Give me Billy Slater over Hayne anyday
Roar Rookie By rozamate, 9 Mar 2010 rozamate is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Billy Slater, Jarryd Hayne, NRL, Rugby League
Storm player Billy Slater skips away from Andrew McCullough during the Rugby League, NRL Round 2, Brisbane Broncos v Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium, Friday March 20, 2009. Broncos won 16 - 14. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
The lead up to the NRL season has seen Jarryd Hayne’s face on the front and back pages of newspapers. It got me thinking, is Hayne really the best fullback Australia has to offer? Is he really is as good as the media has hyped him up to be?
In my opinion, Melbourne fullback Billy Slater has proven himself a far better player than Jarryd Hayne over the years. Not to say that Hayne isn’t as talented as Slater, he just lacks the week in week out consistency needed to be a superstar player.
Nobody can deny Hayne’s super run of form at the end of the season, but the question had to be asked, where was this form at the start of the season, when Parramatta were sitting close to the bottom of the table? Meanwhile, Billy Slater was producing brilliant football every week for Melbourne and for Queensland.
The 2009 grand final was probably the biggest indicator of who was the better player, with the pair playing against each other on the biggest of stages. Jarryd Hayne was hardly seen anywhere on the field whilst Slater produced a typical Slater performance and was awarded the Clive Churchill medal for best on ground.
So, in my opinion, Billy Slater is by far a better player than Jarryd Hayne in the present game and deserves as much press as Hayne.
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- Billy Slater, Jarryd Hayne, NRL, Rugby League
March 9th 2010 @ 2:03pm
Mushi said | March 9th 2010 @ 2:03pm | Report comment
You could almost write the same criticism of Hayne who is prone to gambling, much like Billy, and has a similar memorable clanger (state of origin) on a much shorter resume than Billy and was MIA in his only appearance at a grand final.
Possibly because they are both mercurial fullbacks that gamble often?
I’d take Billy, at this point, because he seems to fit more easily into a team structure where as Hayne needs a high volume of touches to be effective but can’t play in the halves so to maximise his talents you need to build around him. Still if he was the consolation prize, it wouldn’t be a bad one.
March 9th 2010 @ 4:41pm
Stormin Red said | March 9th 2010 @ 4:41pm | Report comment
Both are prone to errors because they are always pushing the envelope in attack, going for that little extra play that the average player would not dare to try. It is the same thing that makes them so good that makes them prone to the occassional error.
March 9th 2010 @ 10:00pm
Mrs T said | March 9th 2010 @ 10:00pm | Report comment
Many thanks for the blog, and I strongly agree, although this debate is becoming somewhat of a dry argument … There are many things that separate Billy Slater and Jarryd Hayne as fooball players, and as people, and their only constant is that they both play Rugby League in the position of fullback, other then that they are poles apart … This shows, if through nothing else, the age and maturity differences of these two men … In 5 years Slater will be 31 and Hayne will be 26, the same age Billy is today … Who knows if Hayne will even be playing league ??? Then, there is the difference in size – weight for age, as apposed to the size of ones heart, and knowledge and insight into the game, and that at least is one thing Billy Slater can’t possibly be judged on, he is simply super brilliant at reading play – and if making mistakes is about taking chances in a split second, then I’ll bet that Slater’s mistakes hardly rate as apposed to his try scoring and try assists and winning games – MR CONSISTENCY… As an athlete Slater’s outstanding performance on Channel 7′s, Rexona’s Australia’s Greatest Athlete in 2009 and 2010, clearly showed his committment, determination, ingenuity and dire ability to compete … (Perhaps Jarryd can show his true blue ability in 2011) … Of course, among other things there are their differing cultures, family upbringing, and their discipline and respect for the game of league … It’s more than obvious that Billy has a much more connective and appreciative grassroots approach to the game, and Hayne exudes a more glorified persona, that has very little to do with God, or perhaps it’s more the media who inflate his egotisical balloon, that annoys the crap out of most … There is something about Billy Slater that is a little “old school” that is refreshingly unique, and definately can’t be learnt, a generational and nurtured thing – which for once can’t be awarded or bought, irrespective how large your next contract may be …
GO QUEENSLANDER … GO MELBOURNE STORM … GO BILLY SLATER !!!
March 16th 2010 @ 8:34am
RJ said | March 16th 2010 @ 8:34am | Report comment
Slater