I would but seeing as you've failed in every regard and just look like a child defending his hero, that would be silly.


Finally the penny drops.

Jim I would pick players as a selection panel over fans or the media. Worse League Publications then manipulated the selection panel, drastically reducing overseas journalists on the premise that there had been little or no international RL in 2012. If that was thje case why when selecting Kevin Sinfield did they refer to England beating the might of Wales and France whilst being seemingly oblivious to the fact Australia and NZ had player each other twice in 2012. To beggar belief Drake was salivating at being able to be photograped in person with the winner of the award. What on earth has that got to do with how you select the best player in the world.

Maybe I am cynical BUT 2012 was the perfect and probably the only year League Publications could pull off this swindle with England not playing top drawer opposition like Aus and NZ. Kevin is no spring chicken either so it was now or never for Sadler Et Al to destroy the integrity of this award.

Kevin Sinfield is a model professional who gives 100% effort every time he steps onto the pitch. He is also an excellent captain. However he plays in a second tier deteriorating domestic competition (for those who think standard are getting better, try putting the top 5 squads of 2012 against those top 5 squads from 1996 onwards). A domstic competition where there are several far more talented / better players than himself. You then look at the NRL and I am not sure Kevin would even be a regular selection in a top 8 NRL club.

Kevin Sinfield is not and never has been the best player in the world.

P.S Nice bit of Wigan envy. Now that was real dominance. Better still achieved DESPITE LEEDS spending more money than themselves. Those Wigan legends turned up week after week, season after season, final after final. Kevin seems to need 3/4 of the season before he gets going. He and his Leeds team stank at Wembley AGAIN. Come the play offs Leeds now play the percentages and hope the other mediocre opposition blow it.

In a second rate competition. I daresay if you delve into amateur sport you will find people with similarly meangless lists. However, if we take your philosophy I daresay you also believe that Shaun Edwards should have won the Golden Boot for several successive years.

If you think the difference between SL and the NRL is as big as the difference between amateur and pro sport your a moron. Its not even as big as the difference between SL and the Championship.

Keep flogging it lad.

"Look! Look! He must be the best! He simply must!"

Well, as part of THE most successful rugby league team in history, a great leader, a great inspiration, a great half-back, a great support player, reader of the game, field kicker, a driven professional, Man of Steel, he MUST have been the best in the world at some point according to Smokey's team-obsessed criteria. After all, lifting trophies is all that counts? Isn't it?

I'll say it now as a Wigan fan. As great as Edwards was, and as loudly as his record shouts, he was never the best player in the world. He was probably not even the best player at Wigan.

Go on Smokey, admit it. Edwards matches your criteria for the best player in the world perfectly. Can you bring yourself to say it must be so?

Finally the penny drops.

Why?

Sinfield is judged in relation to his cohort, Edwards to his, any comparison between the two is irrelevant.

And maybe Edwards would have won one between 91 and 98.

The Ballon d'Or in football which has only seen 2 defenders win in the last 35 years only shows the sport focuses too much on the highlight reel players.
And also take a closer look......
- Steven Gerrard voting for old teamMATE Xavi Alonso
- Darren Fletcher voting for old teamMATE Cristiano Ronaldo
- Lionel Messi voting for his current teamMATES Xavi and Ineista
- Iker Casillas voting for current teamMATES Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo
- Gianluigi Buffon voting for national teamMATE Andrea Pirlo
- Argentina coach picking countrymen Messi and Aguero as his top 2.
- Germany coach picking countrymen Ozil and Neuer as his top 2.
- Italy coach picking countrymen Pirlo and Buffon as his top 2.
- Spain coach picking countrymen Casillas, Xavi and Ineista as his top 3.
- Sweden coach picking countryman Ibrahimovic as his number 1.
- 2 time African Footballer of the Year Didier Drogba picking up quite a lot of his votes from African countries.

The Ballon d'Or has about as much integrity as the Eurovision Song Contest, and picking something to do with FIFA to highlight integrity in sports and voting......really???

And as for the integrity of the award which you're so keen on, it's clear that even before the 2013 season has kicked off that NO Super League player deserves to win the award in your mind because you've already got it set in your head that their achievements mean less........bit rich to talk about integrity when you've as good as ruled players out before a game has even been played.

It's not the only time you've looked hypocritical on this thread, you dismiss the SL Playoffs because they're only 4 games but then talk so heavily about State of Origin to enhance Cameron Smith's qualities even though that is only 3 games. You've been quite happy to go back on Queensland history, even pre-Smith, to show just what he's achieved and also Melnourne's recent past but when Sinfield's past is listed you claim this award is about 2012 only and that shouldn't matter. You've also said that fans shouldn't really be listened to when deciding such awards but then preceded to tell us why you (a fan) thinks that it should go to Cameron Smith.

.........................................

As for the other debate going on about highlight reels. Yes a highlight reel of Barba or Tomkins would be more exciting to watch but for any young lad out there right now hoping to make it professional one day, he stands a much better chance in his rugby career if he watches Sinfield closely week-in week-out than he would watching the other 2 even if they don't play Sinfield's position. Illustrated by the fact that Francis Cummings, with one of England's most promising young players on his hands (Bateman) had him meet up with Sinfield to learn from him.

The Golden Boot is for the 'Best Rugby League Player' in the world. What qualities people who vote deem more important is up to them and just because they're different to your's doesn''t make them wrong. They're also entirely free to consider and prefer different qualities each year, their isn't (or they shouldn't be) any rule that states they have to always consider the same certain attributes ahead of others year upon year.

And you know what, these guys aren't just rugby league players for 80mins 30-odd times a year. They're RL players day-in day-out, and no team achieves success without the work they do OFF the field so why can't that be taken in consideration too just for a refreshing change? What goes on in dressing rooms, the team talks, the training pitch, the team bondings, the interviews and media work which Sinfield all takes in his stride as captain.

Some like to point out that Sinfield keeps failing in the CCFinal to demean him. Actually looking at that particular competition only goes to improve his credentials IMO. To experience heartbreak in a CCFinal for a sixth time with time running out to correct it, most men would've slumped into the off-season. To come back only a few weeks later from that with MOM performances to lead your team when they'll all be looking to the captain for inspiration to the GF (and that he also did the same in 2011) shows a character and resolve i've not seen matched by any rugby player. Give me character over elusive running anyday.

People may think someone else should've won the Golden Boot and that's fine with me, but don't dismiss the guy as average by any means because him and his career has been anything but.

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