WHY is Billy Slater my choice as Australia's best footballer of any code?
Jon Anderson
Herald Sun
May 07, 2012
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/special-reports/slater-heading-here/story-fndkwspw-1226348944141
Maybe you needed to be at Skilled Stadium in the pre-season of 2008, when the Geelong coaching staff took the Melbourne Storm boys through some training drills.
There was a bond between the teams given they had won their respective premierships in 2007, plus a friendship between coaches Craig Bellamy and Mark Thompson.
Those watching quickly realised something extraordinary was going on in front of their eyes. Slater, totally foreign to the nuances of an Australian Rules football, was handling the Sherrin as if he’d grown up with it.
In fact, he may as well have belonged to the Geelong playing list, one that had recently demolished Port Adelaide in the 2007 Grand Final.
“I didn’t train that day but the boys who did were shaking their heads at Billy Slater’s skills,” recalls Cam Mooney, who grew up in Wagga and played a lot of rugby league as a boy.
“Billy is the best rugby player in the world, no doubt. And he would be a cracking AFL on-baller or coming off the half-back flank like Corey Enright.
“With his speed, imagine the tackling. You can see it with Karmichael Hunt now, how much he wants to hurt them.”
Another Geelong player, Andrew Mackie, said his teammates were taken aback by what Slater could do with an Australian Rules football.
“He definitely got the boys talking, I can well recall that,” he said.
Matthew Johns, who played at Test and State of Origin level as a five eighth, had long studied Slater before he realised what separated him from the mere mortals.
It was the final of the Rugby League World Cup between Australia and New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on November 22, 2008.
With the game delicately poised, Kiwi five-eighth Benji Marshall delivered a well-weighted kick forward.
Slater took the ball on the full and quickly ran past four Kiwis but, as he neared the sideline, he chose to throw the ball infield and backwards, much to the delight of Marshall who picked it up and ran over a simple try.
It was a crucial 61st minute moment and pivotal in New Zealand’s 34-20 victory.
Johns remembers seeing Slater not long after the game: “I was embarrassed in that I wasn’t sure what to say,” Johns said.
“Billy had rightfully been awarded player of the series so I congratulated him before saying 'bad luck', obviously about losing the final but mainly about his particular moment.
”You know what, he was actually bubbly. He just said ‘yeah mate, that happens’ and it was then I realised the difference. The greatest ones have no consequences.
“Of course he was hurting but there is a sense of nothing weighing too heavily on him. Sort of ‘I don’t think, I just run and react’.
"Yes, it can be a weakness but it is also one of Billy’s greatest strengths.”
It was a crucial 61st minute moment and pivotal in New Zealand’s 34-20 victory.
Johns remembers seeing Slater not long after the game: “I was embarrassed in that I wasn’t sure what to say,” Johns said.
“Billy had rightfully been awarded player of the series so I congratulated him before saying 'bad luck', obviously about losing the final but mainly about his particular moment.
”You know what, he was actually bubbly. He just said ‘yeah mate, that happens’ and it was then I realised the difference. The greatest ones have no consequences.
“Of course he was hurting but there is a sense of nothing weighing too heavily on him. Sort of ‘I don’t think, I just run and react’.
"Yes, it can be a weakness but it is also one of Billy’s greatest strengths.”
Robbie Kearns, who captained Slater at Melbourne Storm in 2005, shakes his head in wonderment when speaking about Slater.
“An unbelievable player but more importantly a great bloke,” Kearns said.
”Could he play other codes? No doubt, and I do think it would be easier to change from rugby league to Australian Rules than the other way around.”
The moment Australia realised Slater was something right out of the box was the 62nd minute of Game 11 in the 2004 State of Origin series.
With Queensland 1-0 down in the best of three series and playing in front of 52,478 adoring home fans at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, the series was fast going down the drain with NSW leading 12-10
“An unbelievable player but more importantly a great bloke,” Kearns said.
