I think for a fullback, safety under the high ball, one on one tackling and positional play are must. Chiming into the line well and good ball returns are what separates solid fullbacks from world class fullbacks.

Thats why we have Briscoe and the Aussies have Slater.

Last line of defence, first line of attack.

To be fair, you could name every single NRL fullback. We seem to have stopped producing the class acts we've always seemed to have in the past.

Prekkie usually always beat the first man,it was one part of his game i always watched with interest.

And Garry Kembles trade mark was to always take the ball in full stride and ran on with it!

Tansey has made a few mistakes but nothing to be dropped for, wouldn't have Whiting at FB he is not fast enough IMO. He's ok at FB to cover for a game or two but not for a long period of time. Tansey has the potential to be a world class full back IMO and we should stick with him.


On a different note, I wish people would stop comparing Modern Day players with players from the 80's.

Agree with that!
However, if our pesky full back could skip round 3 or 4 and dance to the half way line every time, our players could just stand and wait for him to arrive

True, but the average forward in Kembles days were about as mobile as the Exxon Valdez.

I think the Aussie way of having a FB who is another ball handler rather than just a traditional high ball taking, one on one tackling FB is the way the future is going. They tend to play an extra runner at 13 and make up the ball player at FB. As Raggytash said earlier, at nearly every NRL team the FB is one of the main creative players. I think with Tansey having played FB recently in the NRL, he is the best Englishman at playing this role and will be an international FB either this year or next.

Couldn't agree more.

A big reason for that is that, for far too long, we (using the term 'we' very loosely, in that it doesn't include me) have, in this country, prioritised safety as being the main thing to look for in a fullback. That lack of willingness to take a risk/progress/show some ambition has led to the situation we've had over the past few years with Radlinski, Wellens, Briscoe, etc. being the sort of fullback we've produced. And that simply isn't good enough.

It's starting to change, but it'll take a while for coaching philosophies at junior levels to evolve and, in turn, for that evolution to have a significant impact at the top level.