I thought this was worth posting. Better than the usual fluff pieces they produce.
I thought Benji was a touch high as the other names around him are outright legends, maybe his ineligibility for Origin colours my view. Interesting that Cronk rated higher than Thurston, I guess his premierships are the reason for that. Had Thurston played in the teams Cronk did, I think he would have won a lot as well. Fittler would have been higher but only played the twilight of his glittering career in the NRL and SBW could have been near the top if he'd stayed in the Greatest Game of All.
I'd forgotten how good Ben Kennedy was, certainly agree with his selection, Danny Buderus as well.
20 – BRETT STEWART
By the time Brett Stewart finished his career in 2016 with Manly-Warringah he was sixth on the game’s all time tryscorers list with 163.
There wasn’t a half chance he didn’t like the look of, or a risk deemed that he wasn’t willing to take.
No player had a greater affinity with their home ground than Stewart did, so much so it led to Ray Warren calling him ‘The Baron Of Brookvale’ after scoring 87 tries in 98 games at the famous ground.
For a whole generation of kids on the Northern Peninsula, Stewart became a crowd favourite.
At the height of his powers, he was the most lethal player in one of the best teams of the
modern era. Stewart was blessed with bullet-like speed that made him arguably the best support player since Terry Lamb and his combination with brother Glenn gave opponents more headaches than they could often handle.
When he missed the best part of two seasons with knee injuries Manly were bounced in week one of the finals both times. On either side of those two seasons – in 2008 and 2011 and when he was fully fit – the Sea Eagles won the premiership. His consistency and ability to strike lifted Manly from a mid-table team to genuine contenders.
He scored at least 10 tries in nine different seasons and scored more than 20 in a season on two separate occasions. He also had at least 10 linebreaks across nine different seasons and in the latter half of his career registered double-digit try assists in five consecutive seasons.
19 – ANTHONY MINICHIELLO
Former Roosters coaching director Phil Gould regularly described Anthony Minichiello as a ‘human pinball’ and at his peak he was mentioned in the same breath as Johns and Lockyer as the NRL’s best player.
The man affectionately known as ‘The Count’ started his career as a winger with blinding speed before switching to the fullback position amid the Roosters’ dominance in the early 2000s.
Before back injuries curtailed his stellar career, Minichiello was dynamite with the ball in hand, regularly embarrassing defences on kick returns. In an era of great fullbacks, he was able to stand right at the top of the list with his aptitude for finishing tries and uncanny ability to break tackles despite only tipping the scales at 91kg.
Between 2003-2005 he was simply unstoppable at club level where he played a total of 98 games for club, state and country winning 65 of them. He also amassed a whopping 364 tackle breaks in his 72 appearances for the Tricolours to go with his 42 tries, 59 line breaks and mind boggling average of 178.7 metres per game.
After playing just 33 games in the four seasons following his insane peak due to numerous back injuries Minichiello finished his career by making a sensational return to NSW in 2011 with a man-of-the-match performance. He also captained the Sydney Roosters to their 13th premiership and played his 300th game before calling it a day in 2014.
18 – JAMES MALONEY
Wherever he goes he wins.
It’s no coincidence only one five-eighth during the NRL era has taken three different teams to grand finals and won two of them.
While he is often the butt of jokes for his lack of ability in defence he more than makes up for it with the arrogance he can bring to teams on the attacking side of the ball. Maloney’s NRL career took off when he arrived at the Warriors in 2010 and took them to a grand final in 2011.
The Roosters missed the finals in 2012 and when Maloney showed up in 2013, he was instrumental in the Tri-Colours lifting the trophy.
During his three seasons at the Roosters they were the minor premiers in each season and he produced no fewer than 23 try assists in each season.
Cronulla became his next stop during his gun-for-hire career and with it came the biggest challenge of his career – delivering the Sharks their maiden premiership. It’s hard to articulate what Maloney did for the 2016 Sharks but when Shane Flanagan alluded to the fact that the playmaker’s carefree attitude worried him, it signalled the Sharks had evolved from battle-hardened scrappers to true premiership contenders.
Maloney also led the NSW Blues to an Origin series victory in 2018 with 12 debutants alongside him
After an Origin I performance in 2018 where he was involved in all NSW and Queensland tries, coach Brad Fittler said “his mindset never changes regardless of the score or time in the game … it’s quite a unique mindset … an incredible weapon to have with a team full of rookies.”
Called upon by NSW to save the series in 2019 he produced his greatest Origin performance to spearhead a huge 38-6 win over Queensland before playing a role in securing a second series win three weeks later.
17 – SONNY BILL WILLIAMS
Despite playing just 118 games across two stints in the NRL, the indelible mark Williams left on the rugby league landscape is hard to ignore.
Had he never crossed codes he would certainly be higher on the list. Debuting as a centre for Canterbury in 2004 at just 18 years old he showed a glimpse of what was to come, scoring two tries against Parramatta. Later that season he would go on to win a premiership with the Bulldogs and play Test football for New Zealand.
