Marauder Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 On 11/01/2022 at 08:28, dkw said: I disagree, I think Graham had more to his game than Burgess, I still think Grahams ability to pass at the tackle is the best IVe ever seen for a forward. Really, you need to get on youtube and watch the props of yesteryear. Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits. http://www.pitchero....hornemarauders/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkw Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 14 minutes ago, Marauder said: Really, you need to get on youtube and watch the props of yesteryear. I've seen plenty, one of my favourite players of all time is Lee Crooks who was a master at it but in my opinion Graham was better, maybe because he was doing against much quicker defences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowdesert Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 23 hours ago, OMEGA said: Kevin Ward v Andy Platt which would you pick for GB Ward was great going forward and had a decent ‘around the man’ offload Platt had more pace, got involved more and was a brick wall in defence! Platt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 6 hours ago, dkw said: I've seen plenty, one of my favourite players of all time is Lee Crooks who was a master at it but in my opinion Graham was better, maybe because he was doing against much quicker defences. I was thinking further back than Lee but he's a good example of a player doing it week in week out and standing out when every club had one and sometimes two who could do the do. Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits. http://www.pitchero....hornemarauders/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMEGA Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 3 hours ago, Marauder said: I was thinking further back than Lee but he's a good example of a player doing it week in week out and standing out when every club had one and sometimes two who could do the do. Derek Pyke was one of the best at it, he’s not the first bloke you’d think of in this regard but he was an amazing handler of the ball and offloader. The absolute best ball handling forward I’ve ever seen was Bill Ashurst, he was a magician at it. There were times when you followed Bill with your eyes for a few seconds before realising that he’d already passed the ball and you never saw it. On the other hand he could throw a dummy that the whole stadium took. Closely followed by Steve Norton! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkw Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 10 hours ago, OMEGA said: Derek Pyke was one of the best at it, he’s not the first bloke you’d think of in this regard but he was an amazing handler of the ball and offloader. The absolute best ball handling forward I’ve ever seen was Bill Ashurst, he was a magician at it. There were times when you followed Bill with your eyes for a few seconds before realising that he’d already passed the ball and you never saw it. On the other hand he could throw a dummy that the whole stadium took. Closely followed by Steve Norton! I watched a few old Widnes games on youtube and had never heard of Pyke, but I was really impressed by him, he was some size but had incredible hands. Did he play for GB at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Stottle Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 On 11/01/2022 at 19:09, Waynebennettswinger said: Yeah even as a Saints Fan I would go Morley, Burgess and then Graham. All greats and not as much between them as some are making out. Anyone who thinks that Graham was miles behind Burgess or that Burgess was in a different league to Graham is allowing bias to cloud their judgement. oh and Kevin Ward was just incredible IMHO. Only played for my side for a short time but what an impact. I always like Ward, Sampson and Crooks at Cas, terrific props. Don't miss out Barry Johnson from that era, great ball playing prop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Stottle Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 20 hours ago, dkw said: I've seen plenty, one of my favourite players of all time is Lee Crooks who was a master at it but in my opinion Graham was better, maybe because he was doing against much quicker defences. I mentioned the 3rd Test v NZ '85 earlier in the thread - and linked it - has a reminder of a 19 year old Lee Crooks and how good he was even at such an early age and up against as fearsome a pack as you can imagine, have a look at it, I remember commenting at the time about Crooks "What a man, even though he is just a kid" He came on from the bench at about 20/25 mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Stottle Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 10 hours ago, OMEGA said: Derek Pyke was one of the best at it, he’s not the first bloke you’d think of in this regard but he was an amazing handler of the ball and offloader. The absolute best ball handling forward I’ve ever seen was Bill Ashurst, he was a magician at it. There were times when you followed Bill with your eyes for a few seconds before realising that he’d already passed the ball and you never saw it. On the other hand he could throw a dummy that the whole stadium took. Closely followed by Steve Norton! Leigh at that time had probably two if the best ball handling forwards running around on any RL field, along with Derek Pyke we also had Alf Wilkinson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynebennettswinger Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 34 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said: Don't miss out Barry Johnson from that era, great ball playing prop. I have to confess that I don’t remember him. I had to look him up tbh, not sure if it’s just before my time although clearly part of his career coincided with Crooks playing days. Anyway looks like a great servant to Cas and I am sure he was as good as you say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Stottle Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 55 minutes ago, dkw said: I watched a few old Widnes games on youtube and had never heard of Pyke, but I was really impressed by him, he was some size but had incredible hands. Did he play for GB at all? No neither Pykie or Wilkie played for GB, though they should have done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 5 hours ago, Waynebennettswinger said: I have to confess that I don’t remember him. I had to look him up tbh, not sure if it’s just before my time although clearly part of his career coincided with Crooks playing days. Anyway looks like a great servant to Cas and I am sure he was as good as you say. He was a very good player and you always got 100% from him. Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits. http://www.pitchero....hornemarauders/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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