Thoughts on Random Players

I really don't see the argument for Buderus being average.

What was average about his game?

I can see an argument for him being overrated at certain stages of his career and being given a representative jersey when he didn't deserve it, but over that time period from 2001-2005 he was the best hooker in the game.

It wasn't like Bedsy needed Johns to perform. If he did, why was his best year 2004 when Johns only played 1 and a bit games?

Exactly.
 
Broncoman said:
Steve Price didn't have much talent as did Johnson, Webcke, Civoniceva, Hethrington, Harrison and others yet they are thought of as greats and are idolised by the Queensland public.

Just like Leonard on the Big Bang theory said when someone argued with Sheldon "Don't bother you're just arguing with a crazy person"
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While Harrison can play Hooker, you've named four forwards. Those big dumbies who catch the ball and don't feel pain when they run at other people.

You're comparing apples and oranges.
 
You can be a not overly talented spine player and still be great. I think that's what Cooper Cronk. He's by no means the most skillful half but through hard work and dedication he's basically become the best halfback in the game.
 
By the same definition, Cam Smith isn't really talented. Not in an athletic sense. It's all between the ears, it's all mental, and it's a lot of hard work.
 
New Batch

Beau Ryan

Ruben Wiki

Craig Gower

Matt Orford

Matt King
 
Beau Ryan
A pretty competent first grade winger who's off field personality exceeded his on field talents. I never watch the footy show so never really focused on him when watching the Tigers or Sharks play.

Ruben Wiki
Absolute gun centre when found his stride at the start of his career with the Raiders which is a shame most on here may be too young to remember. I used to hate him coming up against the Broncos which indicates he was a pretty good player. Made a successful transition to prop later in his career which shows how tough a player he was and finally went across to the Warriors who were chasing him pretty much since they entered the comp. He didn't achieve the same team success at the Warriors but was a big part in lifting their profile in NZ as well as giving the team a toughness it sometimes lacked. Very good player.

Craig Gower
My earliest memory of Gower is being at a Penrith game against the Roosters and being near someone in the crowd with a sign saying "Fitler is a poor mans Gower". That day Gower had a blinder and they beat the more fancied Roosters, it must have been his first season in grade as i knew nothing about him at the time. Not as skillful as a Langer or Greg Alexander type halfback, probably not as technical proficient as a Ricky Stuart but he had toughness and a real competitive nature that took him to probably more rep glory than i would have thought. Obviously instrumental in Penrith's GF win as well. Off the field a real dickhead while on the drink which played a part in his exit from the Panthers. His last few years leave a bit of a stale taste which is a shame as he was a real good club man for the Panthers.

Matt Orford
Part of a really good Manly side and also some good years at the Storm. Nothing very memorable individually for me, just a few purple patch years but could never, or was never trusted to, make the rep step up. IMO needed a very good team around him to perform, flat track bully.

Matt King
I fucking hated this guy when he was at the Storm. He always lifted against the Broncos and his tough uncompromising, sometimes dirty, way of playing the game used to give me the shits big time. Was over the moon when he went to the ESL and was happy he did not have much impact at Souths. Having said that he had some very good years in the NRL, a real handful on his day and imo was very good at Origin level.
 
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What I remember most about Orford, was how big a choker he was for most of his career.
 
Beau Ryan - didn't see much of him. From what I did see, he seemed to be a quality finisher. Would have liked to see how he went at a club not like the Tigers or Sharks.

Ruben Wiki - very tough. You don't play over 300 first grade games unless you are tough and good at what you do.

Craig Gower - good player but off-field issues overshadowed a lot of his good work on the field. A quality hooker who evolved into a pretty good half. Clever player with an underrated kicking game.

Matt Orford - a player who really benefited under Bellamy's coaching. A player of his type could have really helped us out this year with organisation etc, while Ben Hunt did his thing.

Matt King - a real thorn in the side of both the Broncos and Queensland. A very good player.
 
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Beau Ryan - one trick pony. a shame his one trick is as funny as colon cancer

Ruben Wiki - bro

Craig Gower - total drunk

Matt Orford - nugget

Matt King - garbo
 
Big Pete said:
This of course lead to the infamous clip of Hodges mouthing off, from 12 points behind, showing Bedsy absolutely no respect as Queensland end up winning the second half comfortably. As memorable as that moment was, the true passing of the torch moment was when Bedsy went for a dart from dummy half, he got cleaned up by Cam Smith who comes out of the tackle, realises who he just tackled with a cheeky grin on his face and Bedsy then decides to chase after Smith in a desperate attempt to get the last laugh.

He was rattled and from there, I remember his selection ****ing off a lot of Blues fans as they wanted him go for Farah in 2007/08.
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Superb post overall, Pete. Buderus was an interesting one. He presided over three straight series losses (though he did win two back-to-back so that maybe gave him some rope), it's probably understandable that Blues fans wanted a change. 2008 was such a great series, for mine. Smith and Buderus, rival hookers and opposing captains, added some good theater to a quality series.
 
Beau Ryan - Decent enough to play first grade and capable of a good game every now and then and could fill in across the backline when needed. Nothing much expect from his footy show gig. Without it nobody would remember him in the future.

Ruben Wiki - One of the hardest and strongest players I've seen. Great player and one of the best Kiwis off all time.

