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Rugby League players who could have/could make the switch

W

Willus

Bob McCowan (2)
I personally think Inglis would fill in at 12 MUCH better than 13, my reason being is that he's versatile (having played Wing, Fullback, Centre and Five-Eighth in league) enough to be able to know what each position requires. Someone with his speed, size, power and skill would be an excellent attacking weapon and he has a monster of a boot on him as well, which is something where being at 12 is much handier than 13. His D is great and more than enough to warrant defending in the 12 channel considering the size of some of the players there these days (Nonu, Roberts, JDV all come to mind).

I was rather disappointed that the ARU didn't snaffle him up (or even try to) during the Storm controversy, he would have been an excellent buy.
 
bryce

bryce

Darby Loudon (17)
I'd have loved to have seen Joey Johns playing at 10. He tackled like a back rower, had a superb kicking game and a freakish ability to find holes in any defence. I know I'll cop it for saying this, but for me he was the most brilliant and complete player in either code while he was running around. And I don't think I've seen anyone as good since.
 
wamberal

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
bryce said:
I'd have loved to have seen Joey Johns playing at 10. He tackled like a back rower, had a superb kicking game and a freakish ability to find holes in any defence. I know I'll cop it for saying this, but for me he was the most brilliant and complete player in either code while he was running around. And I don't think I've seen anyone as good since.
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He had his chance to switch, he did not have the ticker for it. So, in my book, that means he was not as good as you think.
 
Riptide

Riptide

Dave Cowper (27)
wamberal said:
He had his chance to switch, he did not have the ticker for it. So, in my book, that means he was not as good as you think.
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He "did not have the ticker" for it?! Riiiiiiiigggt.

He chose to stick with the sport in which he had made a very good living and took the offer of a guaranteed gig in TV if he remained in league. Like most professional athlete's whose career is winding down, he took the best offer.
 
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Riptide

Riptide

Dave Cowper (27)
bryce said:
I'd have loved to have seen Joey Johns playing at 10. He tackled like a back rower, had a superb kicking game and a freakish ability to find holes in any defence. I know I'll cop it for saying this, but for me he was the most brilliant and complete player in either code while he was running around. And I don't think I've seen anyone as good since.
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I completely agree. He had extraordinary vision and could put players through the finest of gaps that I doubt anyone could have seen. He was brilliant; nobody could play the flat line attack like him. On the field, he had everything including being a ruthless competitor and leader.
 
wamberal

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
Riptide said:
He "did not have the ticker" for it?! Riiiiiiiigggt.

He chose to stick with the sport in which he had made a very good living and took the offer of a guaranteed gig in TV if he remained in league. Like most professional athlete's whose career is winding down, he took the best offer.
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He was not brave enough to back himself to win selection for the Wallabies. If he was so good, he would have walked it in, wouldn't he?


Maybe not. He did have some huge off-field problems, after all, public knowledge in Newcastle, might have been difficult to hide away if he had been good enough to tour with the Wallabies, or even at Super Rugby level.
 
W

Waylon

Guest
I didn't read the rest so apologies if I've covered old ground

Greg Inglis would be pretty tasty in a wallaby 13

Billy Slater in a wallaby 15 or 11/14

The Fijian who is on the wing for NSW would be good too but I suspect he has the kicking skills of big Dill Sailor. I reckon he would make an explosive 12 or 13 anyway

Darren Lockyer would have been an amazing 10 or 15 or 12
 
W

Waylon

Guest
yeah..........just noticed Johns. He would have been a good 10 or 12 also
 
It is what it is

It is what it is

John Solomon (38)
Riptide said:
I completely agree. He had extraordinary vision and could put players through the finest of gaps that I doubt anyone could have seen. He was brilliant; nobody could play the flat line attack like him. On the field, he had everything including being a ruthless competitor and leader.
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Agree that Joey would have made it in Rugby but Mark Ella played flat line attack like nobody else.......remember him?
The defence Ella faced wasn't back 5-10 metres like league and he had a flanker flying at him too.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
Lol. I believe at the time Johns was playing Larkham was the wallabies 10. And Johns would not have been able to displace Larkham in the wallabies. You are delusional if you think he would.
 
It is what it is

It is what it is

John Solomon (38)
James Buchanan said:
I sincerely doubt that any league player would be a viable option in the scrum, without a few years of intensive training.
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That's a given, it's not about converting over a week or an off season, it's about who would have 'made it'.
Add playing outside centre in defence as a huge challenge for a league convert. Just grab a copy of Tahu against Sth Africa when he was clueless and impersonated a turnstile.
Many people think it's easier for backs to convert, but it's more outside backs who succeed like Rogers and Tuqiri.
 
It is what it is

It is what it is

John Solomon (38)
wamberal said:
Kevin Ryan at 8
Dick Thornett at 6
Ray Price at 7
Phil Hawthorne or Arthur Summons at 10
Trevor Allen at 12
Michael O'Connor at 13 and so on...........


This is a pretty stupid thread, frankly. We might just as well have a thread talking about AFL or soccer players who could have played rugby, and quite a few (particularly AFL players), would have been sensational - somebody like Leigh Matthews, for example - I would have him before some of the league players listed above. And Alex Jesaulenko actually was a very good rugby player.


Nowadays, if a player wants a professional career in rugby, and is good enough, there is plenty of room, here, and in other countries. Players who prefer league are probably in the right game for them. Will Chambers, for example, is a star, comparatively speaking, in league. Jarrod Saffy had a couple of seasons in the NRL, and was a regular starter in a premiership winning side. Lote Tuqiri puts his walking stick away every weekend, and hobbles to the ground.


Two different games, frankly, with a similar name, and a few similarities, but many, many differences.
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Don't contribute then or do what you do when there's a show on TV you don't like....change the channel of turn the TV off.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
There is crap load of League players who COULD be great. Too many to list. The trouble is that it would still take time for these players to develop in rugby, at least up to 3 seasons to get them up to speed with the game. Very few could walk staight in (I honestly can't think of any - maybe a few who could be stuck on the wing).
 
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