I don't know why; they must have loads coming through their system. Have you seen that lad Hastings at the Roosters? Amazing talent, and he's only 19!

Are they?

He was brilliant and I agree regarding Flower, he got through some ridiculous amounts of work. It's simply amazing how we didn't win last night. You just have to credit Saint's amazing defence, to be camped on your own line for that long and not concede is simply amazing.

They need some. Other than Thurston this is the weakest group of Aussie halves I can remember.

A euphemism for: "That'll teach you to keep on producing quality youth."

well, JT is one of the greats. You wouldn't expect many, if any, to be in his class. But Maloney, Cronk, DCE, Pearce, young prospects like Brooks and Hastings, I wouldn't say they were too lacking.

Would that we had that level of riches in SL!

Just watched Williams try for the first time since watching it last night (on a small tv with an awful picture in Portugal) and I'm sat shaking my head that the rest of the side didn't see the game home after a piece of magic like that. The balance, the swerve, the step and then the pace is exceptional and the lad is going to get better and better.

I wouldn't be surprised to see McNamara take a punt on him against the Kiwis.

None of them are that great, though. The Pearce, and Maloney in particular have been exposed some what when they've been on the back foot playing for NSW. Someone like Hodgkinson doesn't look as good as someone like Brough, or Luke Gale on current form.

Compared to the last era of Aussie halves which included Johns, Kimmorley, Barrett, Gower, Fitler, Prince, and Lockyer, it's miles away in terms of quality.

The next crop do look to have a lot more quality though, as you say. Jack Cogger at Newcastle looks like the next 'immortal' from the limit times I've seen him.

Williams' try was outstanding, but I thought Swift's try was better.

My favourite moment was in the 1st half when he went to ground a grubberkick for a try and the the saints player palmed the ball out, but on multiple video reviews all the referees and commentators ignored the fact that he was blantantly tackled off the ball.

Kimmorley?? Not in the same league as the ones I mentioned in my view.

I've never been Pearce's biggest fan, to be fair, but the slagging he has got from some NSW fans (is it his dad's fault?) during Origin, is crazy and way OTT as far as I'm concerned when by any reasonable standards he is a very good half indeed. Maloney is just about my favourite player in the comp. A class act in every aspect of his game, who, crucially, is a much better player now than he was at the Warriors.

And in my book, and I suspect many people's, JT stands head and shoulders above them all.

I don't rate Hodkinson much at all, though, I'll give you that.

In the build up to the Cowboys game they called JT the 2nd best player of all time.

Wonder who they regard as #1? Johns? Lockyer? Wally Lewis?

I'd say a year or so ago the NRL crop looked poor, but Ben Hunt has developed superbly for the Broncos (and Milford is as a 6 alongside him), and you've inexplicably missed Johnson off the list as well. Morgan at the Cowboys and Blake Austin at the Raiders have also come along in leaps and bounds. There are some weaker teams for halfback around, but the current batch is looking pretty good albeit without a dominant figure like Johns.

I seriously doubt that NRL clubs will look seriously at SL halfbacks. I'd argue it would be the very last position they'd look at importing, as its where the gap in standards between NRL and SL is most obvious. The most likely route for a SL halfback into the NRL would be via reserve grade at a club willing to give them a chance. There's no way on earth an NRL side would break the bank for a SL halfback, so it would be a gutsy (and financially risky) move for a star SL halfback to take that kind of chance.

Yes, agree with all it. I omitted Johnson cos the original comment was about Aussie halves, but of course he is a wonderful talent, and Hunt and Milford have certainly come on a long way this season.