Injuries and form permitting, early next season Scott Prince is set to join the rare club of first graders to have played 300 NRL games. And of that select few, Prince is set to join an even rarer club – the journeymen’s 300.
Of the 17 players who have played 300+ games, the vast majority have done so at either one or two clubs. Only two – Luke Priddis and Brett Kimmorley – needed four clubs or more.
A North Queensland junior, Prince began his career with the Cowboys in 1998 before moving to the Broncos in 2000. In 2004 he went to Wests Tigers, captaining them to the 2005 premiership, before becoming an inaugural captain of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007.
Prince’s move to Brisbane for next season keeps his record at four clubs, the same as it was with the 2007 move to the Titans, although it pushes him ahead of Priddis for total club moves.
Only Kimmorley had more clubs. Although, in his defence, two of the clubs folded – the Hunter Mariners and Northern Eagles – while his first ever career move, from the Newcastle Knights to the Mariners, was due to being stuck as second-choice halfback behind Andrew Johns.
Obviously there’s no shame in joining the journeymen’s 300 – indeed, even when Prince is inducted, they will continue to be a club comprised solely of players who have represented their state and country and won the Clive Churchill medal.
However, this serves to underline the biggest question of Scott Prince’s career. Why is such a well-credentialed player a journeyman?
Most players who make 300 games do so at one or two clubs because they’re either a solid, no-nonsense character who sets a great example on the field and off (such as Hazem El Masri or Nathan Hindmarsh), freakishly talented (Cliff Lyons, Terry Lamb) or a combination of both (Darren Lockyer, Brad Fittler).
To an outside observer, it would seem as though Scott Prince falls into the final category – a player who is both freakishly talented and a decent bloke on and off the field. As outlined above, he’s achieved literally everything one could hope to in the game and has been the captain of both his last two clubs.
So why were the Titans so keen to move him along? They’re willing to start the 2013 season with no established halfback and – even more bafflingly – pay a significant part of his salary so he could ply his trade with their arch-rivals, the Broncos?
On re-signing with the Titans in 2009, Prince said, “I’ve been here from when it started with the Titans. The thought of retiring here excites me and I’ve got the opportunity to do that now.
“It has been special to be a part of something new and I’m looking forward to playing a role in building a culture that will live on at the club.”
However, rumblings of mutual discontent between Prince and the Titans have been heard for over a year now. Obviously, the Titans have not been performing the way that their sponsors and supporters would have hoped, but it’s more than fair to blame that on the efforts of their front office.
And while, as we are constantly reminded, rugby league is a business, it would seem as though Scott Prince had earned the right to see out his career with the club he has been captain of since day dot.
He may no longer threaten for Queensland selection as he did earlier in his career but, on his day, he is still one of the best halves in the game and would have plenty to teach the next generation of sixes and sevens.
Indeed, in 2009, then-Titans boss Michael Searle said there was every possibility of Prince becoming part of the club’s coaching set-up in retirement.
“Given Scott’s standing in the game, his decision to re-sign gives the club important stability for the future both on and off the field.
“He is a Queenslander and he fits in with the long-term vision of the club.
“He is the ultimate professional in everything he does and it gives me great pleasure to know that he will be working alongside the Titans of both today and tomorrow.”
However it was not to be, with Prince informed earlier in the year that the Titans would not enact the option to have him on their books for 2014, effectively forcing him to find a new home for 2013.
So what has changed? Was it between Prince and coach John Cartwright, the new front office or his teammates? We may never know.
Regardless, it’s a huge roll of the dice for the Titans, with the best-credentialed replacement on their books a different kind of four-club journeyman – 21 year old Albert Kelly, who has played 14 first grade games and been dismissed by his last two clubs for disciplinary reasons.
Joe is the editor of Disaffected Middle Class
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
It was already going horrendously for Benji Marshall and the Tigers, 22-0 down at the hour mark, when their captain walked off the field.…
The NRL's match officials announcement on Tuesday lunchtime is usually cause for little fanfare, but sparked debate this week with top ref Ashley Klein…
It had all been going so well. Canberra were by far the better side for ten minutes, with Jamal Fogarty giving the Brisbane back…
Like most clubs, the Brisbane Broncos have had their fair share of big boppers over the years, many of them legends of the game.…
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
My American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey. If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the…
