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When The Roar asked four of the top commentators on the game – Tim Gore, Steve Mascord, Mary Konstantopolous and Matt Cleary – plus this old windbag to nominate their top 50 players in the NRL, there were bound to be some disagreements.
Each pundit made a list and points were scored accordingly, with a maximum 50 points awarded to the player picked first by each judge, down to one for the player picked 50th by the judges.
I’ll kick off with the most contentious lot of the bunch – positions 41 to 50 – where the views on certain players were as contrasting as a dinner date with Tom Raudonikis and Cooper Cronk.
50. Tyson Frizell
The Dragons powerhouse goes about his work quietly, but has become entrenched at the representative level, where his breakneck bursts can transform the flow of a game. All five judges had Frizell in their top 50, which is a mark of how widely appreciated his skills are.
He just pipped out Paul Gallen and Nathan Brown for the last spot on the list, and polled significantly higher than Jarryd Hayne and comparable players like Marty Taupau and Felise Kaufusi. His fitness over the course of the season will be a real determining factor in whether St George Illawarra challenges the top teams on a regular basis.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
49. Corey Oates
Oates has had his moments as a rocks and diamonds player, but appears to have matured and become more consistent in the past two seasons. Of all the judges, Mary Konstantopolous placed Oates the highest, selecting him as the 22nd best player in the NRL. I personally didn’t have him in my final 50, but he was definitely in the mix.
It would certainly be hard to argue against him deserving a spot if he goes on to make as much impact in the forwards as he has done out wide. Has an Origin jersey to try and reclaim after being an unlucky omission for the second and third games of the 2017 series.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
48. Corey Norman
Like Corey Feldman and Corey Haim at the height of their powers in the 1980s, ‘The Two Coreys’ are nestled side-by-side on this list. Norman received the nod from three of the five judges, all placing him between 34th and 40th on their lists. I was one of those and honestly feel he could climb much higher in years to come if he can show the same mercurial talent to dominate games that we have witnessed in fleeting glimpses.
He strikes me as a player who would provide highlight clips for the ages if he made Origin, but it all comes down to that key word – consistency.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
47. Kieran Foran
Few players on this list were more divisive behind the scenes, with one judge (who we’ll just call Tim) exasperated Foran should be mentioned among the best our game has to offer. Whatever convoluted circumstances have led to his diminished presence in the NRL over the past two seasons, it would take a brave man to say Foran doesn’t have a rare talent for directing a team when on song.
He is equally parts guile and toughness, and it’s all in front of him whether he wants to rest on past laurels, or return to the elite bracket of playmakers in the game. At his peak, he could be a top-ten player.
(Image: NRL)
46. Blake Ferguson
How very rugby league that we’ve now had three players in a row who have been involved in juicy off-field scandals in the past few seasons. Like Foran, Ferguson only received top 50 votes from two of the judges – Matt Cleary and Steve Mascord.
No doubt his star waned after being pinpointed for disruptive behaviour for the Blues in Origin camp, and he subsequently missed the Australian World Cup squad. His raw athleticism is something to behold when he is on song, and it was only last year’s Anzac Test that saw him cross the stripe in national colours. Every season is a new chapter.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
45. Mitchell Moses
Moses appearing in the top 50 is largely down to Steve Mascord selecting him as the 13th best player in the NRL. Now let me say I have a long-held regard for Mr Mascord’s work and would even refer to him as a personal friend, but I feel this selection is similar to my wife cheering when Kendrick Lamar won the Triple J Hottest 100. Sometimes there is no accounting for taste, even from those you hold dear.
I suspect Moses’s role for Lebanon may have weighed heavily on Steve’s mind, being an ardent internationalist. Nothing personal, but I would struggle to get Moses in my top 100. There have been too many instances of brain explosions and defensive lapses for me to rate him as highly as the Sydney media seem intent upon.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
44. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
Now here’s a selection I can really get around. Uncompromising, a high work-rate, agile for a big man, got a decent shot in him. This is the type of fella you’d love to play behind. Is just as comfortable taking the tough rucks off his own line as he is being a penetrative runner close to the line. Hits hard and encourages others to follow suit.
At 115kg and 193cm, Campbell-Gillard is one of the biggest guys in the competition and rarely relents. Found a spot on the bench in Australia’s winning World Cup final team.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
43. Matt Scott
Oh, how soon we forget. The former Dally M Prop of the Year didn’t make it onto three of the five judges’ cards after a hellish 2017 season in which he played just two games before injury struck. But he could be as much a weapon as Johnathan Thurston as the Cowboys look to go one better in 2018.
The depth in their roster is something to behold and Scott’s return will be a boost that has perhaps been understated to this point. A leader on and off the field who will ensure the hard work gets done and the defence is retreating so that the stars around him can shine.
(AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
42. Ash Taylor
I wrote an entire column last season about how I felt people were a bit premature in declaring Taylor a saviour and a genius. Indeed, many of those same sentiments could be used to reflect this entire voting process. It’s become clear that a bit of creativity goes a long way to impressing other experts, whereas I heavily favour tough, workaholic forwards with a bit of punch.
But let that not besmirch Taylor’s claims to be among the best in the game. He thoroughly deserves to be in consideration, and it could be anticipated he will climb this list as the years go by.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
41. Dane Gagai
Voting for Gagai was consistent across the board, being nominated as the 25th, 37th, 41st and 46th best player by four judges. His performances at Origin level have been out of this world and allayed previous misgivings about his reliability. Has also tried hard for Newcastle in a lean few seasons and few would begrudge him a chance to find the line more regularly in his switch to Souths.
Actually, it’s an interesting stat that he has never scored more than seven tries in any of his seven seasons in the NRL. Gagai turned 27 recently and from here he could either be remembered as a legend of the sport, or someone who shone for a brief period only. The ball is in his court.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Tune in tomorrow when Matt Cleary will reveal players 40-31.
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