25 in 25: Best halfback of NRL era - Thurston, Johns, Cronk, Langer, Kimmorley - how high will Cleary rise?

The 25th season of the NRL is done and dusted so to commemorate the first quarter-century of this instalment of the premiership, The Roar is looking back at the 25 best players and moments in 25 categories.

We have already gone through the best fullbacks, locks, players to never make Origin, coaches, captains and Grand Final moments of the era.

Now it’s time to look at the position usually considered the most important on the field – the halfback. 

There have been countless on-field generals who have stood out over the past 25 years, guiding their team around the park, kicking and passing their way through opposition defensive lines and punching well above their weight in the tackling department. 

In each of these articles recapping the elite performers and standout moments, we have separated the 25 into the top 10 (the best of the best), the next 10 who simply couldn’t miss the cut and the final five who just beat out a bunch of other worthy contenders.

There have been 12 halfbacks who have won the Dally M Medal in the NRL era with the big three of Andrew Johns (three times), Johnathan Thurston (four) and Cooper Cronk (two) multiple winners along with Preston Campbell at the Sharks in 2001, Manly skipper Matt Orford seven years later and Cronulla’s Nicho Hynes this season.

Johnathan Thurston is tackled by Andrew Johns in 2003. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The best of the best – the top 10

1 Andrew Johns
2 Johnathan Thurston
3 Cooper Cronk 
4 Brett Kimmorley
5 Daly Cherry-Evans
6 Allan Langer
7 Mitchell Pearce
8 Nathan Cleary
9 Stacey Jones 
10 Ricky Stuart

You could make an argument for Johns, Thurston or Cronk as being the best half in the NRL era.

Johns has the edge for overall impact on the sport – his rise to prominence in the late 1990s was a game-changer for the way halfbacks played. Strong enough to defend like a back-rower, he could spiral passes either way, kick with venom and had a ferocious will to win which inspired his teammates for Newcastle, NSW and Australia on his way to becoming an Immortal.

Thurston’s elevation to Immortal status should be a no-brainer. He defied early predictions that he was too small to make it in the big league by forcing his way into Canterbury’s premiership-winning squad before making the Cowboys club a force. Another ultimate competitor, the best of his many skills was his ability to make his teammates better. His performance in the 2015 golden-point Grand Final win over Brisbane was the perfect example of his never-say-die spirit.

Cronk edges out the other two for longevity and premierships but as great as he was, he was usually a main cog in the Melbourne, Queensland or Australian machine without being the star player. Not a natural halfback when he came into the NRL, he grew into the role and became a crucial part of the Storm’s success before finishing his career by imparting that onto the Roosters in back-to-back premierships.

(Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)

Kimmorley is still not given proper recognition for his many years of high output, particularly early in his career at Melbourne and for several years at the Sharks. He deservedly received the Clive Churchill Medal in Melbourne’s 1999 triumph and in any other era he would have played a lot more than 19 times for NSW and 15 Tests for Australia. 

DCE is another player whose chances for higher honours were stymied for much of his career with Cronk and Thurston ahead of him on the pecking order but he has flourished in the rep arena in recent years, particularly as Queensland captain. A premiership-winner and Kangaroos representative in his rookie year of 2011, he’s been a model of consistency for Manly, playing at least 19 matches every season and holding the club together through some up-and-down times.

Langer’s undoubtedly one of the stars of the pre-NRL era but it’s hard to judge him against the other halfbacks of the modern era when you only weigh up his career from 1998 onwards. He won a premiership that year at Brisbane but then left mid-season the year after for England when his form dropped before returning for a farewell season in 2002 after his famous Origin comeback the previous year.

Pearce is polarising but his record is hard to argue with – 309 NRL matches, a premiership-winner in 2013 and 19 matches for NSW when he was often heavily scrutinised for their lack of success even though they were up against a team that was outclassed by a Maroons dynasty.

Cleary could end up above all these players if his career trajectory continues on its current path. A two-time premiership-winning playmaker at Penrith at 24 with 137 NRL games, 1205 points, and 13 Origin games for NSW under his belt. The closest halfback we’ve seen since Johns as far as impact on a game, if he maintains this kind of output for another decade, Johns and Thurston have already conceded he could exceed their careers.

Stacey Jones is a Kiwi rugby league legend. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Jones was the Kiwi Alfie. Just like Langer, he was written off early in his career for his lack of size, but his competitive instincts shone through and he made every team he played in substantially better, including the memorable 2002 run by the Warriors to make the Grand Final.

