After only a quarter of 2009, I thought I would rate the top 5 over and under rated sports stars of the year. Let me know your thoughts, they are not in any order.
Over-Rated
1. Brett Stewart-Has a ton of speed but that is it. As I have mentioned before he is nothing but a TRY THIEF who capitalises off other peoples good work. Channel 9 commentators and Daily Telegraph journoes think he is Jesus Christ re incarnated.
2. Michael Clarke-Apparently our next captain, HELP! Only makes runs when Australia are in good positions. Loves to throw his wicket away at the most vital moments in games. Sick of hearing about him and Bingle, reminds me of Posh and Becks.
3. Adam Scott-Was toted as the next Tiger a few years back but cant finish higher than 3rd in a major gold tournament. Most times he misses the cut or is well back in the field. Great players are measured on their majors success not by winning insignificant tournaments around the world.
4. Richie McCaw-Biggest cheat in world sport. Has made a career of being offside at the breakdown. Referees are intimidated to penalise him because of who he is. Sure he is still a good player but wouldnt get as many raps if he spent 10 minutes in the bin every game like he deserves.
5. Lote Tuqiri-Was a very good league player but will only ever be a good union player. Is talked up as one of the number 1 wingers in rugby but I would take many players over Lote. How often do you see him finish off a move by running around the fullback and scoring, NEVER. Wingers should have pace, he has too much bulk and isnt agile enough. Should become a breakaway!
Under-Rated
1. Phil Waugh-Always lives in the shadow of George Smith which is wrong. Hard working rugged defender who you would love to have in the trenches with you. Only NSW forward doing anything at the moment.
2. Braith Anasta-Cant believe I am saying this either but after years of being put in the top list I think he has finally learned to produce week in week out. Plays behind a very fragile roosters pack and has been very consistent for 18 months, good kicking game and runs the ball well. Still probably not a real 5/8.
3. Leo Barry-Leaping Leo has been the backbone of the Swans defence since mid 2000's. Very solid and never gets players kicking big bags of goals on him. Won the 2005 Grand Finals with that memorable mark. Hasnt played this year and the swans have been brittle at the back at times.
4. Josh Kennedy-"Who" you might say. He is the bloke that keeps scoring goals for the Socceroos when we need them. Scored a crucial goal against Uzbekhestan last month when we were looking shaky at 0-0. Models his looks on the cult hero Jason"Nice mullet" Gillespie. This guy can play and will only be a matter of time before he gets a starting berth up front.
5. Stuart Clarke-Hasnt been playing much this year but geeze Australia miss him. His tight bowling lines create much needed pressure on the oppostion. Something we have struggled to do against South Africa in the last 2 series. Hopefully he will be fit for the Ashes as we will need him.
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Australia miss Stuart Clark massively. You have to wonder if the selectors will pick Brett "I can still bowl real fast" Lee.
ReplyDeleteCashy
Lee isnt even as fast as Johnson anymore.
ReplyDeleteI've got a couple pawd.
ReplyDeleteOver rated - Nathan Meritt. According to 1 stupid journalist yesterday he should be the 1st winger picked for NSW!!!
Under rated - Mark Webber. A lot of australians don't understand F1 and how important the right car is to a driver. Loads of talent with equal amounts of bad luck!!
P.S Brett Lee not required for the Ashes. It helps if you get at least 1cm of swing either way. Hasn't troubled any batsman for 2-3 years.
Merritt wouldnt be in my top 10 wingers for NSW. I think Webber needs to do something this year or he may go into the over rated list. Hopefully Webber will get a few results and luck go his way this year. Great result for Red Bull last night finishing 1-2, normally that is a race Webber would get forced out of for some diabolical reason.
ReplyDeleteanother one for the over rated list...... Luke Lewis! Penrith should have let him go to Souths rather than matching their offer (300-350k) to keep him.
ReplyDeletehave to agree with all of the list- id add willie mason as the most overrated athlete and human being in the history of australia, SBW a very close second.
ReplyDeleteunderrated, i hate to say it, but kimmorley has to be considered underrated- look at wha has happened to the dogs and sharks this year- niehter is fully his influence but he definitewly a factor. he may be rubbish at origin but a great first grade player
haddin is underraed too- if gilly wasnt his predecessor everyone would be raving about him
Haddin is under rated as a batsman but as a gloveman he is one of our worst in recent history. Gee he has some iron gloves. Hopefully he can turn that aspect of his game around like Bacchus did in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteThere's no footballer that annoys me more than L Lewis. He is that 'versatile' I'm not sure where he fits in anymore. Maybe second row where he can just tuck the ball under his arm and run, and his passing game is right up there with the worst ever. Just ahead of J Sammut! Apparantly you need to tackle in the row though. Gus Gould continues to express his deep love for him every time he talks about the Panthers. Enough said right there really
Absolutely 'sco. I remember Lewis playing origin and Gus saying "he should be in the team for the next 10 years!" What a prediction... I'm glad Gus isn't a selector.
