The Roar: Broncos Best Team Ever

[theshed]

Great side, but I would have Lewis at lock instead of Carroll and Miles on the bench instead of Thaiday.

I even think Gillett was a bette player than Thaiday.

 

[BooKhaki]

Great side, but I would have Lewis at lock instead of Carroll and Miles on the bench instead of Thaiday.

How many times did Lewis play lock for Brisbane? Stop letting his feats at Origin level influence the need to pick him for a Brisbane side.

 

[Mustafur]

Lockyer at 6 and Hunt at 1 is the better option imo, Hunt was good enough to displace Billy in 1 for QLD and Australia and Lockyer was by far the best Broncos 6 we have ever had.

replace Kerrod with Berrigan and move Kevvie to 14.

 

[Foordy]

Lockyer at 6 and Hunt at 1 is the better option imo, Hunt was good enough to displace Billy in 1 for QLD and Australia and Lockyer was by far the best Broncos 6 we have ever had.

replace Kerrod with Berrigan and move Kevvie to 14.

i hate to sound like Gould, but ... NO NO NO NO NO

if we are talking best ever Broncos teams then both Locky and Kevvie need to be there and be in the starting side. it's a no brainer, Locky at 1, Kevvie at 6

 

[Mustafur]

i hate to sound like Gould, but ... NO NO NO NO NO

if we are talking best ever Broncos teams then both Locky and Kevvie need to be there and be in the starting side. it's a no brainer, Locky at 1, Kevvie at 6

In my view Lockyer was the best 6 the game has ever had, Kevvie was good and at a high rep level, but would rather have Lockyer at his best position. Hunt was our 2nd best fullback without question(behind Lockyer) so I don't see how it's that questionable, Hunt at his prime put slater out of the rep teams.

 

[roo-ted]

i hate to sound like Gould, but ... NO NO NO NO NO

“When you let the ball bounce you are inviting disappointment” Gus Gould 2020

 

[Bongo]

In my view Lockyer was the best 6 the game has ever had, Kevvie was good and at a high rep level, but would rather have Lockyer at his best position. Hunt was our 2nd best fullback without question(behind Lockyer) so I don't see how it's that questionable, Hunt at his prime put slater out of the rep teams.

Lewis better than Lockyer overall. Lockyer better for the Broncos in my view.

 

[Mustafur]

Lewis better than Lockyer overall. Lockyer better for the Broncos in my view.

I think Lewis was better then Lockyer compared to his peers but Lewis was at his peak in the semi professional era, Lockyer was playing against higher quality players without a doubt.

Lewis had no where near the kicking game of Lockyer.

 

[Alec]

I think Lewis was better then Lockyer compared to his peers but Lewis was at his peak in the semi professional era, Lockyer was playing against higher quality players without a doubt.

Lewis had no where near the kicking game of Lockyer.

It's hard to argue different eras IMO. Yeah, Lewis played in a semi professional era, but that also means he was a part of that era too. As in if he had been born 15 years later, he'd also have been an even better player with the amount of training they do in the professional era.

 

[Thelmus]

It's hard to argue different eras IMO. Yeah, Lewis played in a semi professional era, but that also means he was a part of that era too. As in if he had been born 15 years later, he'd also have been an even better player with the amount of training they do in the professional era.

Yeah, that's my take on it too. We have to remember a lot of the players would head off to training after working (sometimes hard labour).
Combine full time professionalism with a better understanding of diets and the money to make it all work, of course they can do things players of the past simply couldn't.
But what is readily apparent is the impact the great players had on those around and the game itself.
Watch the Combined Brisbane Team's win in the Panasonic cup (a team of the best professional players residing in Queensland) and you will instantly understand just how great a player Lewis was, even among fellow greats.
Likewise the same with lockyer or langer. They stand out.
It's telling that we have very few players who even come to that for us at the moment.
I put lockyer ahead of Lewis for the broncos having said all that (but not for their respective careers beyond our club). His impact was so much larger for us.

 

[WASSHHH]

Yeah, that's my take on it too. We have to remember a lot of the players would head off to training after working (sometimes hard labour).
Combine full time professionalism with a better understanding of diets and the money to make it all work, of course they can do things players of the past simply couldn't.
But what is readily apparent is the impact the great players had on those around and the game itself.
Watch the Combined Brisbane Team's win in the Panasonic cup (a team of the best professional players residing in Queensland) and you will instantly understand just how great a player Lewis was, even among fellow greats.
Likewise the same with lockyer or langer. They stand out.
It's telling that we have very few players who even come to that for us at the moment.
I put lockyer ahead of Lewis for the broncos having said all that (but not for their respective careers beyond our club). His impact was so much larger for us.

