Bulldogs Fullback fan poll

[GDR]

Ewan McGrady ?? Not saying he's the best but could of got a run the list??? Was the rothmans medal winner in 91...

 

[DoggiesBoy]

Rockin rod for me... purely based on xfactor plus premiership winner.. if we won in 2012 barba would have gone close... but now he's just a maggot..

Yeah gotta agree with that, as much as i dislike him now, that regular season performance from barba was nothing short of amazing in 2012, such a shame he never carried that form into the one game that mattered though.

 

[Mike_B]

My vote is Patten.

However, as much as I hate him now... Barba in 2012 was untouchable and arguably one of, if not the best individual season of any player, ever.

 

[Freakzilla]

From what I've read and heard it's Les Johns. For peak 1 season it's Barba easily and for my favourite it's Rod Silva.

 

[Mr Invisible]

Interesting when you delve into the stats Les Johns is not even worth considering, with only 14 career tries at the Dogs (from 63 to 71), and 3 international tries at fullback from 21 games.

Statistically his attacking flair wasn't that great.

Ewan McGrady ?? Not saying he's the best but could of got a run the list??? Was the rothmans medal winner in 91...

Just looking at fullback strike rates.

Data taken from fullbacks who have scored 8 or more tries for us in that position.

Only 2 fullbacks from the club have a strike rate of scoring over 50% of the time in a game: Silva (56% of time), and Barba (an amazing 81% of the time).

Strangely look how high Brett Morris's strike rate is as a fullback for us. Almost twice as likely to score in a game as Hoppa.

 

[Alan79]

I don't remember much further back than when Silva was playing so historically I can't comment on most of the names listed. As far as Barba goes he doesn't deserve to be on the list for us because he only really had one good season before he became arrogant and hugely destructive to our club. A lot of the blade for our poor result in 2013 was associated with Ratboy doing his best to get out of the club. I think that he basically faked his injury in the finals that year as a final fuck you to the club for not worshipping him like he thought he deserved.

 

[D.O.W.]

Ewan McGrady ?? Not saying he's the best but could of got a run the list??? Was the rothmans medal winner in 91...

Ewan McGrady was a stand out at #7 and was pure magic.. will of the whisp type, blinding speed off the mark and not many quicker at the time.. was one of my favs until the coach at the time (Ryan or Anderson) threw him at fullback and basically ruined his career.

 

[berries67]

Was not aware GB played Aussie rules, appreciate the info.

Agree on Rocket and General, awesome to watch!

Greg Brentnall came from Wagga in the Riverina which had and still has a strong Aussie Rules presence. He played for Turvey Park Aussie Rules club and represented NSW under18s in this code. South Melbourne were after him to play for them but he switched codes to Rugby League..

 

[Daustin]

As far as Barba goes he doesn't deserve to be on the list for us because he only really had one good season before he became arrogant and hugely destructive to our club. A lot of the blade for our poor result in 2013 was associated with Ratboy doing his best to get out of the club. I think that he basically faked his injury in the finals that year as a final fuck you to the club for not worshipping him like he thought he deserved.

He scored 15 tries in 2010, 23 in 2011 and 22 in 2012, I wouldn't call that one good year. Didnt respect the club at the end of his time here yes but he was a great player

 

[Como Dog]

Greg Brentnall came from Wagga in the Riverina which had and still has a strong Aussie Rules presence. He played for Turvey Park Aussie Rules club and represented NSW under18s in this code. South Melbourne were after him to play for them but he switched codes to Rugby League..

It was pretty amazing that Wagga produced Wayne Carey and Paul Kelly when they faced off as opposing grand final captains for the Swans and North Melbourne.

 

[Punchbowl Dog]

Interesting when you delve into the stats Les Johns is not even worth considering, with only 14 career tries at the Dogs (from 63 to 71), and 3 international tries at fullback from 21 games.

Statistically his attacking flair wasn't that great.


Just looking at fullback strike rates.

Data taken from fullbacks who have scored 8 or more tries for us in that position.

Only 2 fullbacks from the club have a strike rate of scoring over 50% of the time in a game: Silva (56% of time), and Barba (an amazing 81% of the time).

Strangely look how high Brett Morris's strike rate is as a fullback for us. Almost twice as likely to score in a game as Hoppa.

