You can't rule out the mental side of the game and go on skills alone, it's the whole package that makes the player.

Long has won us trophies for a far longer period than Goulding did. There can be only one choice in a team of the SL era.

He's been consistently excellent over the course of a season for over 10 years now, unless you are talking about odd games, but if that's the case you can rule [ieveryone[/i out.

I agree with you, but Longy had more support from the club when he needed it (gamblegate) than Bobbie did

1. Paul Wellens
2. Darren Albert
3. Jamie Lyon
4. Paul Newlove
5. Anthony Sullivan
20. Tommy Martyn
7. Sean Long
8. Darren Britt
9. Keiron Cunningham
10. David Fairleigh
11. Chris Joynt
12. Lee Gilmour
13. Paul Sculthorpe

Subs

14. James Roby
15. James Graham
16. Fereti Tuilagi (for the wigs alone!)
17. Paul Anderson

There can be [uno[/u debate over Long or Goulding.

Goulding had all the tools to be one of the best SH this country has ever produced and chose not to use them, he blew it basically.

Long has worked at it so he has all those tools and consistently been great for Saints, hence his individual accolades and his trophy haul.

If you are asking for consistency, Longy is your man, if you wanted a blinding short flash of superb team carrying scrum half play then Goulding would be your choice.

We have been spoiled with having these two from the start of Super League, the next in the 7 shirt has a huge gap to fill eventually.

How many other teams would love to have had the choice of these two [iat their best.[/i
[i(added for Pies and Chemics who may be lost on this board) [/i

Can I ask why only my good self has picked Alan Hunte on the wing.

We are talking a player with 14 GB caps who played in a world cup final and was regarded as a world class winger.

Compared to Albert who was merely a straight line runner and Sullivan who was exquisite when put into space, but was a liability in defence, and prone to brain farts of the Meli nature.

He was very underrated, i remember him outsprinting Offiah at KR on one occasion

sky sports watchers, see him home and away every week, then he wont have won either award

Sky Sports watchers don't vote for either award.

Long has been consistently the best scrum half in the competition for over 10 years now, unless you mean he's not excelllent in every game he plays, which means you can rule out [ievery[/i player, especially Goulding.

People always seem to forget Sullivans abysmal defensive lapses. He could score amazing tries, but he also conceded absolute howlers.

I remember the mare at dire when Briers kicked to him 4 times and wire scored 4 trys directly from Sullivans mistakes.
Not even Meli has been that bad

and newlove sending off just before final

Whaaaat???

Ahem, one of two people



Sullivans defense was woeful at times, but I always remember him chasing back and knocking the ball out of a Warrington hand when he was certain to score. It was the last game of the 96 season and we needed the win for the trophy, can't for the life me remember who the Wire player was.

Ah the days when finishing top actually mattered....

Richard Henare was it???

Hunte was an outstanding winger. Fast. Athletic. Good hands. Would go in where it hurt.

His reputation was right up with the best until coaches starting moving him to centre and full back, where he struggled with the complexities of the positions.

Hunte was only ever a finisher. And a great one at that.

To be honest I thought he played his best Rugby at Centre when he came back from injury after being over 12 months out of the game.

He did play well at centre. In attack.

Defensively he was less successful.

Yeah, Scully wrote in his book that Murphy absolutely murdered Henare for it in the changing rooms

Whaaaat?

Martyn's handling was far better than Pryce's. And he could kick a 60-yard touch finder - which is what Saints have lacked since he left.

Mmm, the 97 season he was truley outstanding in the centre (scored alot of tries that year I reckon).

I can't remember how his defense was, but I do remember him making a decent job of marking Big Mal in the '94 test series.

There is a good argument to have him in the side in front of sullivan (in fact that year I think he played on the wing for GB while sully stayed at home), but Sully [iwas[/i magic and there [ishould[/i be a little romance about your team selection in these threads.

I understand the debate on wingers, however when Sullivan put billy wizz on his booty at the jjb by wrong footing him, it was and is one of my best rugby memories.

Indeed. People get a bit misty eyed about Goulding, probably because he was lynchpin when we won our first major trophies for 20 years.

Long has the odd off game, but Goulding was consistently rubbish - and I mean absolute kak - for one and half seasons.

Sully was a proper winger.

Couldn't catch, didn't have a clue what was going on, fast as lightning, scored millions of tries.

Ah, the good old days.