Quote: Last Son of Wigan "This is difficult because I rate Lockers so highly, but I also remember 2006, and I do believe Bateman, age for age is better. I don't think Lockers is a one in a generation player at all. I think it's a massive overstatement, he's 35 now, just look at the players who was also part of the same generation, let me help you out
Fair enough, I meant once in a generation player more in a watching Wigan sense, but that wasn't clear (as an aside, never really rated Sinfield as highly as O'Loughlin in almost any facet of the game apart from a masterful kicking game, but that's by-the-by).
I too remember 2006, and I remember a team that was consistently putting in the sort of abject performances that Bateman has never had to put up with. O'Loughlin had to put up with that, as well as the tag of being the captain and Farrell's successor. He was blamed for stuff that wasn't his fault, and imo that coloured a lot of people's view of how good he was even in his early 20s.