ReplyDeleteOk I have some issues with this list !!
ReplyDeleteHow can Brett Stewart be the most over rated sports star of the year ???? He was the top try scorer last year and in just 2 games out of a possible 6 in 09 he is coming second on the list already. Since when is being a "TRY THIEF" a bad thing?? He will be the fullback for NSW and will more then likely be the top try scorer again this year and possibly of all time. Absolute freak !!
Have to disagree with Luke Lewis comments also. I think he has been in great form. As long as he doesn't kick the ball again in his life then I reckon he is going well. He is one of only a handful of Panthers who actually runs a good line and can break the defensive line, the other one would be Jennings.
Over-rated: Cooper Cronk !! He is rubbish. He is lucky that Smith, Inglis and Slater make him look good. He can kick but apart from that he just throws the ball to the superstars and watches them work their magic while he sits back and watches. Hell I think I could get a run at halfback for Melbourne.
Other over rated mentions:
Benji Marshall - Stick to touch footy
Brett Kimorley - Joke
Carl Webb - Grub
Nate Myles - Human sized dwarf - have a close look at his face and body shape. He was deadset guna be a dwarf and then for some freak of nature miracle he become human. 400k a year...waste of money.
South Sydney - The whole club
Andrew Voss - Idiot
Ben Ikin - Hate his guts !!!!!!
Kurtley Beale - Too many VB's
David Hussey - Rubbish
Daniel Anderson - Parra coach - Goodbye !
I would rate SBW and Mason here...but they are no longer listed as athletes in my eyes. Show pony's.
Most under rated
David Pocock. Flanker for the Western Force. Smith and Waugh are too old and are starting to become too slow. He is the future of Australian Rugby. The quicker we get him caps the better. We don't want another Australian Cricket team debacle, where the old guys stay on too long and we don't blood the youth.
Other under rated mentions
Jarrod Crocker and Josh Dugan. Young guns from the Raiders. Future rep players !! Canberra would be decent if they could hold onto their players. These two will probably end up somewhere else soon.
Newcastle Knights - I hate this club and the whole community but when you lose Buderus and Johns so close to each other and are still able to be competitive then some credit is due. Showing some heart. Parra and Shark players/fans...take note. Heart (what your teams lacking)
Wade Mckinnon - Absolutley brilliant fullback who has excelled since his move across the Tasman. He is just unlucky that he is playing in the Stewart/Slater era. Absolutley has no respect for refs and plays with a heap of passion and courage. I would have him in my team anyday. Legend !!
Agree with most of that George, was going to put McKinnon in if I made a top 10, he is a very very good fullback. Pocock is also very good and definitely needs a chance sooner than later. The 2 Raiders players will obviously get bought up by the Roosters more than likely, they buy whatever they can! Nate Myles is a dead ringer for Chris Hill just quietly George, have a look at that next time. Brett Stewart will become the greatest try scorer/thief in rugby league history but he is still a grub and very lucky to get most of his 4 pointers.
ReplyDeleteNews today says that Brett Stewart has done his knee George.
ReplyDeleteI find Beale interesting. Definitely overrated by the media, at least initially. He is getting better though and will hopefully be worth it in the end. He is 20.
Polota-Nau is one that I find frustrating. A good scrummager, a good runner with the ball, but then throws a wild lineout or tries a miracle pass that goes to ground. At 23 he is still young, but it is time for him to improve.
Yep, Polota-Nau has been promising for years but his terrible lineout throws cost him, NSW and Australia too much possesion. Needs to step up in the next 2 years or will be a "never was" type player.
ReplyDeleteYeah just read the Stewart Article Jason. No good for him or Manly. They are basically a one team now. Robertson is no fullback and Orford relies too much on Stewart. Manly will struggle now. I bet Gidley is happy about Stewart missing the origin.
ReplyDeleteI will be looking at the Hill/Myles comparison this weekend Pawd.
Beale is young and maybe he is not ready for Super 14 football just yet. Took Dan Carter a few years to become the weapon he is now (when not injured). At the moment he isn't handling the pressure as well as Daniel Halangahu, and this can be seen by Beale's poor kicking game.
Agree with the D Hussey nom too George. Great domestically, but really needs to produce something quickly on the international scale (excluding IPL) to retain his spot. Then again, M Clarke is STILL the VC somehow...
ReplyDeleteRegarding M Clark, I think they are struggling to find someone else who fits the build.
ReplyDeleteThe criteria generally is that the person is an experienced test batsman and is going to have the job for a few years, say 5.
Ponting is 34, so we may get 2 or 3 more years out of him. If you pick 36 - 37 as retirement age for a batsman. For his successor you want someone 31 or younger at that time.
So from this list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_cricket_team
the number are a little thin.
Cashy
Bring back Warnie! He is never too old and has the same batting ability as Clarke
ReplyDelete