and i said he is never international or NRL class in a million years (~well, i didnt exactly say that but it was my point)

i could use Sam, Carmont and Locky as examples but they would be poor names to use as:

Sam: one of the best players in SL (and you'd have to be pretty blinkered yourself to disagree) and a contender for MOS

Carmont: has to be the best centre currently playing in SL

Locky: one of the best forwards in the league and also MOS contender

the reason i mentioned the leeds players i did is that we are forever having it rammed down our throats (by various Leeds speccies) how good those players are and they simply aren't

dont get me wrong, wigan have some players who will never be more than good squad players but we dont harp on about how they will be top of the game and NRL standard

We all said that about Luke Burgess, look at him now.

I think every club has a handful of players that look distinctly average to most fans, but if you watch them week in week out you appreciate what they do for your club and the talents they have. I am a Leeds fan and Ablett would be one of the first names on the sheet for me! He never shirks anything, has moved to Centre without a complaint and moved there for a Grand Final appearance and played well.

Also some fans forget that we watch a salary capped sport where you can't pay all your players a hefty wage so players like Carl who are committed to your club, give 110% and never hardly let you down are gold dust!!

havent followed the NRL for some time, is he doing good?

Not put a foot wrong so far.

Agreed, performing well above everyone's (mine included) expectations!

agreed, this thread, in my opinion was the result of being torched on the leeds board, and rightly so. It's like loosing an argument at school, then saying, right......i'm going getting my friends to back me up. Not very constructive posts on the leeds board, which, i feel, is leading to the contempt being felt on these forums at the moment. just my opinion

Correct. Ironically this thread has produced some worthwhile debate on the subject, rather than the one the OP hijacked on the Leeds board, which now consists mostly of centralparkforever (who may or may not be Keith Swiftcorn in other guise) writing "no, he's average and Leeds smells" repeatedly in response to whatever anyone else says.

I like him. Tackles all day, doesnt make too many mistakes and can be a house. That's what you want your second rowers to do, isn't it?

good strong back rower who goes under the radar more often than not, as most good second rowers do..

Works for me. He's a decent ball-carrier too, makes quite a lot of breaks.

His tackle stats have suffered a bit from being part of our raggedy-d defence this year (which results in everybody making tackles from slightly out of position) but generally is a very solid defender.

His biggest weakness is that he can, occasionally, be too much of a house, and give silly penalties away. Probably less so this year than previously though.

He's about 20 but looks 50 that guy did have an up hill paper round

He's a good British player, from what I've seen he's consistent and works hard. With the celery cap as it is Ablett is the type of player you wish you had 5 of imo.

I read in a program (I think) his nickname was 40-20. (Looks 40, aged 20)

Solid player, versatile - has played SR, centre, loose and stand off. Works hard, often does the full 80 mins. Defends well, can break a tackle. Has got a try or two in him, won't lose you a game and may well win one for you. Biggest problem for mine is lack of pace in attack (contrast that with J Tomkins at Wembley), and can get caught flat footed occasionally in defence.

Oh, and he doesn't poop himself when faced by Warrington props