Kenny is a good shout. Even Billy Boston thinks he's the best player in history.

Andy Gregory would waltz into any current Superleague team

I personally can't argue against Johns - in my opinion he didn't have a weakness in his game. His vision and reading of a game was second to none, his passing game was superb, he revolutionised kicking out of hand, was a real strong runner and a great defender too - couple that with being the ultimate competitor, and I believe he takes it. He also wasn't afraid to rough it up and get stuck in when needed either - always a quality I've liked to see in a half back - he could never be bullied. Thurston is also a very good player, but nowhere near as good defensively as Johns or with ball in hand.

These arguments are always subjective, but I try and base my thoughts on a few of things - the first being was the player head and shoulders above his peers at the time and did he change the way the game was played. Finally, I try and take out natural physique and build as a factor as a true GREAT would have excelled without these advantages - so for instance Meninga wouldn't be up there for me, as a major factor in his ability was his size/physique against his peers at that time. Someone like Andrew Johns or Alan Langer are much more deserving for me in these arguments, as in theory, they're starting from a disadvantage physically and were still superstars.

As for British players, Hanley was awesome, but like Meninga, his pure physical advantage set him apart anyway (though he was also one of the best readers of the game). As a Leeds fan who started watching at the beginning of the 80's, I'll always give Schoey a nod in this sort of argument. Forget his persona and off field attitude towards fitness and sometimes his teammates - he was awesome for Leeds (carried us on his own for many years surrounded by utter gash), GB and also during his stint in the NRL. He was an excellent runner ball in hand, great vision, could pick the right passes and had a good kicking game too - wasn't a shoddy defender either. For me, his only in game weakness was he couldn't pass one way, so had to turn his back to throw the pass - though he used that to his advantage many a time, using his body to shield whether he'd passed or dummied and gone himself.

Going back a couple of generations - my old Grandad would have put Lewis Jones above anyone - obviously I never saw him play, but his reputation at Leeds is legendary.

Billy Boston picking an ex-wiganer, shock horror.

Correct.

Many people's pick for the greatest player, Wally Lewis on Gregory:-

So, which English player caused Lewis and his teammates the most problems?
“A certain little halfback! That little b****rd! I admired Andy Gregory as much, if not more, than any other player because of the creativity that he boasted and the determination to cause defeat for Australia. He was also one of the toughest players that I ever played against.
“I also got on with Andy very well off the field, and with his mother too. I struggled with his accent, always telling him to slow down! With him in charge and at his best, they got as close as they could to beating us.
“His performance in that third game was a big problem for us but, even so, it was a performance to be admired. We were lucky to get out of jail that day.

Gregory in his prime would tear SL defences to shreds.

Johns was a great player, but my opinion of him will always be somewhat tainted by the night he spent in Danny Brough's pocket in the 2005 playoffs.

Wally Lewis and Alex Murphy. I can't separate them

Right. BB isn't just some random Wigan player. Plenty of people regard him as the best ever.

That may be so, but he's about as impartial as Phil Clarke or Shaun Wane.

Him picking Kenny is akin to me picking Schofield (although I didn't pick Schoey).

It's not akin to anything you say. BB is a legend of the game and you're an anonymous person posting on the internet. His opinion is worth 1000x more than yours.

Keith Beauchamp

If we judged the best by players who were ahead of their time then you'd have to put Vince Karalius and Bob Fulton at the top of the list.

Players ahead of their time shouldn't count since they're not tested against comparable opposition.

It is possible to have a greatest ever RL player but there has to be a method by which greatest ever RL player is defined.

Until there is a definition this is all moot and I stand by my choice of Keith Beauchamp.