With NRL expansion a hot topic right now, the NRL should be scouring the globe for potential players given that, according to many experts, we do not have the talent here to sustain another two teams.
I’ve taken it upon myself to identify some elite rugby players who would be just as good, if not better in rugby league. I believe these players should head up any new NRL franchise’s shopping list.
For those who missed Part One, I hope you enjoy reading about the first five players on my list.
Please enjoy Part Two!
Manu Tuilagi
The best way to describe a guy like this is simply custom built for contact sport. The youngest of the Tuilagi clan, Manu is an 185cm and 114kg centre with explosive speed and power.
Equally destructive in the middle of the field and out wide, Tuilagi could handle a number of positions in league, including centre, wing and second row. However, I believe his best position would be lock, simply because if you’ve got a bloke like this in your team you have to get him the ball as much as possible.
He really is the complete package when it comes to getting through traffic. He has a huge fend, his tree-trunk thighs make him near-impossible to tackle low, he has nice footwork close to the line and he can offload too.
Watching him play is like watching Jason Taumalolo. Every time he gets the ball he makes you work hard to tackle him, and he can often pick one of a number of ways to get past you – whatever he’s in the mood for really.
It would be an absolute pleasure to watch him in the NRL – although he’d be an absolute nightmare to play against!
England’s Manu Tuilagi. (Photo: AP)
Rieko Ioane
This man is the epitome of what it is to be a winger. Big, fast, strong and good under the high ball – he has every attribute required to make his mark on the NRL.
At 189cm tall and weighing 103kg, he has almost the exact same build as two of the NRL’s leading metre eating wingers – Semi Radradra and Blake Ferguson. I have no doubt that Rieko Ioane is exactly the sort of player you want getting your sets started while coming out of trouble.
A prolific try-scorer with 29 from 35 appearances for the Blues and 22 in as many appearances for the All Blacks, Ioane has shown he can find the line in even the most difficult of circumstances – another attribute essential for being a top winger in the NRL.
Where he would struggle is certainly defence. Don’t get me wrong – this man can hit hard. But reading rugby league from the wing is very difficult. Knowing when to rush up, when to hold back and when to back off is something he doesn’t have to do much in rugby, and can only be learned by spending time playing rugby league.
However, at just 22 years old he does have time on his side if he were to make the switch. It’s unlikely at this stage of his career, but certainly a tantalising prospect.
New Zealand player Rieko Ioane (11) celebrates his try at the Bledisloe Cup rugby match between Australia and New Zealand on August 18, 2018, at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Owen Farrell
If there’s anyone in the rugby world who belongs in league, it’s Owen Farrell. His father is the legendary Andy Farrell, who played 370 games for the Wigan Warriors as well as 11 Tests for England and 34 for Great Britain.
He is also the cousin of current Wigan and England back-rower Liam Farrell, as well as the nephew of current Wigan and England captain Sean O’Loughlin. He even played league growing up until the age of 14, when he switched to union – at the same time as his father.
Owen possesses a tremendous all round skillset. He’s a fantastic passer of the ball (both long and short), he has a wide variety of kicks in his arsenal, he can more than hold his own in defence, and he is a phenomenal goal-kicker.
But above all that is his ability to own the clutch moments, as evidenced on many occasions throughout his storied career, including during the 2017 Great Britain and Ireland Lions Tour of New Zealand, which the Lions managed to draw in no small part thanks to the ice water that runs through his veins when he kicks goals.
He plays at 10 or 12 in rugby, and would make a great halfback or five-eighth in league. At 27 years old and considering his background in the sport, he would have no trouble making the switch to league.
However, given the level of success he is having in rugby as the face of the England national team, a code swap seems unlikely at this point.
Still, his father Andy switched from league very late in his career. Maybe Owen will do the same down the track.
Jordan Petaia
It’s perhaps a sad indictment on the current state of Australian rugby that the only Australian player to make this list is an 18-year-old in just his second year of Super Rugby, who hasn’t even played for the Wallabies yet.
However, so impressive is this young man that I am certain he will be a star in rugby, and hopefully one day in league too. He’s highly developed for his age, standing 190cm tall and weighing 98kg.
While he hasn’t yet made his senior Wallabies debut, he’s played for both the Australian Schoolboys and Australian U20s, and has also spent time with the senior Wallabies squad. A Wallabies jumper seems to be a matter of when, not if for Petaia.
It’s quite possible he’ll be included in the Wallabies World Cup squad later this year.
Jordan Petaia is a fullback, centre and winger in rugby. He would likely excel in any of those three positions in league too. Like most young outside backs he has stacks of pace, plenty of strength and good all round ball skills.
The Reds will play their first Super Rugby game of the year this weekend. (AAP Image/Albert Perez)
However, his biggest asset by far is his illusiveness and deception.
When most players make breaks, you know exactly how they did it. Josh Addo-Carr and James Roberts burn defenders with their speed. Jason Taumalolo runs over you like a freight train.
But when Petaia makes line breaks, you’re never quite sure exactly how he got in the clear. He makes breaks that he seemingly has no right to make, and when he does, you just think, “how the hell did he do that?”
Make no mistake – this kid is a star of the future. Hopefully he decides to follow his good mate Izaia Perese to rugby league sooner rather than later!
Elton Jantjies
This little South African would have no trouble carving up in the NRL, as he has done in rugby for both province and country for many years.
A short guy with a bit of weight on him (176cm and 88kg), I believe his best position in league would be hooker. With his speed off the mark and fleet-footedness, he would terrorise large forwards late in the game, and would thrive with the extra space that rugby league offers.
Also possessing both a pristine passing game and a monstrous boot, Jantjies certainly has the skill to play in the halves in league, as he does in rugby. My one concern with Jantjies is defence – particularly out wide if he was playing at 6 or 7.
It’s one thing for a little man to defend against bigger but slower men in the middle who are usually running straight at him. Jantjies is not a renowned tackler, but at 88kg and with a low centre of gravity he would certainly handle tackling slow big men – he’s perfectly placed to hit them around the ribs, lift and drive back.
However, he would struggle out wide defending against big, fast back rowers running clever angles around him (or straight at him at pace). This is why he is best suited to hooker in rugby league.
Given the low profile of rugby league in South Africa, it’s difficult to see a player of Jantjies’ stature making the switch anytime soon. More needs to be done to increase league’s profile in that country – there is an absolute talent goldmine over there that has been hardly touched by rugby league.
There you have it Roarers! Who else from the 15-man game would be a sensation in the NRL? What about players who would almost certainly flop in the NRL?
Or perhaps there’s a player in this list you think would not be a good fit in league? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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