they had the base there to be a dominant side.

That isn't taking away from Melbourne or Sydney. They're well run clubs and have reaped the rewards for their efforts. If the Tigers had the same people working for them, no doubt they would have been right up there.

 

[Canard]

lol.. the Roosters pretty much had Lachlan Coote signed, sealed and delivered a few years ago when they decided not to offer Maloney a 3 year deal and suddenly his inlaws were moving to Townsville to live in a newly built house. That's the kind of advantage the Cowboys have.. We then signed Luke Keary instead.. What an amazing twist of fate that turned out to be.

Why do you lie so badly?

Coote was signed in 2013 to play in 2014, Keary didn't turn up at the Roosters till 2017.

Delete your account.