Opinion Nick Cotric vs Greatest Canterbury Centers.

Phalangist

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I loved Jarrod Mj cracken but lost respect for him during the super league war

Gary connelly was brilliant in 93

but willie Talau was tough similar to muckraken I loved that about him

then we had vagana and Tonga who could attack

who could forget John timu during that 95 finals run with his dreadlocks
 

Rockdog

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Darren Smith, Matt Ryan, Steve Hughes, McCrack, Talau, Timu,Tonga, Though Vagana could bloody score tries. Always right place right time.
 

alchemist

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the first two centres i watched for the club were Andrew Farrar and Chris Mortimer... both very strong centres in attack and defence and just fit into the tough culture at the club at the time

by the time of the early 1990's, we had a couple centres that were good to watch... McCracken was a fixture at right centre and you had the likes of Gary Connolly (a short stint) and John Timu... I view Darren Smith as a back rower

Talau and Marteene were strong but a little limited (kind of fitting for that 1998 team)

Nigel Vagana was the best attacking centre we had in modern times IMO... fast, ran great lines, good feel for the ball and for the try line... pity he was with the club for 3 seasons only

Willie Tonga was a gifted runner and on song would cause any opponent trouble... was limited to playing on the left as he had a good in and away to the left with a strong right fend... injury prone

Jamal Lolesi and Ben Harris were very good attacking and defensive centres respectively whose form fell off a cliff after the 2004 GF

Idris was a bit if a conundrum... ungainly runner, poor conditioning, questionable motivation, , bad eye sight, homesick for his hometown Forster, off field issues (although from memory it was more Barba to blame for the incident i am thinking of) etc. but he could also be devastating... pity he did not knuckle down and stay with us

Josh Morris is/was an athlete... had size and speed... was durable... scored a good amount of tries... strong in defence... play rep football... benefited from following Barba around in 2011-2013... not as talented as Tonga but a better servant and hence, should be viewed higher

i would rather forget the last few years (if possible)
 

TABOO

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Tonga’s performance against the Roosters in 2004 was one of the best games I have seen from a centre in all my time watching footy. He gave Hodges a total bath.
Willie Tonga and Ben Harris centre pairing in 04 finals series was world class.

Always have to credit guys like Farrar, McCracken, Vagana, JMoz, John Timu, Chris Mortimer & Darren Smith to name a few.
It's hard to fathom how many good centres we have had over the years due to how we have turned out in the centres the past few years.
 

Heckler

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How classy was Darren Smith its disappointing he spent his prime years at the Broncos.
Really classy. Almost forgotten in terms of accolades from our club. Never said a bad word about the club even though he played for the bronco's twice.
 

Pavdogg82

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Tonga was really good but I just loved Vagana. So good on his feet, could beat his opposite man and his side with El Masri scored so many tries. The golden years of shifty and the boyz
 

Alan79

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My favourite centre pairing was Vagana and Talau. Vagana was bloody quick with great footwork and support play. Talau was bloody tough both in attack and defence. Loved watching Vagana beat opponents with his speed and footwork. Talau was equally as devastating with his "get outta my way" runs. He'd steamroll opponents pretty regularly. Pretty sure Vagana scored 4 tries and had one disallowed in one match.

Didn't have the privilege to watch any of the centers of 80s or early 90s but imo nobody comes close to Willie Tonga in his prime when it comes to attack. Guy could beat his opposite with ease and set up his winger.
Tonga was good too. Pity he didn't stick around for longer.

All good, thought he played there a little.
He covered centre when injury struck a few times.
 

2144superman

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Willie Tonga was something else and even Kept Hodges out of the origin side.
 

Kempsey Dog

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3. Vagana (hands down the best imo)
4. J.Morris (I know alot like Tonga, but despite Josh going to Sharks and Roosters, he was fucking elite for us)
Here's hoping Cotric can surpass them
 

repolski

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Gees we’ve had some great centers at the dogs.
heres a list the greats that I remember with some a bit lesser and I’m hoping Nick can Mark himself somewhere near the top of this list in time. I think he will.
It’s all discussion and personal opinion, but let’s reminisce some of these great centers and your memories of some of the great things some of these individuals had done for our great Bulldogs club.
And who was your favourite.

My list of the greats I remember, for one reason or another.

Chriss Mortimer
Andrew Farrah
Tony Currie
Darren Smith
Matt Ryan
Jarrod McCracken
Steven Hughes
John Timu
Shane Marteene
Willie Talau
Nigel Vagana
Jamahl Lolesi
Willie Tonga
Reni Maitua
Josh Morris
Jamal Idris
Krisnan Inu
Gosh we’ve had some unbelievable players over the years. I kind of forgot after the crap we’ve had to put up with in last few years...decade
 

Chris Harding

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Instead of negative replies, which wasn’t the theme of this, how about some positive memories of who you loved wearing the 3 or 4 for the doggies.
My list is just a reminder to y’all of who wore those numbers to get the memory started.
not all of them were greats but some of the lesser did some great things.
Quite so.
I'd add Johnny Greaves to that list.
 
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