Benny Elias Vs Robbie Farah?

[LaT]

I think it is hilarious that the people who are telling me to take maroon sunnies off are 95% percent Balmain supporters

You are the one who started saying people who disagreed were essentially biased by their own loyalties.

As thats the only reason anyone would disagree with you about Kevin Walters….

Until you can even get the right Walters , stay out of it :laughing:

Ya'll look a like.

 

[Black_amp_Gold]

Benny any day of the week.

Not taking anything away from Robbie because he's all class but if you would take an 18 year old Benny Elias and train him in modern day training techniques, full time rugby league rather than players in those days having a second job to survive, you would find that Benny would be a better player in a head to head comparison.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

I think it is hilarious that the people who are telling me to take maroon sunnies off are 95% percent Balmain supporters

You are the one who started saying people who disagreed were essentially biased by their own loyalties.

As thats the only reason anyone would disagree with you about Kevin Walters….

Until you can even get the right Walters , stay out of it :laughing:

Ya'll look a like.

Only those who grew up or were schooled in Ipswich!

 

[jirskyr]

Tough question, a good talking point and lots of different opinions.

I go with the "different eras, too hard to say" responses, if you spend any time watching old games from 80s and 90s, you will quickly figure out how different skillsets were emphasised at the end of last century.

E.g. with the leather and first synthetic balls, you couldn't kick them as far, no such thing as 40/20s, passing was less crisp, midfield bombs were a potential attacking option. Scrums were contested, you could both strike at the PTB and play it forward, etc.

For mine, the Benny vs Steve Walters type argument in the late 80s and early 90s
was carried over to lots of positions, two-horse races between strikingly different types of players. E.g. Jack v Belcher, Stuart v Langer, Roach v Lazarus, Pearce v Clyde, Meninga v Fittler. Players fortunes in rep teams ebbed and flowed depending on selector favour and team form.

 

[king_sirro]

Benny is the best hooker of all time. Not much time for him as a person but as a player he is without peer.

QLDers will try and mention a guy called Steve Walters or Cam Smith….both are the biggest myths to come out of north of the boarder. Both very good players but not even close the best.

So Benny over Robbie.

This has to be among the most ironic and hypocritical posts i've ever read on this forum. You criticize Qlders for showing bias towards a Qlder, but in the breath before you state Elias as the greatest ever. And i suppose you'll tell us your view has nothing to do with being a New South Welshmen or an old Balmain fan?

hehehehe

Funny how you picked out the worst pairing that Benny had

What about Scott Gale ,Ellery eats celery Hanley , and the great Brian Smith

Ellery while great played mainly centre for us in his prime. Scott Gale while a nice player was often behind Neill and Freeman. I fail to see how i picked the worst pairing? I picked the main pairing Benny played with…from my memory anyway.

 

[reyre2000]

Benny any day of the week.

Not taking anything away from Robbie because he's all class but if you would take an 18 year old Benny Elias and train him in modern day training techniques, full time rugby league rather than players in those days having a second job to survive, you would find that Benny would be a better player in a head to head comparison.

Exactly what this guy said.

Ive got no doubt Benny would run circles around all of the guys today. Just too smart of a player and built for big games. 20+ games for NSW over 10 years and 10+ games for Australia.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Walters did change the role of hooker, but this change is magnified because the game moved to the 10m rule. If you don't understand how he changed the role, watch how Canberra played in the early 90's. Look how quickly the ball moves from the ruck to the extremities. Walters was pinging 20m passes either side of the ruck to players like Stuart, Daley, Meninga etc.

Smith, Farah, Walters, Elias, Buderus…..all great hookers and you can't compare. Best way is just to look at their honours: all represented their state, country and won comps.....oops......maybe not all of them.

 

[Abraham]

Honestly its almost like asking who is a better Sth Sydney fullback, Churchill or Inglis?

Different eras breed different players, and while its fun to compare, you can never line them up head-to-head and get a clear cut answer.

 

[ball_main]

Benny only because he came through an era where He changed the way hookers played. He created the extra playmaker in a side. In saying that imagine farah could play behind the pack that Benny had.

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[Tim Sheens]

Love him or hate him, and I have never been fond of him since early junior days, but I say my arse to anyone who says that backdoor did not change the way the nine played. So much so, that it was already occurring in the local juniors before he made grade.

Steve Walters refined the role further with his long pass, but that probably also had a lot to with Stuart wanting the ball wider (similar to what Brooks does) at club level in Canberra and then taken to origin. Warren Ryan paid Elias the ultimate compliment by letting him play his game and running the side.

Apples and oranges as far as eras go, but I have watched both since they were youngsters. To answer the forum hopping cock's question, because of his influence on the code, I am going with backdoor.

 

[Goose]

Walters did change the role of hooker, but this change is magnified because the game moved to the 10m rule. If you don't understand how he changed the role, watch how Canberra played in the early 90's. Look how quickly the ball moves from the ruck to the extremities. Walters was pinging 20m passes either side of the ruck to players like Stuart, Daley, Meninga etc.

