by Dip Fri Oct 04, 2019 2:55 pm
No. Just No. Don't get me wrong, Teddy is playing brilliantly and close to, if not, the best player in the game right now so this is no slight on him. Until Origin, Mitchell and Keary were easily the best players in the Roosters team in his Dally M season.
The "at peak" argument is also a bit of weird one. What do you mean? For 1 set of 6? For 1 game? For 1 season? You could easily argue 2012 Ben Barba was a better season than either Teddy or Slater have ever had, but he is not in conversation with either of those guys.
People forget just how sustainably brilliant Slater has been, and Teddy's season, as brilliant as it was, was no better than Slater the year he won the Dally M, or a handful of other seasons he had. Teddy at his peak is better at tackle busts, but that's about it. Slater is a better ball player, as good a support player, as fast as Teddy and fitter, a better defender, a better talker, as good under the high ball, a better reader of the game, and better positionally. I have never seen a fullback catch as many kicks on the full as Slater has. For 15 years the Storm started their set 15-20m ahead of other teams, and in a game built around field position, that isn't even talked about.