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Barbed Wire "Quote: Barbed Wire "Whilst I'm not saying he was perfect, I think Mark Calderwood circa 2004 & 2005 showed that a fast lightweight winger was still good.
2004 was the year where in the grand final Calderwood harangued and generally tackled the leagues leading try scorer out of the game.
2005 was the year where Calderwood finished up as the leagues highest try scorer.'"
Calderwood, Kevin Penny and Shaun Ainscough all fell victim to the conservative approach. They could all put the ball over the line, but lacked in positioning/kick catch/kick return. Makes you wonder how far Offiah would have got in the modern game, I know it's not right to compare cross-generations but would he fit in, or be replaced by a well rounded, jack of all trades, wingman.'"
As a Wire, this is sacrilege to say, but I've often thought the same about Bevan-would he have been made to bulk up, scoot from dummy half, and contest high kicks in SL? He wouldn't have played for 20 years and scored 796 tries if he had...
I would like to see some serious thought put into how we make the game more appealing to different types of athlete. Whilst clearly not all players look the same, Burrow and Crabtree often being 'cited', I just don't see a place at the moment for a thoroughbred sprinter with a neat swerve, like in the past. Kevin Penny was a joy to watch in offence, and it's a huge shame there aren't more players that can bring the crowd to their feet with the type of plays he could make.
I'm not sure how it could be done, but rule changes/interpretations should be considered IMHO, both to appeal to potential players, and to impact te game as a spectacle.
