NEW Zealand rugby league international Brent Webb has pipped Billy Slater for the fullback position in the Far North Queensland Team of the Century.
In a decision that will ignite debate across the Far North, a panel of rugby league experts selected the Cairns-raised Kiwis star ahead of the Innisfail speedster.
Slater won a position on the bench alongside fellow Maroons champions Dallas Johnson and Justin Hodges.
The choice of fullback created the most debate among selectors, with Webb’s 17 international jerseys a deciding factor.
Cairns District Rugby League chairman Nigel Tillett said Webb was a proud product of the Far North who deserved the accolade.
"It was a difficult one and there were probably two or three players you could have looked at but you can only pick one,’’ he said. "Billy Slater had to be a show and others like Frank Gil had to be a show but it’s so hard on the day when it gets down to it.
"If that whole team were 21 years of age again you could put it up against anybody, it’s a damn good team.’’
The team is dominated by stars of the 1960s, which judges considered was the "golden era’’ of rugby league in the Far North.
Only players who were raised and played league in the Far North were eligible.
The judges were: CDRL Nigel Tillett, CDRL secretary and operations manager Pat Bailey, Northern Division chairman John Moore, ex-player Les Lazarus (ineligible to vote on halfback), ex-player and NQ selector and coach Tom Tassell, Innisfail representative Vince O’Brien and The Cairns Post sports editor James Silver.
Tell us what you think of the Team of the Century, by submitting your comments at the bottom of this article, or email sport@tcp.newsltd.com.au
