In what order would you place these Aussie greats???

[chunky]

19 minutes ago, Pinny said:

I think post 2000 ish Jason alone was the perfect speedway rider. 

Thinking about it, at that time he was probably as close to perfection as anyone.

[BOBBATH]

I know this is old time speedway but most of the posts are after 1965 folks. Wot about Graham Warren if there had been a GP system in 1950-he would have won it-gimme a break he would have totally outclassed Fred Williams and Wally Green outside a one-off WF at Wembley-also wot about my old mate Jackie Biggs. BTW on youtube I found a clip of a  Golden helmet Match race at Birmingham between Warren and Parker-the thing that amazed me was the size of the crowd-the sort of which they now only get at Polish league meetings!!

[BOBBATH]

I saw the one at Newport in 1965-never to be forgotten-Somerton Park was packed out, great atmosphere-wish we were back in those times-although the only beer they served at the bar was Whitbread Trophy!!

[iris123]

Just where would Todd Wiltshire come in the Aussie list? Looked to be on the way to the top for me in those early days. But then Wimbledon closed and I lost interest in the sport. He had a bad injury I know, but did it stop his progress or had he already reached his peak ?

[steve roberts]

22 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Just where would Todd Wiltshire come in the Aussie list? Looked to be on the way to the top for me in those early days. But then Wimbledon closed and I lost interest in the sport. He had a bad injury I know, but did it stop his progress or had he already reached his peak ?

I obviously saw a lot of Todd when he returned to Britain (after a year in Germany) and signed for "The Cheetahs" in 1998. I know that I'll upset Rob but I was never a great fan of Todd at Cowley...seemed just the one pace type of rider. Okay when he gated but easily picked off on occasions. I know that he was hero worshipped at Wimbledon and later at Reading but perhaps the bad injury he picked up which forced his premature retirement changed his outlook on his comeback? Just my opinion on observations based as a "Cheetah".

[iris123]

9 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

I obviously saw a lot of Todd when he returned to Britain (after a year in Germany) and signed for "The Cheetahs" in 1998. I know that I'll upset Rob but I was never a great fan of Todd at Cowley...seemed just the one pace type of rider. Okay when he gated but easily picked off on occasions. I know that he was hero worshipped at Wimbledon and later at Reading but perhaps the bad injury he picked up which forced his premature retirement changed his outlook on his comeback? Just my opinion on observations based as a "Cheetah".

Fair enough Steve. Not everyone takes to a rider, and certainly most have different stages in their careers. I never really took to DJ or Simmo when they came to Plough Lane. Possibly because I associated them with other teams by then. On the other hand I did like Hines when he came, even though he was a Witch through and through

Was he a favourite of Rob's then ?

[steve roberts]

13 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Fair enough Steve. Not everyone takes to a rider, and certainly most have different stages in their careers. I never really took to DJ or Simmo when they came to Plough Lane. Possibly because I associated them with other teams by then. On the other hand I did like Hines when he came, even though he was a Witch through and through

Was he a favourite of Rob's then ?

He was christened as "Mr Oxford" by some and to be fair did sterling service for Oxford without really reaching the same dizzy heights which I guess was understandable given the circumstances however I never really took to him.

[chunky]

5 hours ago, iris123 said:

Just where would Todd Wiltshire come in the Aussie list? Looked to be on the way to the top for me in those early days. But then Wimbledon closed and I lost interest in the sport. He had a bad injury I know, but did it stop his progress or had he already reached his peak ?

Yeah, the injury stopped him in his tracks, and it was another case of, "What if?" To come back after the layoff and do as well as he did was an incredible achievement.

[BWitcher]

On 5/9/2020 at 8:17 AM, E I Addio said:

My view entirely. Jason was a bit of a hothead early on but as you say he really had it all in the finish . Personally I would put him among the all time greats

Without a doubt. 

He was also a level above Rikardsson in league speedway.

[iris123]

Always felt one weakness with Crump was his failure to defend a championship. One year in winning he was truly superb and the next, even though he might have finished 2nd he seemed to go off the boil

Edited May 11, 2020 by iris123

[Guest]

On 3/29/2020 at 8:39 AM, Sidney the robin said:

Boring times for all of us at the moment and to be honest i cannot see any speedway happening in 2020.So i have been cracking on with my speedway memorabilia and i  have just finished completing a collection of Crump ( jnr) Crump (snr) Adams, Sanders, Young. What order would you place these legends in a very difficult call it would be interesting to hear people's views.Gustix, maybe?? could of been the one of a few on here who saw Young ride. My top five order would be 1.Crump ( jnr)    2.Young   3.Crump (snr)   4.Adams    5.Sanders.

Thank you for 'the invite' (!!!) Sidney the robin. I did indeed see Jack Young ride in his days with West Ham and Coventry. He was brilliant in those days. however I have never/not seen any of the Australian riders you have named so no companions from me. But a great thread topic. 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Guest

[Pinny]

On 5/11/2020 at 12:41 AM, BWitcher said:

Without a doubt. 

He was also a level above Rikardsson in league speedway.

Agree. His stats for the Elite League over such a duration are mind blowing . Posted 10 point plus figures for ten years in a row. Superb.