Another thing that makes it impossible to compare eras is the unknown around whether or not past players would have the discipline / desire to do whatever it takes to be the best in today’s game.

What I mean is; the demands, training, programs, diets, scrutiny etc. is so intense now. How many blokes have come along as recently as the last decade or so with all the skills in the world (Dave Taylor is a great example) but just didn’t have that Mick De Vere, Cooper Cronk strength and determination to squeeze every last bit out of themselves.

So whilst it’s a pretty safe bet that Lewis would have been even better had he played in later eras, I just don’t think it’s a given.

 

[Sproj]

If I was picking a team that I reckon would be guns in any era, I'd go:

1. Lockyer
2. Tuqiri
3. Renouf
4. Hodges
5. Sailor
6. Lewis
7. Langer
8. Webcke
9. Priddis
10. Lazarus
11. Tallis
12. Thorn
13. Parker

14. Berrigan
15. Civoniceva
16. Thaiday
17. Carroll

 

[Thelmus]

Another thing that makes it impossible to compare eras is the unknown around whether or not past players would have the discipline / desire to do whatever it takes to be the best in today’s game.

What I mean is; the demands, training, programs, diets, scrutiny etc. is so intense now. How many blokes have come along as recently as the last decade or so with all the skills in the world (Dave Taylor is a great example) but just didn’t have that Mick De Vere, Cooper Cronk strength and determination to squeeze every last bit out of themselves.

So whilst it’s a pretty safe bet that Lewis would have been even better had he played in later eras, I just don’t think it’s a given.

We'll never know, but another thought is how disciplined modern players would be if they combined their training with a full time job (and some for not much more than pocket money)
My under-19's match payments for a broncos feeder club went into a end of season trip. I ended up sick and never went. (it wasn't much though, I wasn'ta regular selection. )
If I was earning what some of these are getting, I'd have crawled onto that plane)
Since that was the early nineties, I was probably getting more than some future origin players were earning per match in the eighties.

 

[Mustafur]

It's hard to argue different eras IMO. Yeah, Lewis played in a semi professional era, but that also means he was a part of that era too. As in if he had been born 15 years later, he'd also have been an even better player with the amount of training they do in the professional era.

You can't judge it on that though, because as the game is professional the gaps between the best players and the average naturally gets smaller and for all we know the top players where training like professionals in that era that's why they had such a gap to their peers.

 

[1910]

Interesting talk about professional v semi professional this week I got to read Wally's contract for the Broncos. It was for three years. 88-90.

So in 1988.

$125,000 sign on each year.
$1500 a win
$750 a draw
$50 a loss

14 wins so there is $21,000 and eight losses so another $400.

That's $146,400.

 

[Kooly87]

Interesting talk about professional v semi professional this week I got to read Wally's contract for the Broncos. It was for three years. 88-90.

So in 1988.

$125,000 sign on each year.
$1500 a win
$750 a draw
$50 a loss

14 wins so there is $21,000 and eight losses so another $400.

That's $146,400.

The scary part is 20 years later, Lockyer was only earning around double that much.

 

[Mustafur]

Interesting talk about professional v semi professional this week I got to read Wally's contract for the Broncos. It was for three years. 88-90.

So in 1988.

$125,000 sign on each year.
$1500 a win
$750 a draw
$50 a loss

14 wins so there is $21,000 and eight losses so another $400.

That's $146,400.

Makes sense that the best players get the best money and there was no salary cap at the time, but most of the competition would of been on part timer money which would of effected their training and such as they had to get other work.

I Think it was Terry Lamb for the Bulldogs in the mid 80s who was one of the first full time players in the game, but of course he would been on much more money then the rest of his team.

 

[Xzei]

If I was picking a team that I reckon would be guns in any era, I'd go:

1. Lockyer
2. Tuqiri
3. Renouf
4. Hodges
5. Sailor
6. Lewis
7. Langer
8. Webcke
9. Priddis
10. Lazarus
11. Tallis
12. Thorn
13. Parker

14. Berrigan
15. Civoniceva
16. Thaiday
17. Carroll

id swap walters for lewis and then swap parker for lewis