01-08-2005 05:49									#1
	Who is the best NFL/Rugby/Rugby League player on earth? Remove this text

Or from any other type of football apart from, ahem, football itself

I exclude football because holding a football is quite different from kicking one. This should also exclude Aussie Rules, because players from there are incomparable to any sport apart from perhaps Gaelic football.

Every now and then, a player comes along who begs the question - is he the best of any like sport? And come along he has, and his name is Andrew Johns. He plays rugby league in the NRL (Australia/NZ) and he's so damned good that rugby union is still kicking itself for not getting him over to their code of football due to internal bickering. He is in the process of being elevated to god-like status due to his herculean feats since his broken leg and broken jaws of recent seasons, almost single-handedly winning the prestigious State Of Origin series for NSW despite still recovering from his broken jaw, and then lifting his beloved Newcastle from 13 losses from 13 games to 4 from 19 and claiming they can win the whole title next year.

If there's other contenders for best "Ball-running footballer" on earth, i'd like to know.

C'mon you rugby fans, deny you regret missing out on him and nominate some lesser, mortal player instead And what about the NFL? Do they have an undisputed standout?

	01-08-2005 06:04									#2
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What about someone whose job is to tackle the "ball-running footballer"?

Us Amis have players whose job it is to stop the advance of the ball runners .

Though, I'd say our best may be LaDanian Tomlinson, at least if comparing to rugby/rugby league. Peyton Manning is pretty damned impressive, but he usually sits behind the offensive line and throws the ball with pinpoint accuracy. A bit different.

	01-08-2005 06:12									#3
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Yeah, it's tough to compare when one game has such specialised positions, but NFL involves scoring points primarily from running with the ball over a try line/into the end-zone, so the comparison is apt. Also, all three games came from Rugby (or is!), so they have common ancestry.

I think the best determination of best player is that of who has the greatest ability to win matches through their own individual brilliance. I guess that limits BFL players to being mostly quarterbacks, but if you can think of a defensive player or otherwise that can do so, then they can also lay claim to that.

	01-08-2005 07:33									#4
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For the NFL, I'd nominate Tom Brady This guy has the mental strength to successfully lead an offense and bring back the jewelry.

	01-08-2005 07:37									#5
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I think Barry Sanders would've been a hell of a rugby player.

	01-08-2005 07:57									#6
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Barry Sanders

	01-08-2005 08:42									#7
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Rugby Union and Rugby League players routinely change codes. Some succeed equally in the new code as in their original code, others fail. Why is anyone's guess, but it seems to be determined by particular skills.

Some rugby league and Aussie Rules players have played NFL, and most American rugby league players come from American Football, also to varying degrees of success.

Some people can play any sport. Apparently Ian Thorpe (the Thorpedo) couldn't catch a ball to save his life, but he swims like a fish. Others, like Scott Draper, have retired from tennis and taken up golf, gaining a PGA tour card at his first attempt.

Any other notable sportsmen that have excelled in more than one sport?

	01-08-2005 08:46									#8
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Jim Thorpe (no relation)

	01-08-2005 08:56									#9
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quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten I think Barry Sanders would've been a hell of a rugby player.

Why do you say that? What did he do so well that he would succeed in another sport? Was he a great runner of the ball?

	01-08-2005 09:06									#10
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quote: Was he a great runner of the ball?

Yeah, he was ok.

	01-08-2005 09:20									#11
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quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten Jim Thorpe (no relation)

He'd be just about the man to beat, eh? How many sports was he unbeatable at?

Don Bradman as well as being the greatest cricketer who ever lived, also won state championships in tennis and golf, was an orchestra-standard pianist, and was accomplished at squash, wrestling and athletics from 100m to 800m.

He wasn't the athlete to match Jim Thorpe, though. Just uncanny hand-eye coordination and ball skills