Is Locky better than Lewis?
- Thread starter Charmamba
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Anonymous person
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- Dec 16, 2008
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cant say either way as again, didnt see clive churchill play.
the difference between that comparison and the lewis/lockyer one though is that slater/churchill are completely different eras of the game, whereas lockyer and lewis are only a few years apart. if id been born 10 years earlier i have no doubt i could make a proper judgement on lockyer/lewis. even if i had seen churchill play his career out i dont think you could compare that to slaters.
churchill is from the days when they probably didnt even train more than once a week, and they all worked full time jobs and played on their day off. slater is a fulltime football player, and as hes shown on those australias greatest athlete shows, a genuine great all round athlete. you cant compare the 2.
the difference between that comparison and the lewis/lockyer one though is that slater/churchill are completely different eras of the game, whereas lockyer and lewis are only a few years apart. if id been born 10 years earlier i have no doubt i could make a proper judgement on lockyer/lewis. even if i had seen churchill play his career out i dont think you could compare that to slaters.
churchill is from the days when they probably didnt even train more than once a week, and they all worked full time jobs and played on their day off. slater is a fulltime football player, and as hes shown on those australias greatest athlete shows, a genuine great all round athlete. you cant compare the 2.
Anonymous person said:
Yes and no. The game is ridiculously different to what it was in the 1980s when Wally was in his prime. Hell, watching some footage of games from 10 years ago it's hard to believe it's the same sport.
The folly of comparing players of different eras.
BroncoMatt
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- Mar 4, 2008
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Yes impossible to compare a player who played all but one season under the 5m rule to a player who played his entire career and under the 10m rule.
As Coxy said it's almost a different sport.
Having said that, if the 40/20 was around in Wally's day the opposition may have never got the ball!
As Coxy said it's almost a different sport.
Having said that, if the 40/20 was around in Wally's day the opposition may have never got the ball!
Raw Boned Youngster
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- Mar 9, 2008
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The 5m and 10m argument is significant.
If that is the criteria and Lockyer has made his name as an attacking player, you would have to say the votes should fall Wally's way.
If that is the criteria and Lockyer has made his name as an attacking player, you would have to say the votes should fall Wally's way.
- Mar 7, 2008
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I saw Wally go round in his heyday although I never had to tackle him like my drinking partners got to do. Being a neverwasbeen , I got to watch a lot. Lewis was indeed superior to Lockyer in the kicking department having a short,mid-range and long kick that was the best of any going around. He was also a much fiercer defender having a genuine whack in him that Locky never had. They were built differently. As a reader of the game both players are roughly as good as one another however Locky has(and had more of earlier in his career) the edge when playing out wider. Locky was faster and way fitter and caught the eye more often as a consequence.
There is only one King and make no mistake. If he were a 17 year old with all the advantages they now have at their fingertips, available to him ,he would absolutely stand out in the NRL, play for and captain his side, make representative teams and play Origin. In any era the cream rises. They should not be compared, just give thanks that the two best of the last 25 years were Queenslanders.Third and fourth were too lol
There is only one King and make no mistake. If he were a 17 year old with all the advantages they now have at their fingertips, available to him ,he would absolutely stand out in the NRL, play for and captain his side, make representative teams and play Origin. In any era the cream rises. They should not be compared, just give thanks that the two best of the last 25 years were Queenslanders.Third and fourth were too lol
Raw Boned Youngster
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Nice summary Huge.
I, too, wa lucky enough to see a lot of Wally - from the time he debuted as a bearded lock forward for QLD in the early days of Origin
Wally's ability to inspire those around him was also a major part of his game.
His toe to toe with a crazy Mark Geyer is a poignant reminder of another quality he had, as well as his brilliant creativity.
While many players refer to Lockyer as 'great' etc, Wally had an almost messiah quality.
Wally brought a bit more to the table.
Figuratively and literally.
I, too, wa lucky enough to see a lot of Wally - from the time he debuted as a bearded lock forward for QLD in the early days of Origin
Wally's ability to inspire those around him was also a major part of his game.
His toe to toe with a crazy Mark Geyer is a poignant reminder of another quality he had, as well as his brilliant creativity.
While many players refer to Lockyer as 'great' etc, Wally had an almost messiah quality.
Wally brought a bit more to the table.
Figuratively and literally.
Anonymous person
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I've heard mg talk about that confrontation where he was asked why he didn't hit him, and he said something along the lines of 'it's Wally Lewis, I couldn't hit Wally Lewis' lol. I think that says enough about how highly other players regarded him.
- Mar 7, 2008
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Incidentally, all the best to Wally, hope he recovers fully. Old Wals had a bit to cope with over the years with his familys health and now his own and it'd be nice if he could just grow old with no problems so he can turn into an Aurthur Beetson type.
[icon_evillaugh [icon_non [icon_non (Grumpy old jealous bugger whingeing we all should be banned for life if we ever turn away from the Gods of Rugby League for even a second......grumble grumble mutter into a pie breathing heavily through a fat and broken veiny hairy snout )
[icon_evillaugh [icon_non [icon_non (Grumpy old jealous bugger whingeing we all should be banned for life if we ever turn away from the Gods of Rugby League for even a second......grumble grumble mutter into a pie breathing heavily through a fat and broken veiny hairy snout )
Huge. said:
+1. Nasty business gallstones. My dad had them bad and needed his gallbladder out too.
