They love a good story north of the Tweed. I’ve heard and experienced a few of the Queensland ones.
Port Douglas is the most pristine place on earth, Bundaberg Rum is the best rum in the world, Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen was the best premier in the world, XXXX is the best beer in the world and of course XXXX is beer.
They love twisting the truth in the land of the banana bender.
Myth and legend plays just as big a part when it comes to rugby league.
Wally ‘The King’ Lewis, ruled over all and sundry before him during those heady, halcyon days of the 1980s, and early 1990s.
“Darren Lockyer was a better player than Andrew Johns”.
“Wayne Bennett is the greatest rugby league coach that ever graced the game”.
Queensland love to hype up their own to the point of such hyperbole, that the mere attempt to fathom any logic or reason is surely an exercise in futility.
But there are some myths that simply do not stand up to any rhyme, reason, logic, or sense of reality, and none more so than the myth that we have been fed to make us believe that Darius Boyd is the number one fullback in Australia at the moment.
No, he is not.
I can handle the platitudes that go King Wally’s way. As a small child watching his ritualistic demolition of the NSW Blues annually in the 1980s, Wally stood out as the lead executioner. Albeit, I would argue he only played three good games a year, but they were three bloody good ones.
And while it pains me to admit it, Darren Lockyer, though not a patch on the greatest player I ever saw with my own eyes (one: A. Johns), at least he has the runs on the board. Captained his country, won Origin series, won premierships, record games holder, mastered two positions, at least he actually achieved something.
But Darius Boyd?
Has rugby league become that hard up for genuinely great players that we rush to laud the likes of such over-rated mediocrity encapsulated in a player that has never done so little, and managed to enjoy such a steady ride on the coat tails of so many?
No, no, before you start commenting below on how biased, ridiculous, and wrong I am, before you start throwing names at myself and relatives, just stop, and remember that we’re talking about Darius Boyd.
Yes, Darius Boyd.
The player who only plays when Bennett coaches.
The player who, firstly unbelievably gets picked for Queensland, manages to stand idly at the end of plays started by Johnathan Thurston, finished by Greg Inglis, and allowing Boyd to place a ball over a line.
The guy who did so little at Newcastle, we were packing his bags and booking his tickets out of town the first chance we got.
Yes, Darius Boyd.
He can’t pass. Can’t really tackle. I saw him run, once, and that was when he was playing for St George Illawarra, after taking one of the luckiest intercepts I have ever witnessed in my entire life.
He can’t kick the ball.
I think he can catch, which you would imagine he would do a fair bit as a fullback, but considering he spends a lot of time running away from the ball, take a photo of him doing that, because it’s rare. And most of his catches are when Greg Inglis is giving him the ball over a vacant NSW-defended tryline.
And the reason I mention all of this is that, in light of an Australian team that has managed to name three fullbacks in it, it amazes me that Darius wound up with the ‘1’ on the back of his jersey. If I’m Greg Inglis or Josh Dugan, and I’m playing out of position to accommodate Boyd, well, I’d be somewhat confused.
Rugby league has runs on the board in this regard. The way Andrew Johns played out of position to accommodate Brett Kimmorley was criminal.
Brad Fittler being shoe-horned into the side at the expense of others was sometimes curious.
The examples of Kimmorley and Fittler are New South Welshman I have mentioned, so it turns out that, while the land of pineapples and cane toads love to tell stories, this appears to be an Australian rugby league issue, not so much a Queensland one.
The point is that representative football is a reward. It is a reward for excellence. If you’re the best in your position, or the best in the game, you are given the reward of playing for your region, state, or country.
Darius Boyd achieves nothing that gives him the privilege to represent anyone. He should be thankful that the benevolent Bennett keeps picking him in first grade.
By picking Boyd over so many others, it really sends a message, and it is the wrong message.
And if big Mal Meninga is legitimate in his public iterations that he wants to bring pride and passion and integrity back into the green and gold jersey, a good start would be to get rid of his Queensland buddy, Darius Boyd, and stick to picking the best players. Regardless of the myth that has been crafted in his name.
By doing so, perhaps we might focus less on the myth that is player reputation, and more on the legend that is the green and gold Kangaroo jersey.
Burgs
Guest
"Boyd can't pass". I have seen him set up so many tries with lovely face balls and short passes, he brings the ball back with vigour when his team needs it, and he does all the little things right. Sure, GI is a better fuillback when he isn't busted, and Dugan is better at all than passing. Slater is easily the best but he's gone, Tedesco is injured but if he wasn't I'd pick him over Boyd, but not any of the others. So whilst Darius is not the best fb in australia, he is the best fb for the Australian team due to the balance of the backline.
S T Ruggling
Roar Pro
NRL Stats for 2016 to date http://www.nrl.com/Stats/TelstraPremiership/PlayerStatistics Mitchel has Boyd beaten on points scored, conversions, Kick Return Metres Line Breaks, Offloads Boyd Has mitchell on Rum Metres, Try assists Tackels and Missed Tackles, Line Break Assists. Say they are in the same league can argue that if Mitchell was playing in a team like the broncos could have even better numbers
H-dizzle
Guest
As a Kiwi i find it very frustrating in the predictability of the Australian Test side ever year. granted most of those players 100% deserve their spots. the reason the Kiwis keep winning albeit their monstrous forward pack is their willingness to pick players on form and young talent over the tride and tested veterans. The australian bench is completely uninspiring (josh mcguire, really...?), with no sign of Milford or Tedesco, inarguably two of the best performing players in the competition. i believe the Aussies will clean us out in this one due to injuries but we are gonna hold that world #1 spot as long as australia stay conservative in their approach to international footy.