”Could he play other codes? No doubt, and I do think it would be easier to change from rugby league to Australian Rules than the other way around.”
The moment Australia realised Slater was something right out of the box was the 62nd minute of Game 11 in the 2004 State of Origin series.
With Queensland 1-0 down in the best of three series and playing in front of 52,478 adoring home fans at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, the series was fast going down the drain with NSW leading 12-10
Enter a 19-year-old nicknamed "Billy The Kid". Slater’s teammate Darren Lockyer sent a through ball which Slater burst on to, picked up in one movement before flying downfield, chipping the ball over a NSW defender before re-gathering and scoring.
“Has there ever been a greater origin try?,” screamed Ray Warren through our television screens. Probably not according to most who witnessed it.
Had he not performed similar feats on a consistent basis since it could have been put down to a freak occurrence, but not so with Slater.
As recently as March 11 this year against South Sydney, Slater swept from nowhere to somehow score an unlikely try, prompting this response from his coach Craig Bellamy: “I find it hard to believe what he did, just to have the pace to get to the corner was remarkable.”
“Has there ever been a greater origin try?,” screamed Ray Warren through our television screens. Probably not according to most who witnessed it.
Had he not performed similar feats on a consistent basis since it could have been put down to a freak occurrence, but not so with Slater.
As recently as March 11 this year against South Sydney, Slater swept from nowhere to somehow score an unlikely try, prompting this response from his coach Craig Bellamy: “I find it hard to believe what he did, just to have the pace to get to the corner was remarkable.”
Bellamy elaborated further when asked to name the greatest full back he has seen.
“There was Graeme Langlands, Garry Jack, Graham Eadie, Gary Belcher, but I must say I don’t think I have seen a better full back than Billy Slater. No I haven’t.”
But could Slater adapt to other codes? No worries, according to Bellamy, who has witnessed Slater training with AFL clubs in recent years.
“His kicking maybe wasn't quite as sharp, but the way he carried the ball, found space and contested the ball in the air, you'd swear he played their game," he said.
“There was Graeme Langlands, Garry Jack, Graham Eadie, Gary Belcher, but I must say I don’t think I have seen a better full back than Billy Slater. No I haven’t.”
But could Slater adapt to other codes? No worries, according to Bellamy, who has witnessed Slater training with AFL clubs in recent years.
“His kicking maybe wasn't quite as sharp, but the way he carried the ball, found space and contested the ball in the air, you'd swear he played their game," he said.
"We have done sessions with Collingwood, Geelong, and Richmond and their guys were always amazed by Billy's attributes.
“I can't think of any better (all-round footballer in Australia). We know what he can do in rugby league, he could transition to rugby union in a heartbeat and I reckon from what I've seen from him with an AFL ball and looking what a guy like Karmichael Hunt has done he'd pick that up pretty quick as well.
“With soccer there would obviously be a question mark, it is a fairly different skill set, but if he had attempted it earlier I reckon he could have succeeded there as well.”
10 reasons why I rate Billy Slater a cut above the rest:
1: Explosive speed
2: Urgency
3: Consistent brilliance
4: Clean hands
5: Uncanny anticipation
6: Areobic capacity
7: Perfect temperament
8: Unpredictability
9: Power-to-weight ratio
10: Instinctive playmaking
“I can't think of any better (all-round footballer in Australia). We know what he can do in rugby league, he could transition to rugby union in a heartbeat and I reckon from what I've seen from him with an AFL ball and looking what a guy like Karmichael Hunt has done he'd pick that up pretty quick as well.
“With soccer there would obviously be a question mark, it is a fairly different skill set, but if he had attempted it earlier I reckon he could have succeeded there as well.”
10 reasons why I rate Billy Slater a cut above the rest:
1: Explosive speed
2: Urgency
3: Consistent brilliance
4: Clean hands
5: Uncanny anticipation
6: Areobic capacity
7: Perfect temperament
8: Unpredictability
9: Power-to-weight ratio
10: Instinctive playmaking
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