View attachment 3243

I have been lucky enough to have seen and enjoyed all the fullbacks since mid 60's, in Les Johns case stats don't tell the whole story, Les was a genius at setting up tries for others and was just a brilliant runner of the ball, I remember one game he had caught a kick and was surrounded by offside defenders, he did a short kick over their heads and scored, unbelievable. He had severe knee problems in the second half of his career which didn't help. All the players mentioned were great fullbacks, my favourite however was Garry Dowling, in 74 & 75 especially he was the Berries (not yet Bulldogs) most potent attacker, great defender as well. He often attacked through the middle of the ruck and was a handful for middle defenders, earlier about 1972 I think against Rabbits at Belmore, John Sattler had enough and broke his jaw with a stiff arm. We've been blessed with some fantastic fullbacks and special mentions for Rocket Rod and the General.

 

[oldpuppy]

Seriously, Silva and General wouldn't be worthy of carrying Les Johns' game bag. He was second only to Clive Churchill at FB. Bretnall is a clear second and you can fight over the rest.

Greg Brentnall also had the distinction of being the only player in a losing side to score a 10 out 10 in the daly m awards. Think was early 80s vs manly. Not many players acheived a 10 anyway. I can only remember sterlo in a winning side.
And Brentnall could drop punt for miles in distance. I always recall touch judges sprinting to raise their flags in touch finders about 30m more than what they had anticipated.
Ahhh love the memories.

 

[Alan79]

He scored 15 tries in 2010, 23 in 2011 and 22 in 2012, I wouldn't call that one good year. Didnt respect the club at the end of his time here yes but he was a great player

He was a defensive liability up until 2012 though in my opinion. So in terms of attack he stood out but he didn't put it all together till 2012 when he was willing to put his body on the line without the ball in hand.

 

[Trafford10]

Greg Brentall from the entertainers era played in the successful 1980s Grandfinal team. Gary Dowling from the early seventies played in the losing granfinal in 1974,. Both represented at state and national levels. Both possibly could be added to list.

I'm pretty sure Greg Brentall played for Australia.
Also Stan Culter in the same era was another great fullback.
We were busting at the seams with fullbacks back then.

 

[Minion]

Les Johns was my hero when I started playing footy as an eight year old. I was determined to play fullback solely based on how he played. He was an absolute legend!

 

[Qld-Dog]

My vote is Patten.

However, as much as I hate him now... Barba in 2012 was untouchable and arguably one of, if not the best individual season of any player, ever.

Yep, a one hit wonder!!

 

[D.O.W.]

Greg Brentnall came from Wagga in the Riverina which had and still has a strong Aussie Rules presence. He played for Turvey Park Aussie Rules club and represented NSW under18s in this code. South Melbourne were after him to play for them but he switched codes to Rugby League..

Thanks for the info Berries67! The background of those stories are a great read on the pathways of our legends.

 

[Dogsville]

My first post as I am new here, been reading posts but never joined in. As others have mentioned Greg Brentnall and Gary Dowling were amazing players and my favourites when I was a boy.

 

[Spoonman84]

Interesting when you delve into the stats Les Johns is not even worth considering, with only 14 career tries at the Dogs (from 63 to 71), and 3 international tries at fullback from 21 games.

Statistically his attacking flair wasn't that great.


Just looking at fullback strike rates.

Data taken from fullbacks who have scored 8 or more tries for us in that position.

Only 2 fullbacks from the club have a strike rate of scoring over 50% of the time in a game: Silva (56% of time), and Barba (an amazing 81% of the time).

Strangely look how high Brett Morris's strike rate is as a fullback for us. Almost twice as likely to score in a game as Hoppa.

View attachment 3243

Les Johns is not worth considering off one stat? Stats only ever tell half the story.

 

[Dognacious]

Interesting when you delve into the stats Les Johns is not even worth considering, with only 14 career tries at the Dogs (from 63 to 71), and 3 international tries at fullback from 21 games.

Statistically his attacking flair wasn't that great.


Just looking at fullback strike rates.

Data taken from fullbacks who have scored 8 or more tries for us in that position.

Only 2 fullbacks from the club have a strike rate of scoring over 50% of the time in a game: Silva (56% of time), and Barba (an amazing 81% of the time).

Strangely look how high Brett Morris's strike rate is as a fullback for us. Almost twice as likely to score in a game as Hoppa.

View attachment 3243

Bmoz is a better fullback than Hoppa, problem is it increases his injury chances, and after being out for 16 weeks previously...