Probably Radlinski,but from selfish point of view Richie Barnett was absolutey sensational for 1 season for London .

Radlinski

Nowt selfish about that, the panther was a quality player, head and shoulders above Radlinski and Wellens. There's nothing about longevity in the position here so Barnett Snr gets my vote.

Good shout..Richie Barnett was absolute class but i only really saw him as a centre when he played for Hull F.C...It has got to be Wellens for me but i think Tomkins will turn out to be the best ever.

Shaun Briscoe barely makes it into the top 3 full backs to play for Hull in the superleague era.

Class act. Certainly as good as anything with ball in hand, perhaps not so much defensively.

Wellens and Radlinski from a longevity perspective but Tomkins by end of 2012 will probably have surpassed them both.

I dont know if is is Tomkins just yet, but it certainly will be assuming he doesn't go over to the dark side.
He is a different, more attack minded player and is rapidly becoming one of the games top players.

Can't decide although I'd go for a wigan player.

It's disappointing how few names have been mentioned. As another poster pointed out, we've produced very few noteworthy full backs in the SL era.

I'd go Barnett Snr too. Although he didnt really play there much for FC i do remember seeing him play there for NZ against Aus in the World Cup final at Old Trafford. He was by far the best player on the pitch that day, sheer class.

Withers. I take it those saying Tomkins didn't watch the 4 Nations? Terrible under the high ball and in defence.

Amos Roberts

Id go rads but I think fb is something we are improving on definately tomkins in a few years will be up there, ratchford if he stays at fb looks like hell be up there, young lad for widnes looks a good prospect (sorry forgot his name) owen at cas, dorn liiked goid for bronquins. So I think the future for fb is bright

While I agree that the Australians have had some outstanding full backs in the Super League period - Lockyer and Slater will go down as two of the best ever full backs – I struggle to get my head around the rest of your argument

5 of the players mentioned on this thread are Radlinksi, Wellens, Hodgson, Webb and Tomkins. You say that Wellens and Radlinski are way behind the Aussies and yet many are picking them ahead of Webb who played 103 times in the NRL and 17 times for New Zealand and Hodgson who played 224 times in the NRL and 6 times of New South Wales?

Wellens and Radlinksi may not be as good as Slater and Lockyer (very few in history have been) but they are as good as many of the NRL full backs who were around during their playing days

As for the question in hand, I would go with Radlinski as the best over his career with Tomkins the best talent

I'm biased, But Radlinski for me with Wellens a close 2nd.

Two very, very good Fullbacks.

Wellens or Radlinski.

Radlinski was the better player, but his career was cut short. Wellens has had longevity and more success, staying in a champion team for well over a decade.

I'd give it to Radlinski, but only because of personal Bias.

Always liked Mclinden , Good exiting player to watch .

This sums it up really. We havnt really been blessed with quality Fb`s when Wellens is mentioned as one of the best.

So you are saying that a man who has won every domestic honour in the game, won the man of the match awards in both the CC final and GF, won Man of Steel (in the season where he was challenged by world class players at the top of their games such as Lyon, Long etc) wouldnt be one of your best? Good one!!



Back on topic, Tomkins is a great attacking full back, but lacks defensively and can be suspect under the high ball which is the reason I wouldnt class him as good as Radlinski or Wellens.

Both Radlinski and Wello were fantastic full backs and is difficult to choose between them...Radlinski had a bit more pace than Wellens but Wello's reading of the game is one of the best in the game and made him able to be in the right place at the right time in both attack and defence. Both safe as houses and would be reassuring for any defence if you were beaten that you had either player at the back.

Personally (purely down to club bias and the fact I have seen him play more), I would say Wellens edged it, but wouldnt argue too much against Radlinski either

Shame we never got to see Brett Mullins over here earlier in his career . Fantastic player .

Full back is a very difficult position to compair past and present as the role a full back plays has changed significantly over the past 10 to 15 years.

Rads and Wellens were 2 of the best full backs of their generation with imo Rads edging it mainly because of his pace. Both were solid and dependable, great defenders and occasionally chiming into the line. Both offered great support play.

A full back now is commonly used as a running half back. An extra playmaker who is involved much more in the attack than they used to be. Tomkins is the prime example of this but imo as he matures and he adds the solidity in defence to his attacking play then he will be regarded as the best full back this country has ever seen.

As things stand at the moment i would opt for Brent Webb as 'the best full back of the super league era'

Blackpool Wigan - whoooosh

Have you ever been the brunt of a p1ss take without knowing it? Reconsider the answer if its no

Gotta be Radlinski up to now.

Well if we're talking about SL then of course the likes of Wellens are Radlinski are going to be rated highly because of their longevity and what they've achieved. However, if we're talking ability alone then I'd pick a 2005-08 Brent Webb or Brett Hodgson over any English FB of the SL era. Tomkins is the only player so far in the SL era to come through with the potential to be as good as they're NRL counterparts.

Shame we never got to see him over here later in his career either