Good genes and upbringing or just plain luck? The NRL's best father-son combos

It didn’t quite break the internet but there was a quiet murmur that recently went around the rugby league social media swirl.

It came when Eden Cartwright, daughter of John and sister of new Panthers recruit Jed, posted online a letter from her father to her brother.

I am not sure if a breach of privacy was considered before doing it – understandably Eden is very proud of her father and brother. And it is understandable that something as heartfelt as this letter is worthy of wider exposure.

As I mentioned at the time, this type of thing gives all of us fathers a roadmap about how to go about raising our children. Penning a note using positive reinforcement, while managing expectations with an undercurrent of love is a very powerful way to speak to our children. Not the only way, but one with enormous cut through.

Having called Jed in the Holden Cup on Fox Sports, I know he is a player of promise. His performances at the Nines in the young Panthers squad suggested that promise may be about to be fulfilled. We don’t know if Jed will ‘make it’ or not, and both outcomes were mentioned by John in the letter, but I will take an even greater interest in his progress in 2017.

It got me thinking about the prevalence of second and third-generation elite level rugby league players that we have seen over the years. Aside from the physical benefits of coming from a gene pool that history has shown has the capacity for elite-level sport, there must be more to it than that. And maybe for every son of a former player that makes it, there might be two, five, even ten, that don’t.

I really think there is a conditioning of what is ‘normal’ for that child.

“My dad played for the Tigers, so that is something that I could do when I grow up,” must go through the head of these youngsters. I’m sure careers advisers around the country rail against that thought, but many times it works out.

My dad was a cow cocky and wheat farmer from the Riverina. I had no doubt that I could have done that for the rest of my life. Farming is a profession where generational succession is legendary, but for some reason I didn’t do it (that might be a birth order thing, being the youngest of four).

What if you were Jed Cartwright, though, and even if you didn’t see your dad play live (Jed was born in 1996, John’s last year in the NRL), you have been around him in his various coaching capacities and would have seen the old tapes of him? Would you just think “that is what Dad did, so I’ll do it too”?

I’ll never forget a quote I heard from Mat Rogers saying that when he was five he went to the footy with his dad, a universally accepted and encouraged pastime. The thing is, it was 1981 and his dad, the legendary Steve Rogers, was playing in the centres for Australia against the touring French at the SCG, a game the Kangaroos won 43-3 with one S Rogers scoring a try.

That, to him, was normal.

I am sure things like environment, birth order, family expectation and a thousand other factors also come into play when it comes to playing elite level rugby league. But having a significant figure in your life tread the path previously must make things that little more likely.

What’s that you say? You want to know who I think are the top five father and son combinations in rugby league history? (Well maybe not history, let’s go with since 1960.)

Before getting to the list, special mention to the Hughes family of Canterbury fame, and Garry in particular. One of three brothers to play in a premiership winning team, he is also the father of three sons who played NRL for the Bulldogs. His sons Glen, Steven and Corey, played over 450 games for the club and won two premierships with Canterbury between them.

Also keep an eye on Max King this year. Max plays for the Gold Coast in the Holden Cup. If he was to make it to NRL level at some stage of his career, he would be the fourth generation of his family to play elite rugby league after great grandfather Cec King (Rabbitohs, 1945-46), grandfather the legendary Johnny King (St George, 1960-71), and father David King (Gold Coast, 1991-92).

5. Wayne Pearce and son Mitchell
The face of the game throughout the 80s, Wayne brought new levels of professionalism to rugby league in representing Australia and captaining NSW and Balmain. His son Mitchell played NRL at 17 and State of Origin for NSW at 19 and has presently played over 200 matches at just 27 years of age.

Mitchell was also able to achieve something his father couldn’t – winning a premiership with the Roosters in 2013.

4. Craig Young and son Dean
Craig Young was a fearsome prop for St George, NSW and Australia, playing 20 Tests and captaining the Dragons to premiership success in 1979. Craig’s father Bob played football for Australia and Craig had to choose between football and rugby league as a junior.

Dean always had the underrated tag in his ten seasons with St George Illawarra and despite injuries throughout his career, played for NSW and Australia and won a premiership in 2010.

3. Bill Mullins and son Brett
Injuries robbed Bill Mullins the chance of playing for Australia but in 11 seasons with the Roosters, he scored 104 tries and won premierships in 1974 and 1975. Son Brett was an absolute excitement machine for a decade, also scoring over 100 NRL tries, playing for NSW and Australia and winning premierships with Canberra (1994) and Sydney (2002).

2. Steve Morris and sons Brett and Josh
Steve Morris was the last player to represent Australia from a country-based team, playing in a Test in 1978 while turning out for the Dapto Canaries. Across 12 seasons in the NSWRL, Steve scored 122 tries.

Brett Morris has scored 131 tries for the Dragons and Bulldogs, won a premiership with St George Illawarra in 2010 and has represented NSW on 12 occasions and Australia on 18.

Twin Josh has scored 105 tries for the same two clubs and has represented Australia (six caps) and NSW (14) regularly, including in the winning 2014 series.

1. Steve Rogers and son Mat
Arguably Cronulla’s greatest player, Steve Rogers had 13 seasons in top grade rugby league, played for Australia in 24 games and represented NSW multiple times, including in the very first State of Origin game. He was a Rothmans Medal and Dally M winner.

Son Mat played 12 years in elite rugby league with perhaps his best years spent in rugby union between 2002-06. Mat played for Australia and Queensland and scored 1360 points for the Cronulla Sharks and Gold Coast Titans.