In his case, a few months later he had a massive heart attack and needed a quad bypass...hopefully Wal's ticker's in a little bit better condition!
Pigskin
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- Mar 5, 2008
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on a whole myriad of subjects, as I get older, I find myself questioning whether I was simply young and impressionable ... everything from a bygone era seems/was better ... however this issue, is very clear in my mind
i attended BRL grand finals from about 1976, was at the first origin in 1980 and have seen both careers in full
The King, is so far in front of the next best player I have seen, I wonder how the really old immortals and even Dally M could possibly have been better ... even given the changes by era
The King revolutionised the game, had a kicking game unmatched ... basically invented the spiral and cutout pass ... hit as hard in defense as any forward in the game ... was an unparallelled leader of men always knowing how to inspire those around him ... he had an aura about him that nobody seems to have generated in modern times ... and he spoke in a far more inspiring way than he does today
This is going to sound absurd to some, but I can remember sitting in the crowd at Lang Park in the mid 80's and having the idea that a) I know what Wally is gonna do b) the whole crowd knows what Wally is gonna do c) NSW has no clue what Wally is gonna do d) he does whatever "it" is, as expected, and it works
This subject is often debated elsewhere between Johns and Lewis as to who was the better player ... now whilst I can somewhat understand young people questioning John's place in history versus other immortals ... the brash know-it-all attitude of kids asserting Johns' superiority makes my blood boil
I won't embarrass Locky by listing his qualities ... surely even he would cringe at being compared to Wally Lewis ... Locky has been an outstanding player for many many years ... but "The King" he is not
He wasn't nicknamed "The King" for nothing.
Oink !
ps I struggle to place Johns above Langer, both would be ahead of Lockyer by a clear margin in my view ... and oh please, anybody who mentions Fittler in this thread has rocks for brains ... longevity and mediocrity sum up B Fittler
i attended BRL grand finals from about 1976, was at the first origin in 1980 and have seen both careers in full
The King, is so far in front of the next best player I have seen, I wonder how the really old immortals and even Dally M could possibly have been better ... even given the changes by era
The King revolutionised the game, had a kicking game unmatched ... basically invented the spiral and cutout pass ... hit as hard in defense as any forward in the game ... was an unparallelled leader of men always knowing how to inspire those around him ... he had an aura about him that nobody seems to have generated in modern times ... and he spoke in a far more inspiring way than he does today
This is going to sound absurd to some, but I can remember sitting in the crowd at Lang Park in the mid 80's and having the idea that a) I know what Wally is gonna do b) the whole crowd knows what Wally is gonna do c) NSW has no clue what Wally is gonna do d) he does whatever "it" is, as expected, and it works
This subject is often debated elsewhere between Johns and Lewis as to who was the better player ... now whilst I can somewhat understand young people questioning John's place in history versus other immortals ... the brash know-it-all attitude of kids asserting Johns' superiority makes my blood boil
I won't embarrass Locky by listing his qualities ... surely even he would cringe at being compared to Wally Lewis ... Locky has been an outstanding player for many many years ... but "The King" he is not
He wasn't nicknamed "The King" for nothing.
Oink !
ps I struggle to place Johns above Langer, both would be ahead of Lockyer by a clear margin in my view ... and oh please, anybody who mentions Fittler in this thread has rocks for brains ... longevity and mediocrity sum up B Fittler
Gingerballs
BRL Player
- Feb 20, 2010
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The Roosters reached 4 Grand Finals in 5 years with Fittler as captain. The second he leaves, the club falls to bits. You can't pass that shit off as coincidence.Piggy said:
- Mar 7, 2008
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Correct Mr Pig. Like yourself I got to watch Wally in his prime and would say the fact that he has a statue dedicated to him ( and his skill ) indicates his standing in the rugby league fraternity. When Wally played you felt assured that the game would go well, you just had faith. He was so good that they changed the rules to stop him (they did that to Alfie Langer too )captaining Australia for a record number of times, forcing him to do a medical weeks before everyone else. A medical he both completed successfully but was failed in by a corrupt doctor at the behest of the NSW ruling body.
The poisonous heirachy who ran the game during Wallys time even conceded, publicly, that Wally was the best going around. That sort of endorsement is not given lightly nor has such an accolade been bestowed on others yet. No-one has been said by any league pundit to be in Wallys class let alone surpassed him. In time guys like Mr Pig, Dexter, lynxooo and myself will be gone and forgotten and the supporters will not be so vocal for none will have seen Wally play but know this, there is only one King and his crown has not been lifted.
The poisonous heirachy who ran the game during Wallys time even conceded, publicly, that Wally was the best going around. That sort of endorsement is not given lightly nor has such an accolade been bestowed on others yet. No-one has been said by any league pundit to be in Wallys class let alone surpassed him. In time guys like Mr Pig, Dexter, lynxooo and myself will be gone and forgotten and the supporters will not be so vocal for none will have seen Wally play but know this, there is only one King and his crown has not been lifted.
