Are we witnessing the return of ball playing forwards?

When I was a kid sitting on the hill with my Dad watching the footy my heroes were Artie Beetson and Englishman Brian Lockwood.

It may have helped that they both played for the Balmain Tigers at different stages but those allegiances played a small part in fuelling my admiration.

Speedy wingers or tricky halfbacks are all very well but what won me over was they were big tough blokes with soft footy skills. I tried very hard to emulate their feats in junior matches with mixed results.

The conclusion I eventually drew was that these are innate abilities and no amount of coaching or drills will replace what is essentially natural talent and an exceptional footy brain.

What I am talking about here is the ability to draw defenders and then slip a well timed and perfectly placed pass to a teammate running into space.

Ability to count opposition defence numbers, superior peripheral vision, toughness and knowing your own players strengths are all key assets to be a good ball playing forward. In short they had silky skills.

Let’s go way back to the Amco Cup final in 1976 where Brian Lockwood puts on one of his infamous inside flick passes to a flying Neil Pringle to score and help the Tigers to victory.

Lockwood, like a lot of English players of the time, focused on ball skills rather than fitness and was definitely not a one trick pony. He could make the ball sing.

Beetson a genius with the ball and coincidentally, also not a fitness fanatic, had teammates trailing him knowing opportunity was around the corner. I go back to an Amco Cup final again, this time a year later in 1977, when Big Artie sent Russell Fairfax racing to the try line with an absolute pearler of a pass. Tragically for Rooster fans, “Fairy” then missed the conversion to seal the win.

As a spectator these extraordinary moments are what make the game of rugby league so great and modern footy is crying out for more of them.

After this golden period of ball playing forwards we saw a larger emphasis placed on mistake free football and high percentage completion rates with the help of successful coaches such as Warren Ryan and Wayne Bennett.

Coaches, players and commentators alike will proclaim that the key to winning is holding on to the ball, getting repeat sets and dominating territorially. I don’t disagree with these proven methods for success but is it all a bit tedious at times as a spectator?

The majority of tries have become carbon copies. A cut out pass to the winger to get outside the rushing defence or a strategically placed kick. A reward for the work done in numerous training drills during the week.

Players with extraordinary ball skills are encouraged to keep them hidden on match day as early as junior representative level by coaches striving for perfect completion rates. Matt Gillett on the Broncos is a player that comes to mind that demonstrated great skill and vision in his first year at NRL level, but has now conformed to his team’s low risk playing style.

I was heartened to see Tigers captain Aaron Woods run to the line and slip a perfectly timed pass to a rampaging Sausoe Sue to score against the Warriors recently. Two props working the ball into space together and it is not the first time it has paid off.

The player I am crediting for reviving ball skills not seen since Lockwood and Beetson is Penrith’s Bryce Cartwright.

Cartwright is a retro player in some ways and the nephew of Panthers great John Cartwright who was also pretty handy with the ball in his day. The pedigree is good.

What I love about Bryce is he is a big bloke with silky skills that plays what is in front of him and is not afraid to take a risk or two. Critics say he overplays his hand and that he has defensive deficiencies but as a spectator he has me sitting up every time he has the ball.

Cartwright is currently keeping the five-eighth seat warm until Te Maire Martin returns to first grade in 2017 and a possible move to lock with a roving commission.

So with the finals approaching I am hoping to see a reverse flick pass set a flying fullback in to open space. I think Bryce might be the man for that job in turn inspiring a new generation of ball playing forwards.

Am I being too optimistic?

Ten ball playing forwards I have enjoyed watching in no particular order:
Artie Beetson
Brian Lockwood
Gavin Miller
Phil Adamson
John Cartwright
Steve Roach
Mark Geyer
Bryce Cartwright
Craig Wilson
James Graham