Best backrow?

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eagle66

Bencher
I was watching Manly v Sydney City match yesterday from 1997 and Ray Warren asked an interesting question, "is (was) the backrow for Manly, Menzies, Gartner & Kosef the best backrow ever seen in Rugby League?" The only combination thrown up was the backrow from Souths, McCarthy, Stevens and Sait from the 60's.
Any thoughts on the best backrow from a team from NRL season's? No matter how much we ridicule T-rex, our backrow for 2011 must get close, Stewart, Watmough & Williams.
I don't watch much of the opposition's games, so it is hard for me to consider any of the opposition.
 
Choc, Gifty and Beaver were pretty handy together as well. We also had some good back rows in the 70's and 80's. Mal Reilly, Igor & Zorba. Crusher, Rambo Gibbs and Fatty.

Penrith had Geyer, Cartwright and Van der Voort back in the early 90's (and Fittler when he played there).

Norm Provan, Elton Rasmussen and Johnny Raper won a few premierships together for St George in the 60's.
 
Watching the Tigs game tonight reminds me of Pearce, Sironen and McGuire/Dave Brooks for them in the late 80's.

They made consecutive grand finals, but just fell short. (Brooks was a good goal-kicker too).

My Manly bias felt Beaver, Gartner, Kosef were just as good. And we've had great back rows year by year; decade by decade.

Choc would just about be in any Manly team, any era, for mine (even just on the bench ).
 
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.
 
silvertail said:
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.

I would hesitate to say Nik Kosef could score a long range try mate.

Especially when his knees became chronically dodgy, in the backend of his career.

Certainly Beaver and Garts had enough pace to play in the back line, for sure.

But fully concur: all Manly greats. (Daniel Gartner was quite underrated too).
 
RiverEagle said:
silvertail said:
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.

I would hesitate to say Nik Kosef could score a long range try mate.

Especially when his knees became chronically dodgy, in the backend of his career.

Certainly Beaver and Garts had enough pace to play in the back line, for sure.

But fully concur: all Manly greats. (Daniel Gartner was quite underrated too).

I knew someone would pipe up and comment on Nik's dodgy knee ... :)
 
silvertail said:
RiverEagle said:
silvertail said:
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.

I would hesitate to say Nik Kosef could score a long range try mate.

Especially when his knees became chronically dodgy, in the backend of his career.

Certainly Beaver and Garts had enough pace to play in the back line, for sure.

But fully concur: all Manly greats. (Daniel Gartner was quite underrated too).

I knew someone would pipe up and comment on Nik's dodgy knee ... :)

Nik was Bozo's (and the game's) first oversized 5/8 too!

Long before Sutton or $BW were played there.

Loved Kosef and co.
 
Pepi said:
Menzies, Watmough, Kennedy 2005-06

That was a sensational backrow.

I think BK and Beaver rate as 2 of the greatest all time backrowers (alongside people like Brad Clyde), and Choc is pretty handy too, although I can't put him alongside those players.

I remember back in that era Matty Johns used to talk about Manly's backrow and how it was so different to other teams, and that Manly's direction at that time didn't come from their halves but from their backrow.

That backrow had tonnes of mongrel (BK and Choc were as aggressive as anyone), ball skills (Beaver was a talent, and BKs offloads were exceptional), massive workrate (all 3 could and did play for 80mins making a mountain of tackles and hitups) and they could all score a try.
 
silvertail said:
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.

100% agree, especially at the time this was the best backrow ever seen.


RiverEagle said:
silvertail said:
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.

I would hesitate to say Nik Kosef could score a long range try mate.

Especially when his knees became chronically dodgy, in the backend of his career.

Certainly Beaver and Garts had enough pace to play in the back line, for sure.

But fully concur: all Manly greats. (Daniel Gartner was quite underrated too).

It wasn't dodgy for his whole career. Which means the original point stands. When these 3 were all fit and all firing, this was the best backrow ever seen, they were unstoppable and would burn teams constantly, then turn around and stop anyone that ran at them.
 
RiverEagle said:
silvertail said:
RiverEagle said:
silvertail said:
Menzies, Gartner & Kosef are a shade better than any backrow ever seen in Rugby League. All 3 could attack ... And that included the ability to score long range tries. All 3 were superb defenders ... And that included one on ones. All 3 were sublimely talented ... And great ambassadors for league.

I would hesitate to say Nik Kosef could score a long range try mate.

Especially when his knees became chronically dodgy, in the backend of his career.

Certainly Beaver and Garts had enough pace to play in the back line, for sure.

But fully concur: all Manly greats. (Daniel Gartner was quite underrated too).

I knew someone would pipe up and comment on Nik's dodgy knee ... :)

Nik was Bozo's (and the game's) first oversized 5/8 too!

Long before Sutton or $BW were played there.

Loved Kosef and co.

Olsen Filipaina was bigger.
 
Isn't it funny how a lot of back rowers started out as centres or halves in the junior grades and even played there in first grade, be it for a long time or briefly. Igor, Ian Martin, Crusher, Rambo, Des, Beaver, Garts.

Even She-Rex started in first grade at Parramatta as a winger. He was either going to be the next Manu (he could have been if he wasn't so lazy) or a damaging back rower, which he has been and still could be if.....surprise surprise he wasn't so lazy. The Scumdogs problem is they don't have someone like Foz, who constantly yelled at him to run the damn ball at pace, to get him to do what he is good at.
 
HoldenV8 said:
Isn't it funny how a lot of back rowers started out as centres or halves in the junior grades and even played there in first grade, be it for a long time or briefly. Igor, Ian Martin, Crusher, Rambo, Des, Beaver, Garts.

Even She-Rex started in first grade at Parramatta as a winger.

He played on the wing for us for a while too.
 
And the bloody wingers all over the place now are as big as props!

And twice as fast.

(Apart from our Starlo and BJ, that is!)
 

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