Smith, Farah, Walters, Elias, Buderus…..all great hookers and you can't compare. Best way is just to look at their honours: all represented their state, country and won comps.....oops......maybe not all of them.

Walters had a weak pass, Just flicked on a Tape now, to make sure my mind wasnt playing tricks, it was weak. Stuart mostly, but also O'Sullivan spun the ball from side to side.

I think Walters did change the running game however.

 

[Russell]

Those that can remember have short memories obviously.

Elias was and is to this day the greatest hooker (the number 9 today is not really a hooker) that has ever played the game. He (without the rose coloured glasses) revolutionised the position - those talking about Walters would have to be joking - Walters was a copycat the same as most who followed. The three Walters together would not have made one Elias. Throw in Smith and anyone else you care to name.
Of course Canberra didn't have a good pack in those days did they - it was good enough to top the Tigers pack when they won the Premiership.

As for good half backs Freeman, Gale, Neil etc. - don't think so - they were very ordinary and were no help to Elias.
Love Robbie and rate him much higher than Smith but…
Benny was the best - shame about his off field escapades.

Someone even mentioned comparing Churchill and Inglis - joke of the century of course.
Also heard Kenny Sutcliffe say during the week Gasnier was the Inglis or Slater of his day. Get serious Ken what have you got against Gasnier. one of the biggest slap in the faces I've ever heard.

 

[simonthetiger]

I fail to see how Walters changed anything…he was very strong and sharp out of dummy half...there were heaps of oldschool hookers that played his style,just not as dynamic.Keep in mind he ended his career in the bacrow for the Cowboys.

Benny did a lot of things that I had never seen a hooker do,,,,,,and do it so well that we basically played without dynamic halves for years,

Field goals,chips over the top,raking the ball back,cut outs,kicks for touch,,,,,,he was light years ahead of blokes like Krillich/Conescu etc who basically passed and tackled.Not forgetting he would tackle his arse off every game and get opposition players mad as hell at him and score us some nice penalties to boot.

 

[simonthetiger]

Re Benny and Farah…man that is tough,

Just on the fact that Benny was so far better than his predecessors and after him they started playing halves as hookers,i would just give it to him......

But if Farah can smash Origin and oust that Cam Smith ya never know.

 

[Abraham]

Someone even mentioned comparing Churchill and Inglis - joke of the century of course.

I actually said its pointless comparing them.

But who cares about reading things in context ay?

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[spearby]

Sorry MC but watched a fair bit of Benny , but just didn't rate him

Daniel Fitzhenry would of looked a good dummy half playing behind those unbelievably good forward packs of Balmain and NSW

Benny in my eyes only just barely beats Kerrod Walters and I would of taken Greg Conescu over Benny

Take your black and gold sunnies off everyone

you are kidding take your hand off it or you will go blind benny was outstand and as tough as they come.

 

[simonthetiger]

Yeah he is dead set drunk..and an old maggie that hated Benny,and an old QLDer that watched Benny tear them apart year after year.

Q's hate Benny and rightly so…he smashed them and laughed in their grimey 4x filled faces so often its scarey!!

 

[everett]

Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Hard to compare players from different era's.

I was a huge Steve Walters fan and in my opinion was a better player then Benny.

When they piccked the greatest 100 players of all time Steve Walters made the list and Benny did not. Noel Kelly was picked as hooker in the best 17 side of all time just beat Steve Walters. This list was picked in 2007 which would take in the whole fo Benny's career.

Steve Walters played 272 NRL games, 17 for QLD including Stupid League and 18 games for Australia including Stupid League. Played in 3 grand finals.

I think people on here probably hate the fact Canberra beat Balmain in the 1989 Grand Final and Benny's field goal hit the cross bar which could have won them the game.

Back to current argument Farah over Elias any day.

 

[Yossarian]

And yet check the man of the match awards in games where Elias played a Walters. Of course I'm biased though - Elias was a champion to me growing up. However suggesting this was solely due to a strong forward pack is nonsense. Besides it's not like Walters played behind Nevilles

 

[happy_tiger]

I fail to see how Walters changed anything…he was very strong and sharp out of dummy half...there were heaps of oldschool hookers that played his style,just not as dynamic.Keep in mind he ended his career in the bacrow for the Cowboys.

Benny did a lot of things that I had never seen a hooker do,,,,,,and do it so well that we basically played without dynamic halves for years,

Field goals,chips over the top,raking the ball back,cut outs,kicks for touch,,,,,,he was light years ahead of blokes like Krillich/Conescu etc who basically passed and tackled.Not forgetting he would tackle his arse off every game and get opposition players mad as hell at him and score us some nice penalties to boot.

Simon I'm not saying he was a champion , but when you had Wally Lewis two passes outside you I didn't want Conescu doing too much