Brayden Issa
Roar Rookie
There is nothing to suggest Latrell Mitchell is even in the same league as Boyd, let alone better
djcooper
Roar Guru
I would strongly recommend the author watch that YouTube clip also. if you are going to write an article about how bad someone is atleast back it up with something other than personal dislike.
Michael Keeffe
Roar Guru
Obviously the author has a very personal dislike for Boyd. But let's actually see how the fullback contenders stack up against each other in key areas. We'll compare Boyd, Inglis, Coote, Dugan & Tedesco as I don't think we could seriously say anyone else was in contention. Individual attack - Tedesco wins hands down with 9 tries, the most tackle breaks & line breaks. No one else has scored more than two tries and Dugan and Inglis come in next with tackle busts. Dugan makes the most metres for his team with about 170m a game and Boyd, Tedesco & Inglis all come in with about 135m per game. Coote trails badly in this area with just 71m per game. Team Attack - Coote leads the way with 7 try assists and also a great kicking game. Tedesco matches him for line breaks minus the kicking game. Boyd has 4 try assists and Inglis 2. Dugan has 0 which reflects the belief that he can't pass and create opportunities for his team mates. Defense - Inglis, Boyd and Dugan all have the best defensive records when it comes to make tackles. Tedesco and Coote are behind in this area. There are no hard stats on positional play but from my own memory Dugan does get caught out of position a lot for in goal kicks. Discipline - Boyd has the best discipline with just 5 errors and only 1 penalty conceded for a total of 6. Inglis has a combined total of 9 (5 penalties, 4 errors), Coote 10 (3 penalties, 7 errors) and whilst Tedesco has only conceded 1 penalty, he has made 9 errors for a total of 10. Dugan has a staggering 13 errors and has also conceded 2 penalties. Experience - Inglis has 34 tests and 27 origins, Boyd 17 tests & 23 origins and Dugan 1 test and 9 origins. Tedesco and Coote are yet to play rep footy. I think based on this Mal Meninga can justify Boyd at fullback if he is looking for someone with good defense, discipline and lots of experience. Inglis whilst not in the greatest form still isn't doing that badly compared to the other fullbacks. Coote is probably not there yet and Dugan can consider himself very lucky to be in the side at all. Tedesco is obviously brilliant in attack but maybe the number of errors in his game has made Mal choose a safer and justified option in Boyd. I think Mal could have easiliy justified Boyd, Inglis or Tedesco, but probably not the other two.
PACMAN
Guest
I agree Pete. See my comment just posted re Fittler.
PACMAN
Guest
Karlo, I agree that Boyd is overrated - steady and dependable at best - the same goes for Dugan (can't pass, can't link up with his outside backs). Also, Dugan is clearly not one of the two best centres in the country. However, I can't agree with your comment about Brad Fittler. He played in a grand final while still in High School and then was selected on a Kangaroo Tour and for NSW as an 18 year old. He continued to play for Australia for a further 11 years and a further 14 years for NSW. He played in the centres for NSW while Laurie Daley was 5/8th. As his speed diminished, he played a few games at lock to accommodate Daley and Matthew Johns at 5/8th again but he was hardly 'shoe-horned into sides at the expense of others'. Andrew Johns was selected at hooker for NSW early in his representative career while Toovey was the half back. He was in and out of the side for a while after that until he had a few dominant series in the early 2000s. Overall Fittler played 31 times for Australia to John's 23 and 40 origins to Johns' 24. Fittler along with Lockyer was consistently the best player of the last 20 years. Johns had a few good seasons over the same period.
S T Ruggling
Roar Pro
Meninga had a mediocre record when coaching the raiders, with QLD he had arguably one of the greatest sides ever assembled (like the Australian test team late 90's early 2000's) along with support staff like Michael hagan and Kevin Walters. Meninga is a good manager of players and well respected but not exactly the greatest league mind on the planet
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Tom - I think you should be having this conversation regarding Thurston being handed the medal last year. He was not in the top 15 players on the paddock. Boyd had a blinder when Saints won in 2010.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
This.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Just watched that. Wow.
yung
Guest
no bs accurate article, a complete nothing of a player oh so blessed to play next to GI. ive said it before, politics has always reined supreme in league and doesnt look like changing any time soon...
Joe X
Guest
I am a Brisbane resident who supports a Sydney team, so I have zero love for the Donkeys and about the same for Boyd. But this "article" is bitter fanboy trolling. Ridiculous. Not a shred of research or facts. Lewis was the stand out in Brisbane club football when it was deep and strong. Lockyer and Johns are both Jets but for very different reasons.
Tom
Guest
How we won the Clive Churchill medal was a mystery. Half the team were better than him on the day.
Peter
Guest
Karlo, compare yourself with Mal Meninga. He has one of the greatest Rugby League minds on the planet. Just accept the fact that Darbs is the best option for fullback at the moment. He was a dally m fullback of the year and clive churchill medal winner from fullback. He will play an important role in ensuring the roos win their first game against the kiwis in two years. :-) He has never been defeated in test matches, a fact you should know :-)
S T Ruggling
Roar Pro
Cronk, Lockyer and Thurston would rarely be left out of immortal conversations
Emcie
Roar Guru
ten years of dominance down to two players? Wow, might as well make them immortals now!!
S T Ruggling
Roar Pro
The key difference between the origin sides for the past 10 years has been the halves, that is largely the area NSW has been behind the 8ball, Thurstons success and Inglis would have been the same if they were wearing Sky blue
Emcie
Roar Guru
you could also argue that Thurston, Inglis, Slater and Co wouldn't have had the same success if they played for NSW. They would have been rushed into the side based on potential and expected to lead the team to victory, and when that failed they would have been relegated to the trash heap with the rest of the promising young players. Every player has a lot of other players to thank for their success. At any rate, there's a massive flaw in your logic if you consider the success he's had without Thurston or Inglis on his inside