 

remember seeing him at the 2001 Cardiff GP and the next day at the Welsh Open at Newport and was gobsmacked by how good he was. Although the first time i seen him live was the 1999 ELRC at Coventry. And he won that as well.

rickardsson though was absolutely superb at Grand Prix level, where it mattered most of course. But as for league speedway , id of taken Adams or Crump every time. Although i do wonder if Trick didnt put the full effort into league speedway .

i will never forget a story from Craig Watson about Trick during their time at Poole together. Rickardsson blew His engine on the stand warming up before a meeting for his main bike and couldnt of cared less, just took his third bike out the van like it was usual .

 

overall, from 1999 to present day, in all comps, id have to say Trick, pedersen, crump and adams would be the best 4 i have seen. Gollob for my liking was too hot and cold. I personally dont think woffy would of lived with them in their primes.

[steve roberts]

3 hours ago, Pinny said:

Agree. His stats for the Elite League over such a duration are mind blowing . Posted 10 point plus figures for ten years in a row. Superb.

 

remember seeing him at the 2001 Cardiff GP and the next day at the Welsh Open at Newport and was gobsmacked by how good he was. Although the first time i seen him live was the 1999 ELRC at Coventry. And he won that as well.

rickardsson though was absolutely superb at Grand Prix level, where it mattered most of course. But as for league speedway , id of taken Adams or Crump every time. Although i do wonder if Trick didnt put the full effort into league speedway .

i will never forget a story from Craig Watson about Trick during their time at Poole together. Rickardsson blew His engine on the stand warming up before a meeting for his main bike and couldnt of cared less, just took his third bike out the van like it was usual .

 

overall, from 1999 to present day, in all comps, id have to say Trick, pedersen, crump and adams would be the best 4 i have seen. Gollob for my liking was too hot and cold. I personally dont think woffy would of lived with them in their primes.

Was never a fan of Rickardsson personally. He certainly let Oxford down when signed on a short-term contract I recall. Always suspected  his loyalties to any one club and his team-riding abilities were questionable but that's the same for many riders to be honest.

[Pinny]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

Was never a fan of Rickardsson personally. He certainly let Oxford down when signed on a short-term contract I recall. Always suspected  his loyalties to any one club and his team-riding abilities were questionable but that's the same for many riders to be honest.

In all honesty his days at Oxford were never going to last long  

[Sidney the robin]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

Was never a fan of Rickardsson personally. He certainly let Oxford down when signed on a short-term contract I recall. Always suspected  his loyalties to any one club and his team-riding abilities were questionable but that's the same for many riders to be honest.

I first see Crump ride in 1992 for  Peterborough at the County Ground and he scored three points.I am sure he came in on a 2.00 point average not sure ????remember him as a young un being with his dad at Swindon and he also did a few laps there to.Never in my wildest dreams did i think he would end up being better than his dad as for me personally his dad was a real legend a world class rider.Jason along with Nielsen, Mauger, Briggs, Olsen, Lee, Michanek, Gollob, are some of the best i have ever seen he has to be up there with the all time greats.His battles with Adams at the Abbey were superb two great riders who had total respect and trust in each other.

[Sidney the robin]

4 minutes ago, Pinny said:

In all honesty his days at Oxford were never going to last long  

Pinny how was Craig Watson as a Newport rider? i loved watching him ride along with Smart, Puk, Atkin they were all great value.

[steve roberts]

5 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

I first see Crump ride in 1992 for  Peterborough at the County Ground and he scored three points.I am sure he came in on a 2.00 point average not sure ????remember him as a young un being with his dad at Swindon and he also did a few laps there to.Never in my wildest dreams did i think he would end up being better than his dad as for me personally his dad was a real legend a world class rider.Jason along with Nielsen, Mauger, Briggs, Olsen, Lee, Michanek, Gollob, are some of the best i have ever seen he has to be up there with the all time greats.His battles with Adams at the Abbey were superb two great riders who had total respect and trust in each other.

Welcome back Sid! Some great names there.

[steve roberts]

10 minutes ago, Pinny said:

In all honesty his days at Oxford were never going to last long  

Thankfully I had re-located by then...wouldn't have really taken to him.

[steve roberts]

6 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Pinny how was Craig Watson as a Newport rider? i loved watching him ride along with Smart, Puk, Atkin they were all great value.

I think he started his career in the UK based at Newport before moving up with Poole?

[Pinny]

7 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Pinny how was Craig Watson as a Newport rider? i loved watching him ride along with Smart, Puk, Atkin they were all great value.

Superb , he was outstanding in 1999 and had many guest bookings in the EL for Pboro and impressed. 
 

sadly got stitched up by Kokko and Norris on his EL debut in 2000 for Poole and smashed his wrist to bits , came back and whilst he didnt get worse he never looked being the future star he did pre 2000. 
 

dropped back to Newport in 2002 and was still a classy number one and made some good passes but mainly relied on his gating which he hadnt done before his big crash.

lindqvist was another Wasp who had a shocking yet simple shoulder injury in 1999 that ruined his career.

wato tho in 1999 was a class act, went to Swindon for our two wins there and he was always flying later on in the meeting when it mattered.

 

loved Smart too, he was so exciting to watch and for a rider who quite litreally only probably gave 45-50 percent of his life to the sport , was unbelievable. They dont make them like that anymore.