The Most Unlucky Players

I certainly wouldn't have picked Ballin at the time but it worked out well. It was a shrewd pick by Meninga and co. Ballin played as solidly as you could hope for from someone replacing Smith. Good service, good defence. Didn't miss a beat. Never looked off the pace. Had he been a NSWmen I probably would've taken him over Ennis or Farah back when those two were fighting it out i.e. back when they were both shit for the Blues.

I wouldn't go as far as saying he's unlucky to not have played more because relative to the options available, he should never have played at all. On the other hand, based purely on his one effort, it's a little sad he didn't get to really prove himself.

 

I don't think Chris Lawrence is even remotely unlucky as a player.

He got shifted around a bit in his first year or two, which happens to huge numbers of juniors when they arrive in the NRL. Since that first little while, Lawrence has played almost exclusively in the centres for his entire career. There are no shortage of things, including player's careers, which Sheens has fucked up; however, if you get 7-8 uninterrupted years in one position and you can't reach your potential, then the blame largely falls on you. Lawrence was just an above average centre with a limited ceiling.

To be honest, he is incredibly lucky considering most players of his ability would never get to play 6 Tests for Australia and win a major tournament.