Tautau Moga is a great footballer and athlete. Watching him as part of the wrecking ball that was the Broncos backline as it tore the Panthers to pieces on Thursday summed up how dangerous he can be because of his modern day mix of power, speed and size.
But it also exemplified the range of skills that it takes to become the centre in rugby league, something that is probably over looked often – as can be seen when teams will fill gaps left by injury in the position with an athletic second rower.
The need for specialisation in the role of centre can sometimes be best exemplified by an attacking team simply attacking the player covering the position. Will Chambers was made to look as if he had the speed of a James Roberts against the Warriors when Boden Thompson was sent back to cover a gap caused by the loss of Solomona Kata.
But the lack of attack culminating in wingers doing what wingers do and flying in at the corners is the truest test of the development of the centres in a team.
I’m biased because Corey Oates is part of my Supercoach side this year and he froze to death outside Moga, having to chase the ball inside for scraps of involvement.
James Roberts on the other side of the field is a completely different player and in his way a more complete centre. He is lightning fast and takes the ball into gaps that he sees in the line, and then looks to deliver the ball to the outside.
A lot of the time at the moment he simply goes straight through the line himself and scores. But he is inclined to do what great centres do, create chances for those outside them.
Moga’s first instincts are different, he takes contact and looks to break it and then offload inside or simply keep going forward, the type of thing any second rower would be proud of, a lot of his play looks like some of the young guns who have captured attention this year, Angus Crichton, Coen Hess, or perhaps even a Jason Taumalolo. Great players, great second rowers.
Rugby league matches necessarily hinge most on players in the halves and the centre of the field, but the teams that take the top-four spots this year will probably also boast centres who can routinely position their wingers to score in the corner.
Rob
Guest
Michael Morgan would be a fantastic centre. He has the ability to leave a player flat footed with a swerve and can accelerate away which creates indecisions in edge defenders. He has enough ball playing ability to create opportunities for his winger. He is adapt at hitting a gap at speed on set plays. Morgan can also kick and chase at speed which is something special to have on the edge. He is more ball runner than play maker. He could fill the role Inglis plays for QLD in my opinion.
marty beauchamp
Roar Pro
Melbourne showed what can happen when your backline is there to simply create space that can be used by extremely fast wingers, Cheyse Blair and Will Chambers may not be top of anyone's shopping list but they're going to be a big part of Melbourne's run to the finals
Eddy
Guest
I agree Rellum. Play the player what he is worth. Dragons are dumb for having this argument and in public too.
Eddy
Guest
I disagree with you on Jennings. Just look at his highlights this weekend. Jennings problem is he wants to score every time.
Big Daddy
Guest
So every one that wants to be picked for rep sides should play fullback so they can be picked in the centres or on the wing. Greg inglis made his name as a centre for Melbourne, qld, South's and then transitioned to full back. Lockyer had such a good football brain and could read a game so well from five eight.
marty beauchamp
Roar Pro
Thanks Tony. I'll make a point of watching Manly next
peeeko
Guest
you mean like the way QLd have dominated with a fullback playing centre giving the ball to a fullback playing wing (they are the top 2 scorers in origin hisory? THey play FB because it is the most important running back in the NRL. THus they can easily play centre of wing hayne was hte player of the last world cup at centre
Tony
Guest
Walker had an awesome old school centre's game last night. I thought of it reading your article.
Gray-Hand
Guest
Coaches probably prefer not to overcapitalise on centres and wingers because they usually only play on one side of the field. By stacking salary cap money on a centre of a winger, a team is stacking their strike power on one side of the field. Much better to have that talent in a position that can attack from either side of the field. Why pay $1million per season to have Greg Inglis stuck on one side of the field at centre, when you could have him on both sides when playing from fullback?
Rellum
Roar Guru
I get what you are saying and why they get the money they get in the modern game, I am just questioning the logic behind it. A high quality centre who gets decent service can have much more impact than a many fullbacks. Coaches just have setup their teams not to play in a way where that will happen often.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I wasn't suggesting either Wendall was not quick, he came through in a period where speed was king. I wouldn't put to much store in any stories about who holds the 40 meter dash time. Unless you have seen actual data those times are no more than myth.
marty beauchamp
Roar Pro
that's a great anecdote, i wouldn't have picked that for the world, especially based on the white shorted Wendell of the dragon who spent most of his time trading barbs with Adam MacDougall. that's all very true in the game as it stands that clubs will pay anything for a game breaking 5/8th or fullback, i hope that as Rellum pointed out there is a need for speedsters and centres who can put them in space to use that speed as the limited interchange changes the game away from sheer size. That's what it will take to make the true centre valuable again.
Gray-Hand
Guest
Think of the impact that a top fullback or 5/8th can have on a game compared to a top centre or top winger. If you could only afford to pay top money for two and average money for the other two, you would spend the money on a top 5/8th and a top fullback and rely on their excellent playmaking ability to make the centres and wingers look better. Look at how Darren Lockyer spent the last year of his career making Jack Reed look like an origin quality centre.
Gray-Hand
Guest
Wendell was actually extremely quick. Until James Roberts turned up at the Broncos in 2016, Wendell held the club speed record over 40 metres. And he left the Broncos at the end of 2001. I doubt there are too many purely athletic records across the NRL that have lasted that long.
Rellum
Roar Guru
And I think it is more the Lockyer's, Slaters, Bowens, Haynes and GI's that have built up this fullback role rather than Tedesco or Moyland. They are just benefiting from it. Look at French, Trbojevic and Johnston, all really wingers who want to be fullbacks.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Fullbacks are modern day play makers, maybe the only ones that can shift to either side of the field. Key "spine" players if you will. Modern coaches I think see centres and wingers as a position that can be filled by athletes who run their channels, keeping the attacking line flat so that the play makers can give them the ball in set plays and focus of defending with size, power and wresting to slow down play the balls. They can then pay them less to help fill out the salary cap.
marty beauchamp
Roar Pro
is fullback money a phenomenon built from the exceptional skill of the Tedescos and Moylans, or is it to do with the fact that the other positions in the back line can be nullified a bit because of the size of the players?
marty beauchamp
Roar Pro
i was just thinking how much a part of the development of the modern winger was a reaction to the impact of Wendell and Lote, in the same way union became obsessed with finding the next Jonah Lomu. as you say the only thing that will reverse that trend is that bigger players fatigue more quickly and will hopefully mean limits to interchange see the smaller speedsters remain part of the game. it is hard for sides not to begin to think perfection would be finding 17 'Tongan Thors' and simply battering the opposition to death
Rellum
Roar Guru
They did use to have inside/outside centres so Johns would be setting up Renouf. And they would swap sides so Renouf could be setting up Carne or Hancock. In the modern game the centres stick to their channel almost religiously. Makes it easier to defend but very limiting in attack.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I thought they all wanted to play fullback so they could get "fullback" money.