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Opinion
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, halfbacks, goal-kickers and Grand Final moments of the era.
Next cab off the rank is the nasty types who do all the grunt work up front to lay the proverbial platform for any successful team – the front-rowers.
While the role of the “middle forward” has evolved over the past couple of decades, they essentially still have the main task of carting the ball into the teeth of the defence over and over while also shoring up the defensive line with a mountain of tackles in the middle of the ruck.
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Gone are the days when front-rowers were portly beasts – the modern prop needs to be super fit while also possessing plenty of size to rumble with the biggest boppers on the other team.
Each player has been judged on their collective efforts from 1998 onwards, not including their efforts prior to that season, or if they’re an active player, up until 2022, without speculating on how their career might play out over next season and beyond.
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
1 Shane Webcke
2 Petero Civoniceva
3 Jesse Bromwich
4 Andrew Fifita
5 Willie Mason
6 Matt Scott
7 Josh Papali’i
8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
9 James Graham
10 Nate Myles
Webcke deserves top spot for all the blood, sweat and tears he put in to maximise every opportunity he had with Brisbane, Queensland and Australia. The only player to win the Dally M Prop of the Year award three times on his own during the NRL era and one of only two specialist front-rowers from the past 25 years who has made the Hall of Fame.
Civoniceva formed arguably the strongest one-two prop punch in premiership history alongside Webcke for many years – a brute force with hit-ups or in defence, his longevity to play 401 first-class games over a career spanning two decades lifted him into the Hall of Fame with his long-time teammate.
Bromwich is another man mountain who has been relentless throughout his career which kicked off in 2010 at Melbourne and is still going strong after 295 NRL matches, including three premierships, and 30-plus Tests for New Zealand.
(Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)
Fifita is perhaps the most damaging, on his day, among the props in the NRL era. During the dual Dally M Prop of the Year’s peak he was league’s most destructive forward with ball-playing skills and the ability to break a game open, as he did with his match-winning try in Cronulla’s 2016 Grand Final triumph.
Mason was similar to Fifita in that the quality of his bursts would leave opposition defences torn to shreds and his career highlight was the 2004 season which culminated in him collecting the Clive Churchill Medal in Canterbury’s premiership victory.
Scott was built from the Webcke mould of tough Queenslander who never let anyone down as he motored through a power of work at both ends of the field for the Cowboys, Maroons and Australia.
Papali’i was initially a reluctant prop but the former back-rower in the past five years has established his place as one of the best of the modern era by leading Canberra, Queensland, Australia and now Samoa up front.
Waerea-Hargreaves overcame a few ups and downs in the early stages of the Kiwi international’s career to spearhead the Roosters’ pack in their dual premiership successes of 2018-19.
James Graham celebrates a try. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)
Graham came to the NRL at a relatively late age of 26 but the English firebrand still managed 186 games over nine seasons at the Bulldogs and Dragons. During his first few years at Canterbury he restored pride in the jersey and ensured the team was never pushed around through the middle of the park.
Myles is a tricky customer to categorise – he played more games at prop than second row or lock and despite ruffling feathers of opponents and fans, put together an impressive resume of 233 NRL games, 32 Origins for Queensland and 33 Tests for Australia.
11 Payne Haas
12 David Klemmer
13 Aaron Woods
14 Jason Ryles
15 Luke Bailey
16 Steve Price
17 Junior Paulo
18 James Tamou
19 Brent Kite
20 Mark O’Meley
Haas could very well end up at the top of the props when his career is done and dusted – he’s already won Dally M Prop of the Year three times (two players have received the annual honour since 2020), played 81 matches for Brisbane, nine Origins for NSW and a couple of Tests with the Kangaroos.
Klemmer and Woods – a dual Dally M Prop of the Year – brought the nasty together for several years with NSW and Australia, generating plenty of go-forward with their strong carries while getting through their arduous defensive assignments without missing a beat.
David Klemmer of the Knights (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Ryles and Bailey are another duo who were integral to St George Illawarra’s finals teams and NSW’s State of Origin success in the mid 2000s while also earning their Test stripes.
Price had a fabulous career as an out and out worker while also being a tremendous leader for Canterbury and the Warriors, and his 28 Origins for Queensland and 16 Tests for Australia were worthy recognition of his dedication.
Paulo is a halfback trapped in a front-rower’s body and over the course of his career with Parramatta, NSW and Samoa, he has managed to strike the right balance between ball-playing and hurtling into the defence.
Tamou was understandably at the centre of a tug-of-war for his services at Test level early in his career when the New Zealand-born giant chose to represent NSW and Australia. It is fitting he’s finishing his 300-game plus career next year back at the Cowboys where he was a crucial member of the 2015 premiership side.
Kite is another former back-rower who didn’t initially relish being moved up front but the simplicity of rucking it through the middle suited him and he was rewarded with the 2008 Clive Churchill Medal in the first of two titles he won at Manly.
O’Meley was not the biggest forward going around but he was one of the meanest, muscling up from a teenager at the Bears to become a Bulldogs fan favourite for his efforts in their 2004 title triumph.
21 Jason Stevens
22 Roy Asotasi
23 Nathan Cayless
24 James Fisher-Harris
25 Fuifui Moimoi
Stevens was a curious cat – a devout Christian who had a few judiciary issues during his career, a gentle giant who would tear into opponents, but there was no doubting the huge work rate he would get through for the Sharks, Blues and Kangaroos.
Asotasi was another prop who was not as huge as some of his contemporaries but would leave a lasting impact on opponents with his thunderous defence.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Cayless was a non-stop performer for more than a decade at Parramatta while Fisher-Harris, another Kiwi, has been quietly building an impressive record at Penrith over the past few years and will probably be considered a much better player once his career is over.
And then there’s Moimoi – when it comes to “on their day” players, there were few better than Fuifui, the fan favourite who nearly carried the Eels to an unlikely Grand Final win over the Melbourne machine in 2009.
Glenn Lazarus is arguably the greatest prop of all time but, judging solely on the NRL era, he only played two seasons so was not included in the top 25.
Ruben Wiki only spent four or five seasons at prop after being at centre and second row for the majority of his lengthy career but he was a fearsome front-rower.
There are several players who won Dally M Prop of the Year who you could mount a case for selection in the top 25 like Dean Pay (1998), Matt Parsons (1999), Paul Rauhihi (2004), Ben Hannant (2009), David Shillington (2010) and Sam Kasiano (2012).
Carl Webb was a damaging player, mainly at Origin level, Reagan Campbell-Gillard has been consistent for Penrith and Parramatta in recent years while there has also been the likes of Panthers 2003 premiership-winning trio Martin Lang, Ben Ross and Joel Clinton, Paul Vaughan, Robbie Kearns and Jacob Lillyman who made their presence felt in the toughest position on a rugby league field.