The man who made him the youngest ever Kiwi debutant, Frank Endacott, told The Guardian in 2004 during the Tri Nations: “I can tell you he’s going to be something very special. Players like him come along once every 10 or 15 years, if that.”
Williams would play just five games in 2005 but once fully fit again in 2006 he wreaked havoc against opposition forward packs where he regularly lined blokes up and dished out punishment with his trademark left shoulder.
In a time where the shoulder charge was a huge weapon he was perhaps the finest exponent. Coupled with his defensive prowess, was a freakish ability to offload under pressure and create for teammates. His strength in contact made him harder to handle than a runaway train.
After his controversial exit in 2008 he returned to the NRL in 2013 to the Roosters where he became their spiritual leader and helped take them to a premiership.
His game had evolved to the point where he could ball play before the defensive line as good as some halfbacks while his offloading skills remained effective. He played on again in 2014 before leaving the game once again. Had he still been in the league and not gone away for five years in the middle he might well be the best forward ever to play in the NRL.
16 – BEN KENNEDY
No one played on the razor’s edge or with more ferocity than Ben Kennedy.
It was his greatest strength and his biggest weakness only playing more than 20 games just once in his first nine seasons. His tenacious hard-running and willingness to offload made him a nightmare to defend. Kennedy’s rise to prominence in Canberra coincided with the fall of the ‘Green Machine’ era but his winning percentage never finished lower than 50 per cent.
He also only lost twice in 13 appearances for NSW and in 16 Tests for Australia he won 12 times.
In 2000 Newcastle were desperate for a wide-running strike forward and they threw the kitchen sink at him. His arrival to the Hunter Region delivered the Knights their second premiership and his performance in the 2001 grand final led many to believe he should have won the Clive Churchill Medal and not Andrew Johns.
In 2002, he only managed 11 games but the Knights won eight.
And in 2003 he only took the field 13 times but Kennedy played in nine wins. To this day it is still the greatest signing in the club’s history despite the recent acquisitions of Kalyn Ponga and Mitchell Pearce and David Klemmer, that tells you the enormity of his signature.
When he arrived at a rebuilding Manly in 2005 it was Kennedy who changed the culture on the Northern Beaches. Manly’s first three seasons back in the NRL were dire, yet the moment Kennedy set foot on Brookvale Oval they became winners again.
After just two seasons as a Sea Eagle he was named in their greatest ever team in 2008 showing the high regard he is held in north of the Harbour Bridge.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...a/news-story/40b3268c87f88144b159f8e91751caa0
I thought Benji was a touch high as the other names around him are outright legends, maybe his ineligibility for Origin colours my view. Interesting that Cronk rated higher than Thurston, I guess his premierships are the reason for that. Had Thurston played in the teams Cronk did, I think he would have won a lot as well. Fittler would have been higher but only played the twilight of his glittering career in the NRL and SBW could have been near the top if he'd stayed in the Greatest Game of All.
I'd forgotten how good Ben Kennedy was, certainly agree with his selection, Danny Buderus as well.
20 – BRETT STEWART
By the time Brett Stewart finished his career in 2016 with Manly-Warringah he was sixth on the game’s all time tryscorers list with 163.
There wasn’t a half chance he didn’t like the look of, or a risk deemed that he wasn’t willing to take.
No player had a greater affinity with their home ground than Stewart did, so much so it led to Ray Warren calling him ‘The Baron Of Brookvale’ after scoring 87 tries in 98 games at the famous ground.
For a whole generation of kids on the Northern Peninsula, Stewart became a crowd favourite.
At the height of his powers, he was the most lethal player in one of the best teams of the
modern era. Stewart was blessed with bullet-like speed that made him arguably the best support player since Terry Lamb and his combination with brother Glenn gave opponents more headaches than they could often handle.
When he missed the best part of two seasons with knee injuries Manly were bounced in week one of the finals both times. On either side of those two seasons – in 2008 and 2011 and when he was fully fit – the Sea Eagles won the premiership. His consistency and ability to strike lifted Manly from a mid-table team to genuine contenders.
He scored at least 10 tries in nine different seasons and scored more than 20 in a season on two separate occasions. He also had at least 10 linebreaks across nine different seasons and in the latter half of his career registered double-digit try assists in five consecutive seasons.
19 – ANTHONY MINICHIELLO
Former Roosters coaching director Phil Gould regularly described Anthony Minichiello as a ‘human pinball’ and at his peak he was mentioned in the same breath as Johns and Lockyer as the NRL’s best player.
The man affectionately known as ‘The Count’ started his career as a winger with blinding speed before switching to the fullback position amid the Roosters’ dominance in the early 2000s.
Before back injuries curtailed his stellar career, Minichiello was dynamite with the ball in hand, regularly embarrassing defences on kick returns. In an era of great fullbacks, he was able to stand right at the top of the list with his aptitude for finishing tries and uncanny ability to break tackles despite only tipping the scales at 91kg.
