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where would he be in the 17 back rows ahead of him furner, sinfield , ali , ellis , morley , glanville

We were talking golden generation so Morley and glanville don't qualify. Furner played one gf so JJB definitely ahead of him. Sinfield would be 6 in my team of the era. He also played a far bigger role than Ellis, so yes when talking golden generation JJB is a must.

In terms of total career he'd be ahead of everyone on your list with only Ali of forwards you've listed near him.

Other than that you're spot on.

i always knew that jonesy was a legend

Jonesy is going to work for the foundation and so is Lee Smith joining g Brett Delaney. What do they all do ?

He was way better than Massey at his best

Quote: lionarmour87 "Jonesy is going to work for the foundation and so is Lee Smith joining g Brett Delaney. What do they all do ?'" Quite a lot and its a very successful venture, having Ex Players working for it is a great way to get people engaged with the foundation. https://www.leedsrhinosfoundation.org

Quote: lionarmour87 "Jonesy is going to work for the foundation and so is Lee Smith joining g Brett Delaney. What do they all do ?'" Quite a lot and its a very successful venture, having Ex Players working for it is a great way to get people engaged with the foundation. https://www.leedsrhinosfoundation.org

Agreed but then Sinfield and McGuire are on a different planet to the likes of Gale - so the comparison is about right.

Some of that i agree but JJB was a 20 year club man who was a mainstay of that period. Larger than life character who will long be remembered and talked about in 20/30/40 years time so i would say he is a club legend. All time great on the other hand; no.

Will he be remembered as a lager than life character or as a really top player? Comparisons to the likes of Morley, Ellis & Ali do him no favours in quality terms. When it comes to effort and endeavour - unmatched.

Both. He was a top player, international squad standard between 05-11 and he was consistently a 7/10 player. A level below the 3 you mentioned who were world class but i still think his longevity, success and complete devotion to the club merit the label of club legend but i appreciate it's opinions.

Fair assessment

For me, JJB came into his own in the 2007 season, and really stood out as an attacking player that year and for the next two years or so, to the point that he was outshining the likes of Lauitiiti in a lot of performances. After that IIRC he became more of a workhorse (and occasional penalty machine). 2007 was also the year when JJB grew the beard, and Jamie Thackray was famously axed because he wouldn't work on his poor ball-retention in training.

Another season that sticks out is 2006 - another underachieving year, despite Peacock signing. JJB was played at prop in some games by Tony Smith and didn't really make an impact.