Is Billy Slater better than Brett Stewart?

[bob dylan]

Slater a class above, but Brett was so great for us.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Slater in big games under pressure has a hell of a lot of mistakes in him

Personally I wouldn't swap Stewart for any other fullback I have seen

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Most definitely an Immoral. Totally agree.

Agreed.

Immoral suits him to a 't.'

 

[manly al]

Always hard to choose between two great and competitive players . Slater has consistently played at a very high level and always showing his all round excellent skills and ability . Bret , also blessed with so much talent and brilliance and was so important to the Sea eagles prospects when fit and well and which also took him to some rep level selection . Slater would have a slight edge but Bret of course will be regarded as one of Manly"s greatest full backs. { But i still think that Wombat Eadie still had both of them covered ]

 

[mjb136]

Slater try per game % = 61%

Snake try per game % = 73%

 

[Harvies elbow]

Slater in big games under pressure has a hell of a lot of mistakes in him

Personally I wouldn't swap Stewart for any other fullback I have seen

I'm sure you would remember a rather crucial mistake in the 08 world Cup final Kiwi...

 

[eaglebuzz]

Stewart would have been the better overall player but between the rape allegation, serious knee injuries, and his post Gift-snubbing dummy spit, he never reached his full potential.

I'm glad Stewart was our fullback for the time that he was performing well for us, and before he started white-anting the club he was my favourite player... but Slater has had the better career.

 

[desreturnoftheking]

Stewart would have been the better overall player but between the rape allegation, serious knee injuries, and his post Gift-snubbing dummy spit, he never reached his full potential.

I'm glad Stewart was our fullback for the time that he was performing well for us, and before he started white-anting the club he was my favourite player... but Slater has had the better career.

I was very disappointed in him for his efforts in his last few games. He should of been going for try scoring record but choose not to for some reason

 

[conanu]

Slater has the Ch9 and Fox boys licking his bum and always has, Billy has always been the media darling with his 12 year old boy voice, they blow smoke up his arse at every opportunity. Billy Slater is far from the best fullback to play the game and he is even further from being an immortal, however that wont stop them making him one.
If Billy Slater had 2 knee recons then he wouldn't even warrant a mention. However Melbourne players have been absolutely blessed when it come to very few season ending injurys, even Billys shoulder problem was a blessing in a way because it meant he never lost any pace.
Best way to judge it is by both players at their prime and Stewart was easily better than Slater when Stewart was in his prime. Unfortunately negative media will mean that Brett will never get the recognition he deserves. Its the same bunch of idiots in the media that have been the reason that NSW consistently picked their mates in Origin and we continued to lose. The same idiots who love a redemption story and tell us Mitchell Pearce is amazing. The same idiots that have an almighty sook when Manly get a decision awarded to them in error like last Fridays Uate.

 

[MadMarcus]

It's hard at this point in time to not be influenced by Billy's current brilliant form, as compared to Snake going out with barely a whimper in his final season last year, but when they were both in their prime Snake was the better player.

 

[globaleagle]

I wonder how slater's career/stats would have turned out if there was no cap cheating by the storm? The make up of the team would have been rather different.

Playing fullback behind an illegally structured team should certainly make your career better than it should be. (Unless you're Parra - lol)

Slater is a good player, for sure, but he certainly has a real positive environment surrounding his talents. (ie - the best team twice the money could buy.)

I shall say Stewart is better of the two. Kiwi Eagle is right when he says Slater can stuff it up in big games. Brett never needed to slide studs first into layers, kick his feet out when taking bombs, and all the other gutless things Slater has done.

Brett also achieved this without the love fest that is shown to Slater.

I just feel Brett was better even so.

 

[Shells Eagles]

Stewart is a Manly legend however I have been really disappointed that it apppears he has not been around the club supporting the young guys.Slater has displayed is a great clubman for the Storm as even when out injured he is always at training and involved with his teammates.Does anyone know if Stewart and Matai are involved with supporting the club ?

 

[brad]

On their best days , both brilliant
Some things ive seen brett Stewart do , no one could even think about doing not even slater . These 2 were the best 2 fullbacks ive witnessed.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Slater has Brett in 1 area clearly...support plays...every game Slater supports that ruck area 100 times and gets it 7-8 times with often 2-3 line breaks.

True, support play through the middle taking inside balls or chasing short kicks is a Slater trademark.
The other area Slater exceeds Brett is kick returns.
However Stewart was better in back-line plays, last line one-on-one tackles, and also didn't have Slater's propensity for brain explosions.
Slater qualifies as a great imo while Stewart's greatness is best demonstrated by his absences when taken out in the '07 GF and missing in '09 and '10.
The setbacks Stewart endured count against him in the media adulation stakes but not in my eyes, in my eyes they're pretty much on a par, both exceptional talents.

 

[COMMANDER]

Take out all of the off field stuff Slater has greater longevity, much better Rep credentials and was more capable then Brett in front of the camera.

It will be quite a feat when he's selected for QLD after his long absence from the game.

 

[mike walker]

G'day all,Yes.
cheers mike

 

[sheridanstand78]

Both are brilliant full backs and have contrasting styles. Both have great ability to break open a game and can be an extra 5/8 as well. Billy has the edge on overall honours and I do believe that the 2 years that Brett lost due to knee injuries and that awful court case robbed him of his peak, cause at the end of the 08 season he was right up there. I put Snake in the top 3 fullbacks we have seen in the Maroon and White. The fact that he played his entire career as a type 1 diabetic speaks volumes for the courage and toughness he showed on the pitch. Billy Slater keeps on keeping on and he's been lucky that he has had in his team the same spine to play with nearly every week. He is the best fullback since Langlands I think.

 

[Pittwater Legend]

I would have loved to have watched Wombat's whole career. Only a handful of players won 4 premierships with Manly and no doubt he would have been a huge part of that success.

 

[PONTIAN SEA EAGLE]

My avatar 2 premierships cheat slater 1.Don't care who was better.

 

[HoldenV8]

Unfortunately, when it comes to looking at who the better player was between the two who were far and away the best 2 fullbacks of their era, Slater has the runs on the board, especially when it comes to rep footy and that's the main thing a lot of the so-called experts look at.

The Kangaroos were fairly dominant and Slater was almost always there while Snake only played the one test. The same with Origin. Slater was part of one of the most dominant domestic representative sides in history while Snake was in a NSW side that couldn't seem to win a rigged chook raffle let alone an Origin series.

History will say that Slater was the better fullback of the two mostly because of his better representative record. But that doesn't tell the full story.

However, and putting aside my Manly bias (though it may not seem so), for mine Snake was the more talented of the two and the better all round player and if he had been a Queenslander, Slater might well have been seen as a winger or centre in representative football.....