Crushercleal
Bencher
'07 team v '96 team - player breakdown and analysis
Hey guys. Well I've been thinking whether we have the team to go all the way this year. So I decided to compare it to our previous Grand Final team from 1996 to see if we have what it takes. Here were the results:
FULLBACK : ('96) Ridge v ('07) Stewart. Ridge was one of the most clever players going around - he had a real football brain. Not to mention that he did practically everything: scored tries, saved tries, set up tries, general kicking and kicked goals. Stewart is a better pure try-scorer, and will only get better with age. EDGE: '96, but Stewy will get better.
WINGS : ('96) Hoppa, D Moore, C Hancock v ('07) Robbo, Hicks. Hoppa in his day was the most intimidating winger going around. Moore was very underrated, and always sound. Hancock was very solid. Hicks and Robbo are just solid. EDGE: '96
CENTERS : ('96) Tezza and C Innes v ('07) Bell, Lyon and Matai. Tezza was the best center in his day, and Innes was unbelievably good too - never got the recognition he deserved. These two were outstanding in attack and even better in defence. Bell and Lyon form the best center combo in the Comp today, 'niff said. EDGE : I'll call this one even.
HALVES : ('96) Cliffy and Tooves v ('07) Burns/Lyon and Ox. Cliffy was the most creative player of his time; no one could set up a try like him. Tooves was all heart. He bled the Manly maroon and was Captain. Burns is still unproven. Lyon could be great. Ox is great and has great ticker. EDGE : '96
BACK ROW : ('96) Beaver, Kosef and Gartner v ('07) Beaver, Stewy2 and Willo. The '96 backrow was amongst the greatest of all time - flawless. No argument about this one. EDGE: '96, no contest.
[FRONT ROW:('96) Spud Carroll, Cement Gillespie, and Jim Serdaris v ('07) Kite, King and Monas.
Spud and Cement were the most destructive front row of the mid '90s. They ran hard and hit even harder. Kite is world class. King isn't. EDGE : '96 easily.
BENCH: ('97) Tierney, Hasler, Hancock and Cunningham v ('07) Rose, Bryant, Ballin and Hall. The '96 guys would have started on most teams. The same can't be said for the '07 bench.
EDGE: '96
Well, as you can see the '96 team wins hands down. What does this tell us? The '96 team was unbelievable and rarely lost. It's a tough comparison for the '07 team. It also shows that whilst the '07 team has some great players, we are also lacking in key areas.
Hey guys. Well I've been thinking whether we have the team to go all the way this year. So I decided to compare it to our previous Grand Final team from 1996 to see if we have what it takes. Here were the results:
FULLBACK : ('96) Ridge v ('07) Stewart. Ridge was one of the most clever players going around - he had a real football brain. Not to mention that he did practically everything: scored tries, saved tries, set up tries, general kicking and kicked goals. Stewart is a better pure try-scorer, and will only get better with age. EDGE: '96, but Stewy will get better.
WINGS : ('96) Hoppa, D Moore, C Hancock v ('07) Robbo, Hicks. Hoppa in his day was the most intimidating winger going around. Moore was very underrated, and always sound. Hancock was very solid. Hicks and Robbo are just solid. EDGE: '96
CENTERS : ('96) Tezza and C Innes v ('07) Bell, Lyon and Matai. Tezza was the best center in his day, and Innes was unbelievably good too - never got the recognition he deserved. These two were outstanding in attack and even better in defence. Bell and Lyon form the best center combo in the Comp today, 'niff said. EDGE : I'll call this one even.
HALVES : ('96) Cliffy and Tooves v ('07) Burns/Lyon and Ox. Cliffy was the most creative player of his time; no one could set up a try like him. Tooves was all heart. He bled the Manly maroon and was Captain. Burns is still unproven. Lyon could be great. Ox is great and has great ticker. EDGE : '96
BACK ROW : ('96) Beaver, Kosef and Gartner v ('07) Beaver, Stewy2 and Willo. The '96 backrow was amongst the greatest of all time - flawless. No argument about this one. EDGE: '96, no contest.
[FRONT ROW:('96) Spud Carroll, Cement Gillespie, and Jim Serdaris v ('07) Kite, King and Monas.
Spud and Cement were the most destructive front row of the mid '90s. They ran hard and hit even harder. Kite is world class. King isn't. EDGE : '96 easily.
BENCH: ('97) Tierney, Hasler, Hancock and Cunningham v ('07) Rose, Bryant, Ballin and Hall. The '96 guys would have started on most teams. The same can't be said for the '07 bench.
EDGE: '96
Well, as you can see the '96 team wins hands down. What does this tell us? The '96 team was unbelievable and rarely lost. It's a tough comparison for the '07 team. It also shows that whilst the '07 team has some great players, we are also lacking in key areas.
