He'll be there in a few years after starring at full back for Castleford and winning Man of Steel.

Leeds fans comparing Hardaker to wellens? Seriously? The student beater has had one good season and won man of steel when there was no competition. Wellens won it in an era with plenty of competition. Hardaker has looked about Leigh level this season, something Wellens has never done. Hardaker will never reach the heights true fullbacks reach like Wellens, Radlinski and Tomkins

Regards

King James

Henry Paul was a decent full back imo

ahahahahaha

Can`t argue with that.

Correct

We'll see next year....

The only part of that statement that is true is that, Reilly played in a crap team.
He is nowhere near any of the 5 players on the list.

Dorn is a great support player but, not a great Full Back.
Tomkins is a superb RL player but, wouldn't get in in front of the first 3.

Brett Hodgson was superb while he was in SL and Hardaker, until this season, would have been in the top 5.

Shaun Briscoe, one of the most under-rated players to grace SL never mind at FB, he was on fire in 2004/05 and unlucky not to be given the England jeresey more regularly, he was far better than Wellens at the time and scored 21 tries in that 04 season and a properly gutsy and very proffcient defender, also not an arm waving, whining t0sser like wellens so that gets extra bonus points too.

Luke Dorn is also one of those players that has performed to a very high standard for a decade, if he'd being in a top side he'd have bagged even more tries AND received more plaudits, the equal to Radlinski and Wellens IMHO.

The names put forward at the top of the thread still can't hold candles to the very very best these shores have seen over the years.
Of modern day fullbacks I'd have Gary kemble from the 80s and Jiffy from the 90s over any on the lists here and there are plenty more going back through the years.
Jiffy as an attacking FB had absolutely everything and was devastating, one of the very best rugby league backs in the last 40 years.

Attacking fullback for me has to be Steadman
Trying to think of a defencivly good one at cas in a one on one situation in the last 30 yrs I can't.
Although I can remember Gary Belcher looking classy in full flight.
Fullbacks can score some amazing trys and these are etched into our memory's, clouding the bad of dropping bombs and being badly out of position...For me the most important talent for this position

Jason Flowers.

What about whilst in the NRL- He was a SOO Blue

Unlucky Barry - what a woeful post.
Blundered big style.

Gary Lord.

he's avoiding this thread like the plague now.

There have been some good defensive fullbacks but the SL limitation of course excludes the greatest defensive FB ever to pull on a pair of boots, the legendary Sir Keith Mumby.

Oh please, Mumby wasn't fit to lace Gary Kemble's boots and some. Mumby was a good solid professional but a long line of averageness that the GB selectors plumbed for BITD.

Of course he is, although to be fair it's been cracking weather last few days in the North of England so
he might be out sunbathing.

Makes me laugh to call wellens over rated. Check out some old footage on youpube in his prime wello was a fantastic player. I actually rate him over radlinski. Only just though.

I agree. I think some people forget how good he was because he probably lingered too long in his declined state but from 2000- 2006 he was clearly the best in SL imo.

He had everything for a top full back except pace.

Unlike you on Mumby, I'm not going to diss Kemble, who was a decent player, but really, there is no comparison, as a defensive FB Mumby (who played nearly 600 games, almost all of which I watched) (cf Kemble's 200) really was in a league of his own.

The problem with the selectors was not that they picked Mumby, but that they didn't want to play him at FB because they wanted to use him as a defensive plug in the centres. Crazy.

I have never watched a FB who could tackle, defend and cut off attacks like Sir Keith could and I doubt I ever will.

Best fullback in the Superleague? Either Radlinski or Brent Webb

Best fullback I've seen play in the UK? E.T.

I think it was more lack of acceleration than all out pace, where he made up for it was his reading of the game, he always seemed to know where the kick was coming from or the angle of the runner and was in position to snuff out any danger. On his kick returns for his five prime years he would always beat the first man and offload with technique rather than pace. You could probably count on one hand the no of dropped passes from high bombs in one season, very unlike todays full backs who struggle to judge the path of a high ball and quite often let it bounce or lack understanding with the winger.
He was also very brave or suicidal covering a low bouncing ball, think he had 2 or 3 broken jaws/eye sockets colliding with opposition legs, bradford bulls cup game was one of them.

I wasn't dissing Mumby, I was ridiculing your ridiculous notion that Mumby was the GOAT FB from a defensive POV.