Over the last few days, the Sydney Morning Herald‘s player poll has been slowly rolled out, with the results stemming from accolades such as “Who is the best second-rower in the comp”, or more notably, “Who is the best player in the NRL”.
Roosters fullback and overall weapon James Tedesco took out this year’s nod by a whopping 28 per cent over the runner up, Cowboys lock Jason Taumalolo. Coming in third, notably, was the last two years’ winner, Cameron Smith.
As an added note, I don’t believe the top three should be any different. Those three players are head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the competition.
Once I saw the margin Tedesco won by, I was surprised. I do not hate on Tedesco’s talent, I do not hate on his success, but I can’t help but think that Cam Smith still reigns supreme.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Coming into his 19th season, the all-time games record holder is 37 years old. There were questions raised after a sloppy showing against the Raiders (post-COVID return), asking if his style could cope with the faster style of play. Not only has he adapted, he has sounded the alarm bells to the whole competition, to show he is still the best player in the competition. Not only is he influential (cue the ref jokes, sigh), but he seems to be in the moment for the big moments.
My biggest comparison for Tedesco versus Smith (sorry, Taumalolo) was in their recent blockbuster clash. Tedesco was relatively quiet. His run metres look appeasing to the stat watchers, but in the big moments, Tedesco didn’t take the game by the horns and will his team home.
Not only was Smith playing out of position, he was as influential as anyone else. He was able to sink a huge kick with minutes to go to put the Storm ahead by two. He then fooled the Roosters’ defence prior to dishing to Ryan Papenhuyzen for the field goal and sink the game-winning penalty off a smart option to hit Dale Finucane on a run in which they were heavily hitting their strides.
The game turned on its head when Smith went into hooker, as the Storm hit their strides to storm home and beat the Roosters – all done on the back of Smith’s brilliance. Head to head, Smith outshone Tedesco in a huge way (as did his fullback opposite, Ryan Papenhuyzen).
Tedesco is only an attack-first player. His positional play is getting much better in defence, but I still think there are better fullbacks defensively than him.
Does Tedesco hate the bright lights? I think so. Before the hate can come my way in the comments, yes, he scored the winning try in Origin last year and yes, he scored the winning try in the grand final last year, but is no one giving their due respect to Blake Ferguson or Latrell Mitchell or Daniel Tupou for creating those moments?
(Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
When it has mattered, Tedesco has disappeared in big moments and allowed his teammates such as Cooper Cronk or Luke Keary or Latrell Mitchell do the hard yards, then back up on the inside for the finishing touch – the touch everyone seems to only remember.
Do I think Tedesco isn’t the second best player in the comp? Hell no! He is still arguably the best. His peers think so. Who am I to doubt that?
But from my perspective, I still think there is a whistle in the woods that people will always think Smith reigns as long as he plays.
Smith, Tedesco or Taumalolo. However you have them ranked, it is not wrong. They’re out and out the best three players in the competition, bar none.
And for the doubters, yes, a referee can still be considered a great player.
Hate him or love him, Smith is just that good.
Harvey
Guest
Is a whistle in the woods the same as a slash in the woods?
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Hi Willie, Always a fascinating debate, especially using the word "best". Cam Smith is the "best" at many things and Teddy rightly has claims to be considered even better than Billy Slater, and Tommy Turbo has claims to be better than both superstar fullbacks when he finally gets himself fit. Instead of using the term "best", let me say that my "Talent Valuation System" does not even rate Teddy the most valuable player in the Roosters. That dubious honour goes to Luke Keary. Why? Because he is more directly and indirectly involved in influencing the scoreboard and the roosters cannot replace him. That is not a slight on Teddy as he has strong claims to be a better FB than Billy, but the Roosters have shown that they can replace him and not miss a beat, they could not do that with Keary.
JGK
Roar Guru
Isn't the bigger question how the hell Taumalolo was second?
Ben Pobjie
Expert
I think Smith has an edge on Tedesco in terms of the ability to take control of a game, but the author here, I feel, is greatly overstating Tedesco's weaknesses. In Origin last year he stepped up in a huge way, and while it is true that he scores plenty of tries simply by trailing up the middle to latch onto a movement by others, it's equally true that lots of his teammates score tries that his work creates for them. A direct comparison between the two is difficult because they are very different players: obviously on sheer physical attributes Tedesco is way ahead; he's faster, better at breaking tackles etc; and obviously Smith is a better kicker, does much more defence etc. So directly comparing them is basically impossible. I think Smith is more important to his team than Tedesco at this time, but that's about their respective teams as well as the individuals. Who is "better" is a bit of a coin flip, but you can say that Smith is peerless when it comes to grabbing a game by the scruff, without going overboard with a claim that Tedesco "goes missing".
Pomoz
Roar Rookie
why do all the paragraph spaces disappear when I post. The content is condensed and rendered unreadable.
