Rugby league rookie cup: The class of 1990

Amid the NRL’s lacklustre 2021 campaign I’m casting my wistful mind back to more fondly remembered seasons.

With Sydney’s lockdown handing me a lot more free time, I’m dusting off the stash of old Rugby League Week magazines to form a team from each rookie class of the 1990s.

Like all good ideas, this one was shamelessly stolen from cricket Roarer Tigerbill44’s line-up of 1971 Test debutants, except I’m swapping Sunil Gavaskar for Sean Garlick and Dennis Lillee for Darren Lockyer.

The concept is simple. Each team is made up of players who made their maiden first-grade appearance that year. Straightforward too is the selection policy, which follows the Dennis Denuto principle: it’s just the vibe of the thing.

Players are judged on their entire careers, not their performance in their debut year. So someone who played one game in their first season but ten Tests down the track is more valuable than someone who played 20 good games in their maiden campaign but finished up two years later. Your debut year simply categorises which team you’re eligible for.

Cross-code converts count, arrivals from England don’t. So ex-Wallaby Scott Gourley gets a game because he made his first appearance in top-grade rugby league for St George in 1990, but Tony Iro, who’d already played top-grade rugby league for Wigan before landing at Manly in 1990, doesn’t qualify.

Players who’d already debuted in the Brisbane competition are also eligible. For example, John Plath ran around for Wynnum-Manly in the late 1980s, but I regard his first top-grade performance as his Broncos debut in 1990. The local competitions can’t be considered the top grade after Brisbane and Gold Coast joined the NSWRL in 1988.

Each article will name a 17-man line-up with a few honourable mentions as well as a coach who took the clipboard for the first time that year. The benches tend to make room for players as noteworthy for trivia as talent.

After naming the ten teams, the top five will contest the finals system employed until 1994 to crown a champion rookie crop of the decade.

Let’s kick off with the class of 1990.

Fullback: Brett Mullins
Canberra magician Brett Mullins beats out some strong competition from code-hopping Kiwi Matthew Ridge (Manly) and one-time Kangaroo Paul Hauff (Brisbane). Illawarra’s David Riolo won’t lace up the boots but makes a handy manager.

Wingers: Jamie Ainscough and Willie Carne
Western Suburbs’ Jamie Ainscough, who ended the decade as the villain of St George Illawarra’s grand final loss to Melbourne in 1999, prevents Brisbane’s Willie Carne from teaming up with Queensland teammate Adrian Brunker (Newcastle) on the flanks.

Centres: Darren Smith and Terry Hill
Darren Smith, one of 16 debutants for Canterbury in 1990, and Terry Hill, one of 11 for Souths, form a rock-solid, Kangaroos-calibre centre partnership.

Five-eighth: Ewan McGrady
Darren’s Bulldog brother Jason Smith could’ve taken the No. 6, but a lack of locks who debuted in 1990 means he’s more use at No. 13 in this team. The jersey instead goes to Canterbury teammate Ewan McGrady, the Moree product who then scooped the Rothmans Medal in his sophomore season.

Halfback: Jason Taylor (captain)
The class of 1990 spilled over with talented playmakers: Illawarra’s John Simon, Newcastle’s Matt Rodwell, Souths pair Craig Field and Darrell Trindall, and journeyman Noel Goldthorpe, who began his career at Wests. But it’s impossible to go past fellow Magpie Jason Taylor, who went on to rack up a then-record 2107 points.

(Photo by Nick Wilson/ALLSPORT)

Props: Shane Walker and Justin Dooley
The prop position is populated by honest toilers rather than rep stars. I’ll plump for Shane Walker, who began his 13-season career at St George, and Justin Dooley, who represents Easts’ crop of 13 rookies from 1990.

Hooker: Sean Garlick
Dummy half turned pie purveyor Sean Garlick (Souths) edges one-Test Kangaroo Aaron Raper (Cronulla) to the No. 9 jersey.

Second row: Scott Gourley and Alan Cann
St George’s Scott Gourley was already a Wallaby by the time he made his rugby league bow in 1990, and he’s joined here by Brisbane’s Alan Cann.

Lock: Jason Smith
Smith makes a quality final piece of the starting 13 so long as the integrity unit can overlook his colourful post-playing career.

Bench: John Plath, Darrien Doherty, Matthew Ridge, Jason Croker
Ridge is too good to leave out, while Brisbane’s Plath is a bench specialist, making 99 of his 149 appearances off the pine. That includes four grand final wins, so you’d be crazy not to pick him as a good luck charm alone.

Penrith debutant Doherty deserves a spot as a record-setting journeyman, becoming the first player in premiership history to trot out for seven clubs before he was joined by Tyran Smith and Blake Green.

And the final spot goes to Jason Croker – not the Raiders’ 300-gamer but a namesake who made his solitary first-grade appearance for Cronulla in 1990, selected purely for the confusion this might cause the opposition.

Coach: Chris Anderson
Manly’s Graham Lowe was an esteemed leader but Canterbury’s Anderson gets the nod. The rookie coach blooded 16 debutant Dogs in 1990, which makes him a shoo-in for this gig.

Verdict
The back line is loaded with points, with a particularly potent back five oozing Test experience. But the forwards, particularly the no-frills front row, might struggle to give them the foundation to play from.

Next up is 1991, a rookie class with the opposite conundrum.