Scariest players - Now & Then

[maxta]

In the modern game which is well watered down in relation to contact and to preserve safety in the game.
There are still a few fierce players out there....
Who do you rate from today's game and yesteryear....long back as you recall your footy.

Klemmer is 1 who looks a tad crazy and is all elbows and knees and still plays on the red line....as much as todays game allows anyway....Gallen is a tough nut and just keeps aiming up and tackling AFB after a kickoff or dropout could end a career.

old school have to have Terry Randall - the bloke was a piece of iron and anyone who seen his shot on the Huge Dallas Donnelly would get it....
Les Davidson was enother you would have wanted on your team and a favourite was our own lanky backrower Ronnie "Kamikaze"Gibbs.

Plenty of others so keen to hear a few players and stories....

 

[BOZO]

Now !!!

 

[sheridanstand78]

I would not swap Steve Matai for any other centre, he put genuine fear into his opponents and the day he smashed Ennis was memorable considering what a dick Ennis is!

 

[TWO DOGS]

Yesteryear - Randall, Boyd, Reilly for Manly. Donnelly and Gibbs as front row for Wests. Watson and Kneen for Cronulla. Kevin Ryan for St George. Bugden for Newtown. Morley and Beetson for Roosters. O'Neill, Piggins, Frith and Sait for Souths.

Today - Kapow, Sam Burgess, Hargreaves, Klemmer, Fafita,

 

[Captain Moondog]

Then- Bumper Farrell
Now- Russel Packer

 

[Shoe1]

Hoppa

 

[HappilyManly]

Kapow has no mongrel since his brand Kapow inception

Manly needs to unearth another crazy mofo like Igor or Spud ASAP

AFB is the closest one at Manly to take on the role

 

[Shoe1]

Big Mario was pretty loco for a few years. Gentle giant these days but a scary forward in his day.

 

[anthonyb1965]

Really enjoyed reading your threads this off season @maxta

Thanks mate.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

O'Neill, Piggins, Frith and Sait for Souths.

Yes, when I was a kid and first started following Manly they kept coming up against that champion Souths side.
There was very little tv coverage and I'd pore over every written word and newspaper photograph. Many of the players from that era looked scary to me.
At least to my young imagination, blokes like O'Neill, Sattler, Bob Moses and Sait were lawless thugs who would break the bones if not threaten the lives of the gallant Manly footy players as soon as spit on them.
Was actually one of the reasons I came to follow the game. Felt like a real-life good vs evil drama unfolding on the footy field, with real danger ever-present. Our guys were heroes just for standing up to those bullies!
Of more modern players, Tallis, Morley and our own Steve Matai rate a mention.

 

[Sue]

I’m terms of legal tackles apart from the usual legendary suspects slightly lesser lights in the more modern era like Charlie Frith( biggest hitter I ever saw) Terry Regan,Dean Lance, Joe Thomas , Peter Kelly ,Matt Rua ( plenty illegal too!) Ronny Gibbs , Ian Roberts ,Axe Gilmeister , Nigel Plumb and Wally Fullerton Smith certainly cut a few guys in half. Fullerton Smith in particular had the entire Brisbane comp in the early 80s( which was incredibly strong in that period) running scared.

 

[Boozo]

David Gillespie wasn't nicknamed 'Cement' for nothing. He sent many an opposition forward back to the sheds with a jumper full of sore ribs. Most importantly, he even played for the mighty Sea Eagles at one stage.

 

[Sue]

Ah yes. Cement. Part of that scary dogs pack before he joined us via the magpies. How could I forget him.

Hard to think of a harder modern pack than the dogs in the 80s with Kelly Tunks Gillespie Thomas Folks and co stalking you.

Toughest game I ever saw live was the Manly East semi played in the heat at the SCG in 1987.

 

[Chip and Chase]

The Rampling Bros were crazy mofos. I'm glad someone mentioned Terry Regan - mad as a meataxe.

Dean Pay also had those pyscho eyes going on.

 

[Sue]

Can’t leave Kevin Ward out either.

 

[maxta]

Big Mario was pretty loco for a few years. Gentle giant these days but a scary forward in his day.

Went to Brookie as a youngster to watch Manly vs Souths and they had a Massive pack.
The Souths team were warming up and I was shocked at Mario as in size, he was a Monster and for a hooker dwarfed most his team mates....he looked over at me in my Seaeagle jersey and glared....I accept your scary nomination Shoe1....

 

[Shoe1]

Went to Brookie as a youngster to watch Manly vs Souths and they had a Massive pack.
The Souths team were warming up and I was shocked at Mario as in size, he was a Monster and for a hooker dwarfed most his team mates....he looked over at me in my Seaeagle jersey and glared....I accept your scary nomination Shoe1....

I remember a souths game where they had an all in brawl in about the 1st five mins? I was on the hill southern corner quite close to the fight. It was brutal and I was scared watching it.

 

[SirPigman]

In the modern game which is well watered down in relation to contact and to preserve safety in the game.
There are still a few fierce players out there....
Who do you rate from today's game and yesteryear....long back as you recall your footy.

Klemmer is 1 who looks a tad crazy and is all elbows and knees and still plays on the red line....as much as todays game allows anyway....Gallen is a tough nut and just keeps aiming up and tackling AFB after a kickoff or dropout could end a career.

old school have to have Terry Randall - the bloke was a piece of iron and anyone who seen his shot on the Huge Dallas Donnelly would get it....
Les Davidson was enother you would have wanted on your team and a favourite was our own lanky backrower Ronnie "Kamikaze"Gibbs.

Plenty of others so keen to hear a few players and stories....

Les Boyd

 

[Cioran]

Manu Mau for the eyes.

Steve Norton, Phil Lowe - didn’t know how to step back.

Igor of course - any one who ran at him knew they were in for pain.

 

[rosco]

The toughest forward pack I have seen was the Eagles '72 side. Randall, Reilly and O'Neill will always be in the list of the hardest men to play league. Add Alan Thomson who was a tough tackling second rower, Herman Hamilton who was a man mountain and Freddy Jones who was an old fashioned tough hooker. Laid the platform for the backline which included three greats in Bozo, Ken Irvine and Wombat Eadie. Led us to our first premiership.