Ellery was the most bizarre player ever. They test the players etc and he came out amazingly high on some tests and woeful on others. When he played you would hear commentators / ex players saying Ellery only likes to run to his right and has a huge left hand handoff. You knew exactly what he was going to do yet it did not matter he still did it. I swear Ellery could run faster diagonally than he could in a straight line. He was brilliant at doing so to get to the try line v far faster would be tacklers. I actually think Warren Ryan got it right playing him at centre but giving him lots of freedom and using him in set plays.
So I'm going to cheat and say I want Ellery as my centre and Faz as my loose forward or second rower. I think Faz is the genuine legend from his era.
This may sound odd one of the games where I thought Ellery showed so much was for GB v Aus. I think it was the deciding test at Elland Road and the Aussies battered Ellery and i mean battered him. Paul Sironen followed him everywhere and hit him with a bellringer every time he had the ball then 2 or 3 more Aussies joined in. Yet, Ellery just kept getting up and taking it up. Mentally as tough as they come.
Sullivan v Hampson
Boston v Offiah
Nordgren v Robinson
Miles v Bell
Bolton v Kenny
Skerret v McTigue
C Clarke v Mc Dermott
etc etc etc
Hanley proved himself in Australia aslo which as not been mentioned to date or have we forgot that.Andy Farrel was a true club man , because he new the values of what being a Wigganer meant. Hanley was by far the better player but never a club man
Wigan is and always will be a town of Cherry & White
Hanley by a country mile. He never gave an inch and had brilliant skills.
Farrell was a good player, but a better captain.
He was important if not esssential to the team, but as a leader not a player.
The leadership that Hanley provided was by example.
Hanley for me - an absolute legend and one of the best players that I've ever seen playing for Wigan.
He still looks in good enough shape to play now!
Like many on here, I remember when Hanley (at stand-off) played Brett Kenny off the park at Odsal in the 1985 CC Quater Final that we won.
One of the funniest stories that I heard about Hanley was when he played for Balmain in the Grand Final in Sydney. He got carried-off with concusion and when the Balmain players came into the dressing room at half time, he was still groggy and asked "have wigan changed their kit?"
62 IIRC. Hanley before Farrell every time. The question that ChrisA raised about could Hanley carry a team has been answered. He singlehandedly took Balmain to the GF before Terry Lamb slugged him.
Doug Stand posted:
this is the most bizzare question I have ever seen.
The answer is Hanley, there really is no debate. Despite the players Hanley played with, he made those players look great. also he played in Wigan teams at times which consisted of A-Team players...
Who can forget going to Saints one good friday. The team completley ripped apart with a flu epidemic, Craig rogers at stand-off, Mark Preston made his debut, Shaun Wayne at hooker. Hanley two tries... and carried his team to victory.
No question, Hanley was the King and I'll go so far as to say, Farrell would not be fit to lace his boots
I totally aree with you here,for me Hanley was streets ahead of Farrell both as a player and captain, he led from the front. I asked the question just to see and no other reason.
It would have been an honour for Farrell to clean Hanleys boots.
So I'm going to cheat and say I want Ellery as my centre and Faz as my loose forward or second rower. I think Faz is the genuine legend from his era.