Between 2003-2005 he was simply unstoppable at club level where he played a total of 98 games for club, state and country winning 65 of them. He also amassed a whopping 364 tackle breaks in his 72 appearances for the Tricolours to go with his 42 tries, 59 line breaks and mind boggling average of 178.7 metres per game.
After playing just 33 games in the four seasons following his insane peak due to numerous back injuries Minichiello finished his career by making a sensational return to NSW in 2011 with a man-of-the-match performance. He also captained the Sydney Roosters to their 13th premiership and played his 300th game before calling it a day in 2014.
18 – JAMES MALONEY
Wherever he goes he wins.
It’s no coincidence only one five-eighth during the NRL era has taken three different teams to grand finals and won two of them.
While he is often the butt of jokes for his lack of ability in defence he more than makes up for it with the arrogance he can bring to teams on the attacking side of the ball. Maloney’s NRL career took off when he arrived at the Warriors in 2010 and took them to a grand final in 2011.
The Roosters missed the finals in 2012 and when Maloney showed up in 2013, he was instrumental in the Tri-Colours lifting the trophy.
During his three seasons at the Roosters they were the minor premiers in each season and he produced no fewer than 23 try assists in each season.
Cronulla became his next stop during his gun-for-hire career and with it came the biggest challenge of his career – delivering the Sharks their maiden premiership. It’s hard to articulate what Maloney did for the 2016 Sharks but when Shane Flanagan alluded to the fact that the playmaker’s carefree attitude worried him, it signalled the Sharks had evolved from battle-hardened scrappers to true premiership contenders.
Maloney also led the NSW Blues to an Origin series victory in 2018 with 12 debutants alongside him
After an Origin I performance in 2018 where he was involved in all NSW and Queensland tries, coach Brad Fittler said “his mindset never changes regardless of the score or time in the game … it’s quite a unique mindset … an incredible weapon to have with a team full of rookies.”
Called upon by NSW to save the series in 2019 he produced his greatest Origin performance to spearhead a huge 38-6 win over Queensland before playing a role in securing a second series win three weeks later.
17 – SONNY BILL WILLIAMS
Despite playing just 118 games across two stints in the NRL, the indelible mark Williams left on the rugby league landscape is hard to ignore.
Had he never crossed codes he would certainly be higher on the list. Debuting as a centre for Canterbury in 2004 at just 18 years old he showed a glimpse of what was to come, scoring two tries against Parramatta. Later that season he would go on to win a premiership with the Bulldogs and play Test football for New Zealand.
The man who made him the youngest ever Kiwi debutant, Frank Endacott, told The Guardian in 2004 during the Tri Nations: “I can tell you he’s going to be something very special. Players like him come along once every 10 or 15 years, if that.”
Williams would play just five games in 2005 but once fully fit again in 2006 he wreaked havoc against opposition forward packs where he regularly lined blokes up and dished out punishment with his trademark left shoulder.
In a time where the shoulder charge was a huge weapon he was perhaps the finest exponent. Coupled with his defensive prowess, was a freakish ability to offload under pressure and create for teammates. His strength in contact made him harder to handle than a runaway train.
After his controversial exit in 2008 he returned to the NRL in 2013 to the Roosters where he became their spiritual leader and helped take them to a premiership.
His game had evolved to the point where he could ball play before the defensive line as good as some halfbacks while his offloading skills remained effective. He played on again in 2014 before leaving the game once again. Had he still been in the league and not gone away for five years in the middle he might well be the best forward ever to play in the NRL.
16 – BEN KENNEDY
No one played on the razor’s edge or with more ferocity than Ben Kennedy.
It was his greatest strength and his biggest weakness only playing more than 20 games just once in his first nine seasons. His tenacious hard-running and willingness to offload made him a nightmare to defend. Kennedy’s rise to prominence in Canberra coincided with the fall of the ‘Green Machine’ era but his winning percentage never finished lower than 50 per cent.
He also only lost twice in 13 appearances for NSW and in 16 Tests for Australia he won 12 times.
In 2000 Newcastle were desperate for a wide-running strike forward and they threw the kitchen sink at him. His arrival to the Hunter Region delivered the Knights their second premiership and his performance in the 2001 grand final led many to believe he should have won the Clive Churchill Medal and not Andrew Johns.
In 2002, he only managed 11 games but the Knights won eight.
And in 2003 he only took the field 13 times but Kennedy played in nine wins. To this day it is still the greatest signing in the club’s history despite the recent acquisitions of Kalyn Ponga and Mitchell Pearce and David Klemmer, that tells you the enormity of his signature.
When he arrived at a rebuilding Manly in 2005 it was Kennedy who changed the culture on the Northern Beaches. Manly’s first three seasons back in the NRL were dire, yet the moment Kennedy set foot on Brookvale Oval they became winners again.
After just two seasons as a Sea Eagle he was named in their greatest ever team in 2008 showing the high regard he is held in north of the Harbour Bridge.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...a/news-story/40b3268c87f88144b159f8e91751caa0
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