Sonny Nickle for me. Not the most natural or skilled of players but certainly had the back of any team mate and would stand toe to toe with any opponent. His attitude was summed up by his attempt to track down Henry Paul in the 1999 Grand Final. I must dig out my No 17 Nickle shirt whenever we can return to watching at the ground, having first found out whether it still fits, of course!
I'm glad this is favourite player rather than best . I couldn't pick a best but no problem with favourite . It has to be Wello for me ,
Meninga. To become a club legend in one season says it all really.
Maurie Fa’asavalu
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
Very difficult with different eras, positions, countries and special memories etc.
Like picking a favourite song or artist.
I took the view of the first player that I had a special infinity for
from when I started watching the game.
My pick Chris Arkwright.
Some absolute belters on there upto now , I'm really undecided, the best player was Murphy by amile , but favourite no., John Mantle = played against him and he give me a good hiding , George Nic , came ours to a street party and ended up absolutely rat h@£$ed but had a great night , Roy Hagg A relation both our family were "Bridgers" but I'm going for one smashing bloke = Adam Fogarty , one great player rough and tough as they come but only when needed to be .
roy litherland it's happened i told you it would
One of my favourites was Shane Cooper he was A Wizard with his ball distribution.
For all the oldies on here Vince Karalius " The Iron Man" in Australia they still frighten the kids with a visit from him if they don't go to bed
Hanley
Ive been lucky following Saints for the last decade because we've had some seriously great players.
But one that always stood out for me was
Sia Soliola.
Another vote for Roy Haggerty from me.
I'd really struggle to pick just one. My favourite players often weren't the absolute best, there would be people ahead of them in the shouts for best player ever. My first hero, the one that made me love the sport was Alan Hunte. There were few better sights in the sport than seeing Hunte high stepping as he raced away to score at Knowsley Road. Sonny Nickle, Tea Ropati, Jarred McCracken, George Mann, Newlove and Tommy Martyn all rank highly too.
The holy trinity of Long, Sculthorpe and Cunningham also deserve a shout. As does Jamie Lyon. Wello was a weird one for me. He was flawed as a fullback towards the end, but I'd have taken a bullet for him any day.
Strange, and I am as bad. Kel Coslett rarely gets a mention. In so many ways a Wello of his time. Not the best player, but a very good one, a leader, a clubman with huge longevity. Player, Captain, Coach, Club President.
Karel Thomas Van Vollenhoven
Sean Long
Loyal and true, not a glory hunter.
Some of the old era I don't really know.
Kc. His coaching debacle doesn't really need mentioning anymore.
For me Sam Burgess in his prime was just a beast to watch.
The way you wanna see a guy play rugby league. And him. And Graham where the only reason I watched nrl at that time.
Saw an interview with Willie Mason saying the same thing. You just wanna see this guy playing rugby league no matter who you support.
Favourite saints player is too difficult for me. I had different favourite players at different times.
Thinking back.
I remember Wellens and Higham being my favourites.
Keiron was always up there. Loved to watch him getting into scuffles. Didn't happen much but never saw anyone get the better of him..
Scully obviously. Same as.. Great to watch him getting into fights. Remember him and Baz Mac holding on to each other in a scuffle. Not sure if any punches were thrown.
Roby now. Same reason. Possibly the most consistent player I've ever seen play..
I rememeber being a big fan of Darren Albert.. Loved the way he tackled one on one.
Gilmour. Around the time he came on as a sub for gb and scored. I thought he was brilliant around then.
For Fasavalu. I raise you tuilangi . Same kind of style but I think tuilangi was even better. From my memory anyway.
I could go on. So many isn't there. We have been blessed for sure.
Tosh was on my mind Gerry for the same reasons as yourself, his debut was on the wing if I am not mistaken, he was quick back then and looked like Kevin Meadow`s big brother. Neil Holding says he was the best player he played alongside. Good shout for Scott Gibbs above who was very good for us and another Welshman before that Roy Mathias.
I have to go with Roy Haggerty, probably a generation thing as he was the Wello of the 80`s for our vintage, similar qualities and attitude for our shirt.
Last edited by Tallaght Tiger; 27th January 2021 at 01:31.
So many to pick from but if I have to pick one player I would want in my fantasy team Wally Lewis would be first on the list for me.
As a Saints fan again so many but a fit Paul Sculthorpe makes any team.
Learned comment from The Don
Wow, how did I leave Scully out? Maybe the best all round player I've seen for us. I remember watching him one day thinking this guy is the best at everything in our team. He ran the ball the hardest, had the most skill, organised the team, best passer of the ball, great defender, did all the kicking out of hand and kicked the goals for a while too! Back to back man of steel in his second position. Enough said
I generally go for stuff from my childhood when picking favourites. Most of my favourite games are pre-96 despite 96 really being the watershed year when we went from pretenders to top dogs, but with players I think I've gone the other way. I grew up with Haggerty, Forber, Arkwright, Holding etc and I think the fact that so many of the team were local lads back then meant that none of them stood out for me as a kid. As I got older we still had loads of local lads, but maybe as I moved away I started to identify with them more, and Wellens was the one I always identified with most. But you're right, some of the lads who pulled on the shirt in the 80s were every bit as passionate about it as Wellens and co in later years.