Stuart is another who was in the twilight of his career when the NRL era rolled around but his supreme skill is hard to ignore as many of the modern-day halves have tried to emulate his game. When it came to kicking and passing, he brought rugby union skills to league which revolutionised the game and he was arguably the most important member of Canberra’s golden years.

The best of the rest – elite performers

11 Ben Hunt
12 Shaun Johnson
13 Scott Prince
14 Craig Gower
15 Matt Orford
16 Adam Reynolds
17 Jahrome Hughes
18 Ben Hornby
19 Adrian Lam
20 Brent Sherwin

Hunt is 290 games into his career and arguably his past season was his best. A consistent performer for the Broncos for eight seasons, which was seconds away from a premiership in 2015, and a further five at St George Illawarra, and a big-game performer in the Origin arena.

Johnson had the talent to be in the top five but a lack of consistency has plagued his career which kicked off in superb fashion in 2011 when he took the Warriors to the Grand Final in his rookie year.

Prince spent most of his career with struggling teams but he was the leader the Wests Tigers needed in 2005 to instill confidence in the unheralded bunch and take them all the way to the premiership.

(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Gower was a natural leader at the Panthers who grew into the role following Greg Alexander’s retirement and galvanised the side in their 2003 against-the-odds premiership success.

Orford never got a chance at Origin level but despite being short on stature, he stood tall for Melbourne and then Manly, taking the Sea Eagles to the title in 2008 against his former club, earning the Dally M Medal that year as well.

Reynolds didn’t get much of a look-in at Origin level and probably should have been given more of a run by the Blues earlier in his career when Mitchell Pearce and Trent Hodkinson were selected ahead of him. His efforts to lead Souths to the 2014 title will be part of club folklore while he was more prominent seven years later when they just came up short in their surprise run to the Grand Final.

Hughes and Hornby both came into first grade as fullbacks but were converted into halves and being the selfless players they are, they not only adapted but thrived, rewarded with premierships – 2020 for Hughes at the Storm and a decade earlier for Hornby as St George Illawarra skipper.

(Photo by Will Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)

Sherwin was an old-school halfback who wasn’t too flashy but in a star-studded Canterbury side in the early 2000s, he was the general who kept the team headed in the right direction, particularly with his kicking and passing game. A critical member of their 2004 premiership success among his higher-profile teammates.

The final five

21 Mitchell Moses
22 Brett Finch
23 Jason Taylor 
24 Chad Townsend
25 Luke Brooks

Moses still has a few years left to win that elusive premiership after coming so close with Parramatta this season but his rep chances are likely to be limited by Cleary’s presence.

Finch modelled his game on Johns and rose to prominence early in his career at Canberra before being part of the Roosters’ back-to-back Grand Final losses in 2003-04. His career never quite lived up to expectations although he had a couple of memorable performances while filling in for the Blues.

Taylor’s career was winding down when the NRL kicked off but after a lengthy career nearly getting North Sydney to the promised land, the elite goal-kicker was part of Parramatta’s 2001 campaign which faltered at the final hurdle.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Townsend showed in Cronulla’s 2016 march to glory that he can hold his own in elite company while Brooks is a player who has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career, including the Dally M halfback award to beat a hot field in 2018, but has never been able to consistently live up to expectations.

Just missed the cut

Preston Campbell and Michael Morgan each had stellar seasons at halfback with the Sharks in 2001 and North Queensland in 2017 respectively but played the majority of their career at five-eighth and fullback in Presto’s case and at pivot for Morgan.

There are a few halves who were stars in the pre-NRL era who would be in this list if the timeframe went back a few more years like Greg Alexander, Paul Green and Craig Polla-Mounter.

Nicho Hynes won the Dally M Medal this year in his first season at half so he will likely rise in the next few years.

There are a bunch of playmakers who were touted as having immense potential who had decent careers like Trent Hodkinson, Tim Smith, Joe Williams, Ash Taylor, Chris Sandow, Mark McLinden, Jarrod Mullen, Aidan Sezer and Peter Wallace.

And then you have random halves who wore the No.7 jersey in Grand Finals like Shane Perry (Brisbane’s last premiership-winning halfback), Kris Keating, Jeff Robson, Corey Hughes and Brodie Croft.