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Opinion
Scoring tries is what rugby league is all about, and aren’t we treated to some special efforts these days?
Tries resulting from clever kicks, sheer power, footwork, speed, aerial skills and some freakish performances by wingers in the corner are now the norm.
So what about a fun team featuring the greatest try-scorers in the ARL/NRL? I’ve tried to select a side made up of the greatest try-scorers in club football in each position.
For the purpose of this exercise, I followed these rules:
A player’s position is defined as the position in which he played the majority of his games in the ARL/NRL, excluding games off the bench.
No consideration has been given to the position the player was playing when the tries were scored.
Tries scored in the 1997 Super League season are included.
Tries scored in overseas competitions or representative matches are not included.
Here’s the team, and there might be one or two surprises. Let me know if you believe there are some other contenders.
1. Billy Slater
Second on the all-time try-scoring list with 190 tries from 323 games, and all with the Storm. He scored a try in his first-grade debut and went on to cross for six trebles in his career along with a quadruple against Manly in 2009. He also found the line when on representative duty with 27 tries for Australia, including three trebles, and 12 for the Maroons.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
2. Ken Irvine
He was the tenth player in history to reach the 100-try mark and then he cruised on by that milestone to finish as the top try-scorer of all time with 212 tries in just 236 first-grade games. His try-scoring feats for Australia and NSW were also impressive, with 42 tries in 37 games for Australia and 30 tries in 27 games against Queensland. The greatest winger of all time.
3. Andrew Ettingshausen
Ettingshausen is sitting fifth on the list of all-time try scorers with 165 tries for Cronulla across 18 seasons, including three in his debut season at the age of 17. He scored four trebles in his career, and crossed for five tries on two occasions, once against the Steelers in 1989 and five years later against the Rabbitohs. A very versatile and durable player, he also scored 14 tries for Australia and ten for NSW.
4. Josh Morris
Currently in tenth place on the try-scoring list with 156 tries, Josh Morris has a real chance to join his brother in the top five before his career is over. Morris never seems to be as prolific a try-scorer as some of his contemporaries, but over his 15-year career, he has rarely failed to convert half a chance into four points.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
5. Brett Morris
Brett Morris retired this year due to injury with 176 tries in the bank from 276 first-grade games and finished fourth on the try-scoring list. He scored the tries across stints with the Dragons, Bulldogs and the Roosters, and was the best finisher of the NRL era. He crossed for 12 trebles in his career and also a quadruple against the Cowboys in 2009. 23 tries for Australia in 18 games and four tries for NSW caps off a wonderful career.
6. Terry Lamb
In sixth place on the all-time try-scoring list with 164 tries, Terry Lamb is the highest-placed player from the halves, and this just shows what can be achieved by continually supporting the guy with the ball in his hands. He scored 11 of his tries for Wests Magpies and the rest for the Bulldogs, including four triples and a quadruple against Wests in 1987. Despite a combined 15 games for his state and country, he was unable to score a try at that level.
7. Greg Alexander
Sitting in 56th spot on the top try-scorers list makes Greg Alexander the most prolific of the halfbacks with 111 tries in 265 first grade games. Nearly two-thirds of his tries were scored in the first seven years of his 16-year career, as his game shifted to more of a playmaker role as time went on. His biggest day out came in 1989 when he scored three tries against the Bulldogs.
8. Eddie Burns
Burns is a Canterbury-Bankstown legend who ran out as a 19-year-old in their first-ever match in the competition in 1935 and managed to be sent off. He played 205 games for the Dogs across 16 seasons and scored 61 tries, no doubt the hard way. He scored an impressive six doubles along the way but his try-scoring highlight was the four tries he scored against Newtown in 1942.
9. Robbie Farah
Robbie Farah was dangerous all over the park but particularly so inside the opposition’s 20-metre line, as evidenced by the 70 tries he scored in 303 first-grade games. He scored three triples and two doubles in his career but failed to get across the stripe for either Australia or NSW.
10. Josh Papalii
It won’t be a surprise that Papalii hasn’t made the top 100 try-scorers list yet, but I was surprised to learn that he’s scored 54 tries so far in his career, which according to my reckoning, places him second only to Eddie Burns for a front-rower. He’s also crossed three times for both QLD and Australia, and he has four doubles to his name for the Raiders.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
11. Luke Lewis
Luke Lewis is in equal 36th position on the try-scorers list, having crossed for 122 tries in his first-grade career. He began life in first-grade on the wing and ended up in the second row, running out in every position except hooker, fullback or prop at various stages of his career. He also scored six tries in 16 starts for Australia and one try from 17 games for NSW.
12. Steve Menzies
It’s incredible that a second-rower can sit in third place on the all-time try-scorers list, but there he is – 180 tries for Manly and the Northern Eagles from 349 games. What a player he was. He knew where the gaps were, who to follow and had the speed and power to get to the line. He scored countless doubles, six triples and quadruples against Souths in 1996 and Wests in 1999. He also picked up 11 tries for Australia and four for NSW along the way.
13. Frank Burge
Burge was a freak of nature, and sits in 17th place in the try-scoring list with 146 tries, with all but the nine for St George, accumulated in his 14-year career with the Glebe club. Remarkably, he scored hid tries in just 153 games. His best effort was the eight tries he scored one afternoon against University in 1920. He played a total of 54 representative games in his career from the Metropolis team to the Kangaroos, crossing for 62 tries, including six for NSW against the visiting Auckland side in 1922.
So there they are, a team of prolific try-scorers with point-scoring power all over the park. Let’s hope they can also tackle.
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