John Eales: Maybe 'Nobody' is perfect?

what makes him all the more remarkable - he's 6'7". not too many gangly all arms and legs players have the coordination for so many skills (along with cricket)

Pretty sure its been shown that it was a new secret service agent who accidentally discharged his firearm...............

Not a fair comparison comparing a young player at the start of his career (Sharpe) against a mature player at the peak of his career (Eales). I think perhaps comparing their last 3-4 years against one another the difference would be pretty slim except of course that Eales was a pretty handy goal kicker.

there would be 15 props on the field

Peter Darrow, I think I’ve answered Bobby’s question in my various responses to your post here. Pele is regarded as the greatest footballer of all time. Why? He was a member of 3 world cup winning squads, although he missed one final through injury. The world cup is the ultimate test of quality & greatness. Pele scored in two world cups (1958 & 70), he’s scored more goals than anyone else for Brazil, plus his ability to beat defenders. I’m not a soccer fan so I can’t bring these facts immediately to mind, but not many players have won two world cups. I’m not sure there’s any others. Unless you go back to Italy in 1934 & 38. Longevity of career is another criteria. Richie McCaw is the greatest AB, passing Colin Meads. He captained, repeat captained the ABs to two world cups. All the players who appeared in both the 2011 & 15 world cup finals are at the front of the queue for ABs greatness. Maybe not the first choice in their position, but easily in the top 3. Colin Meads belonged to a different time where there was a different measuring stick. He played against the touring Lions, & home & away against the Boks, as well as several tours of UK, Ireland & France. These were the series & tours that he was measured against for his greatness. Plus his longevity. The means of analysis might change, but the one constant is domination of your era better than others. That’s why Victor Trumper, despite a measly batting average of 39, is often selected in an Aussie Baggy Greens all-time XI. He was judged by his peers to be the dominant player of his time, whenever he needed to be. He usually only performed when ‘there was skin in the game’ & he was so imperious it was difficult to dismiss him when he was ‘on a mission’. Like I said, the criteria might change, but being dominant in your era is the key. Why, after thousands & hundreds of years, does history still revere great military minds like Alexander, Caesar, Genghis, Attila, Drake, Nelson & Bonaparte to name just a few.

With you there sheek. And is there no more obvious an example than the tinkering with the Laws of Rugby?

Good point, in a team game like rugby with so many moving parts and with increasingly wide differences between eras with the onset of professionalism it’s certainly tough to compare. I think his unique skill set though is something that sets him apart. His kicking abilities particularly.

Busted Fullback, I had a premonition you would use that one about common sense. I myself like the Occam's Razor principle, whereby when all things are equal, the simplest explanation is often the correct one. JFK was killed by a lone gunman acting alone. But the conspiracy theory of rich businessmen, mafia, Russian agents, etc, is so much more exciting & intriguing that it becomes fact. We don't need to complicate life, but us humans being d--kheads, we do precisely that.

Peter Darrow, You don't, that's my whole point. Christian Cullen is the best ABs fullback. He's better than Nepia, Muliani, whoever else. He may be the best fullback of any country. But he's not better than any prop., & no prop is any better than him. Compare apples with apples & oranges with oranges & lemons with lemons. What's your favourite colour - red, blue, gold, black, green, purple? No colour is superior to any other, they all have their moments, requirements & purpose.

Mine was the left leg. Do we have a good pair between us? You don’t have to see those blokes regularly. Saw fellows at a funeral and it was like we talked only yesterday. Something special about team sports.

G’day sheek. When teaching maths I once proved both sides of an argument using one set of stats. It’s a funny old world. And to use another saying, the one thing about common sense is that it is not that common. :laughing: I must be one old cynic. :shocked:

Busted Fullback, "There are lies, damned lies and statistics", only because we humans make it so. Put simply, it doesn't need be so if common & sense & logic is applied.

Peter Darrow, It goes back to what I said, you compare in same position, not across different positions. Every position is important to the final outcome. Almost everyone when they pick 100 best players might have a lock, followed by a winger, followed by a flyhallf, followed by a flanker, & so on. That's rubbish. You pick 6 x XVs, then an extra 10 players, which happens to be 10 (one per position). For rugby league, you pick 7 x XIIIs, plus an extra 9 players (which again is one per position). For cricket & soccer, you pick 9 x XIs, plus either an extra wicket-keeper or goal-keeper. That's the fairest way to pick your best 100 players.

PeterK, As Bradman declared long ago, "a champion in one era is a champion in any era". How do we compare players across different eras? By how dominant they were in their own time. Number of tests won, or major trophies won like world cups, NH & SH comps, quality of opposition, there are many ways to arrive at a considered conclusion. As you have observed, each position changes over time, but real-time dominance remains the same, whether it is now, or 20 years ago, or 50 years ago, or 100 years ago.

Peter Darrow, I missed that penalty goal in 2000. Having witnessed live among 109,000 plus other attendees at STM AUSTRALIA (that's its generic name, folks) & believing the world cup winning Wallabies were about to lose again to the ABs, I stormed out of the house. I had only walked about 20-30m down the street when I could hear huge cheering from several households. My interest piqued, I rushed back & to my amazement, Eales had kicked the winning penalty in 'long extra time'. I then spent the remainder of the weekend watching replays of Eales' kick as often as I could! I don't like comparing apples with oranges, or players from different positions as the best to play for your country. Eales is our best lock, let's leave it at that. However, I still haven't forgiven him for being part of a board that culled the WA Force back in 2017. The greatest act of treason against its own kind I've witnessed in sport. There were 3 ex-players on that board, Eales, Paul McLean & Brett Robinson & I've marked them all down, down, down. Maybe Eales objected, & if so, should have declared he would make his opposition public. But he never did. So he must have been compliant. I still select Eales in my all-time Wallaby XV, but I no longer honour him with the captaincy. He lost the right to that by timidly going along with the board decision, or being mute. I asked a good ex-schoolmate, who was Wallaby manager 1996-2001, what he thought of Eales. He replied he was a champion bloke & good friend of his. That was a fine endorsement. But it still doesn't change the fact Eales was a part of the most disgraceful act I've witnessed in Australian rugby. But it is what it is.

There weren't yellow cards when Haden played LOL

What a great report BF. I recall the Kedron Park Teachers Training College's fields very well indeed. I played there several times as a younger chap. I agree about the playing surface being very favourable. Perhaps being on the nearby creek allowed better irrigation. Teachers-Norths downstream is on the same Kedron Brook and also has a great playing surface. The worst field in my opinion was Souths opposite Chardon's Corner Hotel which was like playing on concrete. The Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) club didn't have a conventional home ground and club house as you've said. But in a way we did. What became the parking lot down by the Brisbane River for the university (QUT) was originally called the Domain and was an open field. The inaugural rugby side didn't play there, but we did train there. There was no club house on the Domain. But there were some old wooden buildings there where we gathered to discuss tactics for the following weekend. Perhaps we drank a bit of beer at the same time. Mostly from 5 gallon kegs. I think the buildings were left over from either World War II, or when the University of Queensland was originally located there. Your posting is not boring by a long shot. I found it extremely interesting. As for your leg broken in 4 places. That's a very bad injury. My lousy career as an open side breakaway (my skill was to play badly both sides of the scrum) came to an end when an accidental tackle left me with a shatter break of an ankle. But what I really remember was the great bunch of fellows I played with. And isn't that what it's all about?

He never once got a Yellow card Brian.... LOL. :laughing: :laughing: It would be very interesting if we could somehow use today's technology is some matches from the 70s. I remember the club scene wasnt for the faint of heart so Tests must have been very tough.