- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
I’m told it takes a lot to play just one game in the NRL, so it stands to reason that to play 50, 100, 150, or more games must take not only an extraordinary level of talent and perseverance, but also a good dose of luck, and a willingness to put your body through the wringer, time after time.
Even more impressive to me, though, are those players who spend many years with the same club, often helping to build a dynasty and a positive culture at their club of choice.
Now, does player loyalty lead to a club’s success, or does club success result in player loyalty?
It’s a bit of both, I suspect.
In this series of articles, I’ll name each club’s best team of loyal stalwarts, not necessarily just one club players, but those players who spent much of their careers with the club, beginning today with the only two remaining foundation clubs: the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Two clubs who remain bitter rivals to this day, and who are as close to each other geographically, as they are distant from each other in most other respects.
Sydney Roosters
The Roosters have been around since January 1908. They played their first match in April that year, and went on to win 15 premierships.
One thousand, two hundred and four players have worn the red, white and blue since day one, three of them staying for over 300 games, seven for 200 or more games, and an incredible 63 players have racked up more than 100 games for the club.
Here’s a team of Roosters club stalwarts, drawn from players with 160 or more games for the club.
1. Anthony Minichello – 302 games. A one-club Roosters man, and an attacking weapon who brought style to the No.1 jersey, both on and off the field.
2. Bill Mullins – 192 games. Another one-club player, who combined speed and power to notch 104 tries for the club.
3. Mark Harris – 190 games. Too big and fast for most opponents to handle.
4. Shaun Kenny-Dowall – 226 games. An unwanted Warriors junior, he came to the Roosters to end up as one of their premier outside backs.
5. Daniel Tupou – 196 games, and counting. Ever reliable, and virtually unbeatable in the aerial contest.
6. Brad Fittler – 217 games. One of the greatest players of the NRL era who made the transition from the wild west of Penrith to the hip eastern suburbs.
7. Kevin Hastings – 239 games. A great club man and one of the Roosters’ favourite sons.
8. Ray Stehr – 182 games. Small for a front rower by today’s standards but tough, fearsome and uncompromising nonetheless.
9. Jake Friend – 268 games. A wonderful servant for the Roosters who had his career cut short by injury this year.
Jake Friend (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
10. Jared Waerea-Hargraves – 250 games, and counting. No quarter ever given on the field nor asked for.
11. Craig Fitzgibbon – 229 games. A prolific point scorer and now part of the Roosters’ coaching set-up.
12. Boyd Cordner – 183 games. A one-club captain courageous whose career was ended too soon by injury.
13. Luke Ricketson – 301 games. One of the best in the game, and who somehow retained his good looks. Never tempted to leave Bondi.
14. Craig Wing – 185 games. There’s no better nor versatile utility player to have on the bench.
15. Royce Ayliffe – 161 games. Ayliffe was a tough and skillful competitor who owned the middle of the ruck.
16. Bunny Reilly – 198 games. One of the game’s great defenders who played way above his weight.
17. Mitch Aubusson – 306 games, and the most capped player of all time for the Roosters. Built a career on dependability, and was their Mr Fix It.
Quite a team of latte sipping, BMW owners right there!
Of the 160-game-plus players who didn’t make the cut: Mitchell Pearce was never going to be selected ahead of Roosters favourite son Horrie Hastings, but speedy half Kevin Junee can consider himself unlucky not to get a look in.
Brendan Hall couldn’t get past Fittler for the five-eighth spot; and Isaac Liu would be worth consideration on the bench if the preference was for another middle player rather than a second rower.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs are a proud foundation club, but with a twist. NRL rationalisation plans saw them excluded from the competition in 2000, but grassroots support and some powerful financial backers saw them re-admitted to the competition in 2002.
Souths have proudly won the most premierships, with 21, and some 1150 players have represented them over the years.
Included among them are one who has played over 300 games, five with 200 or more, and 49 with 100 or more.
This team of Souths stalwarts has been selected from players who have worn the myrtle green and cardinal red on 145 or more occasions.
1. Clive Churchill – 157 games. Rugby league immortal, the little master was in a class of his own, winning multiple premierships as both a player and a coach.
2. Benny Wearing – 172 games. A prodigious try scorer who topped the competition’s try scoring list in three consecutive seasons.
3. Paul Sait – 160 games. One of the toughest players ever to line up in the backline.
4. Greg Inglis – 146 games. A superstar of the modern game capable of almost anything on the field.
5. Alex Johnston – 161 games, and counting. A speedy winger who knows the way to the line, and who has the all-time try scoring record in his sights.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
6. Alf Blair – 158 games. A one-club legend from the 192’s who captained Souths to four premierships.
7. Adam Reynolds – 226 games, and counting. Souths’ all-time record point scorer and sitting second on the list of games played for the club.
8. John Sattler – 197 games. A noted hard man and an inspirational leader who lead the club to four premierships.
9. Mario Fenech – 181 games. Seen as a funny man these days, but no one took the honour of wearing the Souths jersey more seriously than the Maltese falcon.
10. Dennis Donoghue – 171 games. A tough and relentless forward who was known to put his boxing prowess to good use when required.
11. Bob McCarthy – 211 games. A damaging ball runner with great speed, who revolutionised the attacking role of the second rower.
12. Sam Burgess – 182 games. One of the best forwards of the NRL era, and arguably the most talented English player to play in Australia since Malcolm Reilly.
13. Ron Coote – 148 games. A club legend who probably ranks second only behind Johnny Raper as the greatest lock forward of all time.
14. John Sutton – 336 games. All-time club game record holder who sweated cardinal red blood for the Rabbitohs for 16 seasons.
15. Gary Stevens – 163 games. A hard as nails second rower and feared defender.
16. John O’Neill – 151 games. One of the toughest and most feared forwards of his day. Never took a backward step.
17. Jack Rayner – 194 games. An inspirational leader and one club Souths champion who led the club to five premierships.
So, there they are, a tough and talented bunch of Bunnies who could never be taken lightly. No lattes for that lot!
The strength of the side is underlined by the quality of the other players who qualified for selection with 145 games or more, but who didn’t make the cut.
Try-scoring machine Nathan Merritt; the resourceful Craig Coleman; the point scoring wizard Eric Simms; and legendary forwards Les Cowie, Ernie Hammerton and Bernie Purcell, just to name a few.
I wonder which team would be successful if they met on the park?
It would be a great tussle but I’ll back Souths based on their stronger forward pack, Clive Churchill, and the try scoring power of the backline.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.