Quote ="Roy Haggerty"It's become a cliché - almost a reflex - of RL fans on this side of the world to make statements like "This isn't a classic Australian side", or "This is a sub-standard Kangaroos squad" when the green and golds hove into view. Usually such a statement is made in the context of trying to show just how poor the England/GB side is, because they can't even beat a weakened Roos team. I've certainly heard that this time round, and indeed certainly every tournament since the 1995 World Cup.
I'm here to say that such statements are b@llox. Anyone claiming this isn't a superb Kangaroos side is talking out of their Harris, and has no greater value than an old fella moaning that nothing's as good as Van Vollenhoven/Boston/Huddart etc.
The reason I've heard given for why this set of Aussies are "not a classic side" is because they don't have stand-out players like a Lockyer, a Lewis or a Meninga. Cobblers. The reason they don't have particularly stand-out players is because they are ALL stand-out players. It's like saying that the Louvre's collection of art is weak because none of the works stand out.
Smith, Thurston, Cronk, Inglis, Slater, Thaiday, Gallen : these are astonishing athletes and incredible players. All of them, and their team-mates, would walk into any Aussie side I've seen since I started watching in 1982. Some of the skill on display today was breathtaking, and literally unimaginable from an English perspective. Most of their tries simply couldn't have been scored by an English player - we don't have the men with the fleetness of thought, let alone physical reaction, to do what they did. And that's before we get to a defence which hasn't conceded a single try in 400 minutes of Test rugby, against some very talented professional players.
I'm slightly appalled by the quality of the Aussies because I simply don't see where we can challenge that. This is easily the best Kiwi team in decades, and only the regrettable absence of Marshall weakens it significantly. It's also - controversial, I know - the strongest England side we've put out in decades. Maybe we've had better centres in the past, or craftier halves, but never all at the same time and married to a very strong pack. Yet neither the Kiwis nor England are in the same league as the Kangaroos on this showing.
The World Cup has been a wonderful festival of rugby league, with heart-warming moments and pleasure galore. It's shown again that when two sides of comparable ability come up against each other, then RL is an unmatched sporting spectacle. But it's also shown that the gulf between Australia and the rest remains a chasm. It is hard to see how it can be closed.
Salute the kangaroos, and stand in awe. When you're old men, you'll be able to tell your bored grandchildren that you witnessed possibly the best rugby league side ever to grace a field.'"
There is much of your post that I agree with. The 2013 Kangaroos are a very good team and totally dominated a Kiwi team that many were saying were on their way to another World Cup win when they strolled through their group
What I don’t agree with is the specific status that you apply to certain players. We have been watching International RL for a similar length of time, I started with the 1986 Kangaroos but I watched a lot of the ’78 and ’82 games also
You state that Smith, Thurston, Cronk, Inglis, Slater, Thaiday and Gallen would walk into any Australian team since 1982 (“and their team mates” but I won’t address that bit). I agree about Smith and Slater and probably Inglis but for Thurston to walk into any team means he is better than Wally Lewis from 1986 or Lockyer more recently. While I agree that Thurston is very good, I don’t think he is better than these two (or even Kenny or Fittler)
And for Cronk to walk into any side he would need to be better than Sterling or Langer but, most importantly, better than Andrew Johns. Cronk is a good player but he is simply not better than Andrew Johns
I would take a number of second rowers over Thaiday including Noel Cleal and Bradley Clyde was a better loose forward than Gallen
So, while the 2013 variety of the Kangaroos are a good side, I think only three of them would push for a spot in my all-time Kangaroo team, Smith at hooker, Slater at full back and perhaps Inglis at centre (although he would have very stiff competition from the likes of Gene Miles, Mal Meninga and Steve Rogers to name just a few)
p.s. I don’t think the Louvre was a very good comparison to use as one piece hanging in the Louvre does stand out as the single greatest masterpiece in art