Craig Gower - Possibly the best Penrith junior behind Brad Fittler. Was a great player for the Panthers and a fiercely competitive bloke. Was a terrific hooker and a very good halfback as well, would've been player of the year in 2003 if it wasn't for the Dally M's being cancelled. Unfortunately his antics of the field soured his reputation a bit. I find it a bit odd that he only played for NSW 6 times but played 23 tests for Australia.

Matt Orford - Very talented halfback that hurt his image by playing at the Raiders and going terribly. In his day he was one of the form halfbacks of the competition. Was the go to man at the Storm before Cronk arrived and the Storm were expected by the bookies to struggle in 2006 because he left. Did very well at Manly as well. Unlucky with rep selectors and had to drop out of a couple of Origin games with injury (Game 2 2004 and Game 1 2006) one of the best players never to play for NSW or Australia.

Matt King - I rated him very highly in the day a real hard and strong winger who did a lot of damage to Queensland (which I liked) and the Broncos (which I didn't like). Hated by some on here but a real good player
 
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Beau Ryan - Average player at best. If he wasn't (trying to be) funny he would never have got noticed.

Ruben Wiki - Tough as they come. Watching him charge into the line with the same intensity each time was unbelievable. I'm too young to remember him playing in the centers but I imagine he would have destroyed people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijzOR4T6_8s

Craig Gower - Tough uncompromising and a great leader. His 2003 season was awesome. Other highlights of his career include chasing a teenage Mitchell Pearce around a golf course whilst nude and threatening people with a butter knife.

Matt Orford - should have taken to MMA because all he did was choke. Great regular season player but never took it to the next level.

Matt King - Hated this guy solely because against QLD he always stepped up a gear.
 
Je$ter said:


Craig Gower - Tough uncompromising and a great leader. His 2003 season was awesome. Other highlights of his career include chasing a teenage Mitchell Pearce around a golf course whilst nude and threatening people with a butter knife.

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:laugh: ...that story never gets old. Love it.

Wow Craig....just wow.
 
Going to pass this thread along to Bman since I already have enough fingers in too many pies around here and I get sick of seeing myself around these boards. :laugh:

Beau Ryan - Is remembered more for his Footy Show exploits but I thought he had his moments on the wing for the Tigers. As far as his media appearances go, I thought he started off really well because he was the only guy with any balls to say anything that resembled the truth but it was clear that he didn't have much material. Nowadays, if I do watch the Footy Show, I tend to tune out from the Beau segments since they're all the same.

Ruben Wiki - Didn't see a lot of him. By the time I became interested in checking out other footy matches, he was nearing retirement and was a solid player getting by on his reputation. Before then, I knew him as a star player for the Raiders and a big hitter with one of the best hits I've seen on Adrian Lam in 2000.

Craig Gower - Was a fan of his from 2003-04 but never quite ascended to the level I expected him to. I really thought he'd make a splash in the representative scene but if anything, he never impressed and kept losing his spot to Kimmorley who was the quint-essential safe 'back-up' of the 00s. Don't know what the deal was but have a theory that he was one of those players who was probably more of a hooker than a halfback, got stuck playing half at club, did well but was always going to have a limited run. Sort of fear that Ben Hunt may end up the same way - I see a lot of similarities between the two.

Matt Orford - It was strange how he'd float in and out of games. One moment he's coming up with these ridiculously skillful plays that even the best of the best could only dream of executing with such precision. The next, he's totally missing or doing something completely stupid. At the end of the day, just don't think he had the mental toughness required to go to the next level and was fortunate to be apart of a Manly organisation on the rise because I don't think he was all that integral as demonstrated by their second premiership not long after through DCE.

On paper, it always struck me as odd that he never ended up playing Origin. He had more going for him than say a Peter Wallace, Mitchell Pearce or Brett Kimmorley yet he was omitted and nobody seemed to bat an eyelid, myself included.

Probably the least deserving Dally M winner of all-time.

Matt King - I've always wondered what sort of player he was for the Sharks to completely ignore him. Was he injury prone? Did he have feet for hands? I don't get it because he appeared to be a prospect for them since at least 2004 before coming into his own in 2005 in that remarkable display at Suncorp Stadium. For a time, he was one of those players I used to enjoy watching as a neutral but as soon as he hit JT with that cheap shot in Game 3 06, I dropped off the bandwagon in a big way and was so glad that my man Tate got the nod over him in the Tri Series Final. It served him right...

Was a good player from that 05-07 period, I'd have him in my Top 5 centres for sure around that time but I've always wondered whether or not he made the right decision to leave the NRL when he did. Was he about to be exposed? Or did the NRL lose out on another talented back that could have added to spectacle of the game?
 
BP has passed this onto me so I'm going to continue the trend

Nathan Merritt

Matt Moylan

Michael Gordon

Glenn Lazarus

Brett Finch
 
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Nathan Merritt - Great finisher at his prime but never did much other than score tries. Nathan Blacklock Mk 2.

Matt Moylan - Great youngish talent. Surprised he's as old as he is given how well he has performed. Sky is the limit for him.

Michael Gordon - Kind of over-rated. Good player, capable of some very positive moments, but he's not special. Kind of like an inferior version of Boyd.

Glenn Lazarus - I don't really remember too much of him. I remember some stuff from his day, but mostly of Alf and Renouf. Still, an absolute legend of the club.

Brett Finch - Useful player but had a career with more decorations than his talent warranted.
 
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