KEY POINTS:
I can't help thinking how television is making some fairly average players larger than life.
And I don't mean with the way these flash new widescreens seem to create monsters from midgets.
This was brought home to me last Saturday night while I was down on the West Coast for the NZRL centenary dinner.
Many of the old players showed the scars and stiffness from putting their bodies on the line for the Kiwis jersey.
A closer look at the PBTVs (players before television) made me realise you don't need technology to be reminded just how good they must have been.
You could feel it.
The late Pat Smith (10 tests for the Kiwis in the 1940s), Frank Mulcare (18, 1950s) and Tony Coll (30, 1970s-1980s) were inducted into the NZRL's Legends of League, and I was proud to be there.
If even 1 per cent of the stories about how great they were are true it only proves they were better than great. They are legends.
You can't measure players from previous decades against current players and it's pointless trying. But what you can see when you look into the eyes of Coll or Mulcare is a fire that time has not extinguished.
I had not had the privilege of meeting Mulcare, a secondrower, before but had heard and read plenty about him.
I was expecting a giant of a man, similar in size to the biggest forwards playing the game now.
But what I met was a man not overly big in stature and slightly bent with age.
When I looked into his eyes as he spoke to me about the tours he went on and games he played in, I knew I would love to have coached him.
There's probably little, if any, film of Mulcare's legendary exploits. But sit next to some of his former teammates and you get the picture. This man had it all - courage, skill, fierce determination and pride.
I find it sad many of today's young players would have no idea just how great Mulcare was. The same can be said of the late Smith. People who knew him are still in awe.
I did see Coll play and what a player he was. He was small for a secondrower even in the 70s and early 80s. But he had a heart as big as any player I've seen.
As a former Kiwis coach I have watched from close quarters plenty of players who have pulled on the jersey and to a man they all get that look in their eye.
I don't know what you call it - I'm sure there's a technical name. Whatever it is I saw it in the eyes of Coll and Mulcare.
We must not be allowed to forget these players even though they didn't play in the TV era. Before the 80s television coverage was minimal. In fact the treatment of league by our national broadcasters was a disgrace.
New Zealand league has a proud history that is now 100 years old.
In another 100 years young players will be able to study exactly how the game was played nowadays but even more importantly what the players were like, and measure themselves against that history.
I suspect they'll find that the basics will be just as important as they were in 1907.
And talking about the West Coast, the Warriors could do a lot worse than play a home fixture down there. Certainly temporary seating etc would be needed at Wingham Park but it is the only true remaining league town in New Zealand.
A 10,000 crowd there would be far more intimidating than a 25,000 crowd at Mt Smart. So it's not only a great chance this week for the Warriors to get back on track but an absolute must.
The Melbourne Storm are well below full strength with six first-choice players out with Origin duties and three with long term injuries.
Determination was a word I heard a lot during the speeches at Greymouth and the Coasters are right. There is no excuse not to be totally determined for 80 minutes.
Before Sunday's game the Warriors should consider what made men like Smith, Mulcare and Coll Legends of League.
It wasn't being pampered or paid a lot of money. And it certainly wasn't because their profiles were being beamed into the lounges of the nation. It was courage, fierce determination, pride and the basic skills.
If the Warriors produce those virtues this Sunday they will win. If they don't they should not accept their week's pay because they are getting it too easy.
Let's hope the Auckland Lions can return to winning form against a Manly side they downed in the first round of the NSW Premier League.
It's not all bad news for Graeme Norton's boys, as last weekend they proved the value of having a Premier League side by bringing 17-year-old Kevin Lock into this level of competition.
Lock showed enough to signal he is going to be a star of the future with his pace, acceleration and inventiveness. Keep an eye on this young bloke!