Pomoz
Roar Rookie
There is no need to criticise Tedesco, to claim Smith is the best player in the game. The ability to be in the right place, at the right time to score a try can be a coincidence and luck. But when a player keeps doing it time and time again, you have to acknowledge they have great anticipation, a high work rate and read the game well. The ability to anticipate and read a game are skills that are in short supply and highly coveted by coaches and team mates. That said, to me Smith is the GOAT. He will improve a team wherever he plays. He can do smart, tough, skilful and is relentless. Built like a tax accountant and weighing only slightly more than a super model and certainly less than many halfbacks, teams have run their biggest players at him for his entire career. You would expect to see him trampled in the dirt, smashed to pieces as his skinny frame is overcome by the sheer brute force applied to it by the latest big bopper. Many have tried, at club level and in SOO. First, the big bopper builds up a head of steam so powerful the ground starts to shake and they lock in on Smith and head straight for him. In the previous game, the big bopper had knocked the opposition forwards into a different time zone and trampled a halfback into the ground so deeply, it required a team from Rio Tinto to dig him out. Then something strange happens, the big bopper falls to ground as if hit by a 21 year old Mike Tyson directly on the temple. When you watch the tackle unfold, with Smiths insignificant physique he looks like a five year old wrestling with their Dad in the back yard. But down they go and the big bopper’s play the ball, which was previously measured in microseconds, is now so slow, glaciers are forming somewhere in the North. Play resumes and the big bopper is scratching their head, WTF just happened? His leadership is the other thing that sets him apart. Gordon Tallis tells the story of greeting Smith at his first SOO training session. “I wanted to welcome him and give him a pep talk” he said. “At the end of our chat, I walked away feeling brilliant. He managed to turn the chat into a pep talk for me. He was only 20 and I was the senior player”. His influence on the team isn’t just measured in tries and try assists. HIs win rate says it all. How did the Tigers go when Teddy was there and their “big four” was intact? Who is worse off, the Roosters without Teddy, or the Storm without Smith?
Richard Tyrell
Guest
Willie, I think your article was vindicated last night. Tedesco came up with a poor defensive effort when George Williams scored and very little effort at all when Papaali scored. To be fair he did do his usual very good things in attack but these two moments stood out for me.
Willie La'ulu
Roar Guru
Did NO ONE else notice Teddy running alongside Paps last night and not towards him? :laughing:
M
Guest
Did Cam Smith write this??
Muzz
Guest
Agree TB. Then there's the efforts upon efforts when your brain is telling you to stop and take a breather before you explode.
Muzz
Guest
He will be the highest paid coach one day. I'm looking forward to that chapter.
Short Memory
Guest
Tigers Raiders Roosters Storm (they've already got Smith :) Rabbitohs Sharks Panthers All need a game breaking fullback more than they need a play making dummy half. And the Eels would say no thanks to both of them.
KenW
Roar Rookie
Exactly. If I was picking a team Cam Smith is the first guy I would pick because I think he still has a bigger impact on his team's performance than any other player in the game. However there is no need to manufacture a weakness for Tedesco - an absolute gun - to voice that opinion.
Pickett
Roar Rookie
Has the Roar suddenly become a defacto Souffs forum? What's with all these anti Roosters articles lately?
kk
Roar Pro
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Mac
Guest
Hahahahaha, yea Tedesco scored the winning Grand final try last year, the winning origin try and basically won NSW the series in 2018 yet he "goes missing in big games". This is utter garbage and makes me doubt you even watch Tedesco play.
Nat
Roar Rookie
I'll just leave Mr Minto's highlights here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYvByvO81iI&has_verified=1 The dude has a statue in the Caxton Hotel where the Pearl only has been afforded a picture and that should say plenty. :laughing:
Nat
Roar Rookie
Hypothetical question Brendon. You say you'll keep Smith over Tede for any price. You've got B Smith now and Grant coming next season. Tede says he'll join Melbourne for free only if Smith retires. Would you take it?
Nat
Roar Rookie
Well said, TB. A few years ago I done a stats analysis between Boyd, Slater, Tede and Turbo. Boyd shone in nearly every stat which essentailly lead to him being safe not brilliant. As you say, all those effort areas that don't get recorded until one finally drops for them is the difference between good and great.
theHunter
Roar Rookie
Why don't you use the 2018 Grand Final match over a regular season match to make a comparison. Which one in your opinion has more "bright lights" to it? So if you had done a piece like this for the 2018 GF would you say Cronk half injured was way better than Smith? Or would you describe Ennis to be better in the 2016 GF? We all respect and know Smith is good at what he does and being for a long time but nitpicking moments to suit your narrative is just rubbish. Smith is the best leader/captain any team would love to have, he organizes and pushes his team and they listen to him. Tedesco on the other hand does not lead but is one of the impact players that make a leader/captain/coach look good and that's what we love about him.