The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

How to build the perfect NRL spine

Roar Rookie
23rd October, 2016
Advertisement
Cameron Munster has been a revelation for the Storm and will play for Queensland. (Flickr / NAPARAZZI)
Roar Rookie
23rd October, 2016
49
1521 Reads

If you were in charge of an NRL team, who would you sign to build your spine taking into account salary cap, team balance and player longevity?

There are many strategies that teams have taken in order to build their spine, a part of the side which has become more and more important in recent times. I didn’t necessarily take the best available players instead focusing on value, experience and specific abilities.

This is not a list of the best players in particular positions, instead it focuses on team needs and how players can complement each other.

Halfback – Adam Reynolds
(Others considered: Nathan Cleary, Cooper Cronk)

Cooper Cronk would be considered for this team but given he is towards the end of his career I would take Adam Reynolds to start an NRL side. He has won over 62 per cent of his games since his debut in 2012; better than many halfbacks including Mitchell Pearce (50%), Johnathan Thurston (56%), Daly Cherry-Evans (59%) and Ben Hunt (55%).

Reynolds is a tough player and gets credit for his strong defence given that halves are often targeted by hard running back rowers. He missed 34 tackles in the 2016 season compared to noted defender Trent Hodkinson who missed more than double that amount.

Reynolds has one of the best short kicking games in the NRL which is crucial to building pressure and scoring points. He is an underrated runner of the football and has shown a development in leadership in the past few seasons. Reynolds is also kicking goals at a career rate of 83 per cent.

For comparison, Thurston has a career percentage of 75 and Jarrod Croker is at 81. Nathan Cleary would be a younger option with great value given he wouldn’t command as much of the salary cap as Reynolds. However, Reynolds is a premiership winner and a leader who can steer a team around the park and take the game on when needed.

Advertisement

Fullback – Cameron Munster
(Others considered: Matt Moylan, Josh Dugan)

The NRL has a lot of quality fullbacks at the moment and all play the game in a different way. Cameron Munster is close to a complete player and has filled in so well for Billy Slater it will be difficult to remove him from the position.

I consider Cameron Munster to be a combination of Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan given that he can ball play and is very solid in defence and dangerous returning kicks. He is also more than comfortable under the high ball and when running the ball. He made only eight errors in 2016 compared with James Tedesco (18) and Jack Wighton (41), as well as both Moylan (16) and Dugan (22).

I would take either of these three fullbacks but I feel Munster offers more ball playing ability than Josh Dugan and has an edge over Moylan coming out out of his own end of the field. Munster would also be slightly cheaper than Moylan or Dugan given he has less experience in the top grade.

Hooker – Andrew McCullough
(Others considered: Nathan Peats)

We have seen some coaches such as Jason Taylor move away from a ball-centric hooker in favour of a reliable distributor who can open up more time and space for the halves to create plays.

McCullough has the ability both to be a distributor and a creator and has been described by many as in the mould of Cameron Smith. McCullough has an excellent kicking game out of dummy half and has tremendous experience for a 26 year old (196 games).

Advertisement

Nathan Peats offers versatility (can play in the back row), running ability, toughness in defence and is especially dangerous out of dummy half close to the line but I prefer Mccullough’s experience, poise and kicking ability which will help take some of the predictability out of last tackle options that a side with Adam Reynolds may have.

Five-Eighth – Corey Norman
(Others considered: Kieran Foran, Aidan Sezer)

Corey Norman is a dynamic player who adds game breaking ability to this spine. He is a constant ball-running threat and has a passing game that can lay on points. Despite missing extended time last season due to suspension and injury, Norman posted 15 try assists. He is solid in defence and has an improving kicking game that will help to take the pressure off Adam Reynolds.

Kieran Foran is a player that would complement Adam Reynolds well with his direct running game but he would command a large chunk of salary cap and has had some injury problems throughout his career. Aidan Sezer has a great kicking game that would complement Reynolds well in keeping the attack unpredictable and has proven to be a dangerous ball runner as well especially in his time at the Titans.

However I would take Norman given his versatility seen in his ability to play at fullback and his comfort playing on either side of the field. Despite his game-breaking abilities Norman made only nine errors in the 2016 season.

This spine would not create a massive salary cap headache and would allow the team to sign good players around them. This certainly is not the only approach.

Teams like the Storm have shown that you can have sustained success by putting the majority of resources into building a spine and looking to add role players and cheaper options around them.

Advertisement

Reynolds, Munster, Norman and McCullough are all excellent in defence and have complementary abilities. They have also proven that they can fit into team structures and contribute to successful teams without any issues.

This spine lacks an out-and-out superstar of the game such as a Johnathan Thurston or Cameron Smith but contains younger, established first graders that will not completely break the bank and it is a strategy which I believe to be more sustainable and effective.

What strategy would you use to build an NRL spine and which players would you target?

close