Blues' unknown action man
Roy Masters | May 17, 2007
He's so active, he'd make amphetamine nervous.
The NSW Origin team's reserve back, Kurt Gidley, is producing once-in-a-generation statistics that are running, leaping, tackling proof that a player high on life doesn't need any chemical assistance to get high for a game.
Consider his 2007 ranking among the 400 players in the NRL - first for offloads, second for total runs, second for tackle breaks, third for kick receptions, fourth for play-the-balls, fifth for one-on-one tackles, seventh for goals kicked, ninth for tries scored.
Some of those statistics are almost contradictory - best in the league at offloading the ball would imply he doesn't play it much - but Gidley is busy enough to do both.
Furthermore, the Newcastle fullback produces numbers which demonstrate quality - seventh in the NRL for quick play-the-balls, seventh for line breaks.
Melbourne's Craig Bellamy, who has coached Gidley over the past two years in the NSW Country Origin team, playing him five-eighth, says: "It's one thing to get the figures up but he does so much quality work as well.
"He's freakish. He reminds you of [Canberra's] Bradley Clyde for his ability to be where the ball is. He can be in positions that guys who play those positions don't normally get to."
Gidley debuted in the NRL in round 24, 2001 but by 2004, playing mainly five-eighth, he recorded stats that put him near the top of the NRL's 450 players - third for kicks and kick metres, 11th for touches of the ball and 16th for total tackles.
So why haven't we heard of the 24-year-old earlier?
Well, he plays fullback, wing, centre, five-eighth and dummy-half - whatever position he can serve the Knights best - meaning he hasn't been given the opportunity to consolidate a personal history in the same numbered jumper.
He has also been in the shadow of the Knights' former halfback, Andrew Johns, and NSW captain Danny Buderus. And now the focus is on Newcastle teammate, 20-year-old Jarrod Mullen, chosen as No.7 for the Blues.
Gidley admits his versatility has kept him out of the spotlight, although he's hardly an attention-seeker. "I started off playing any position in the back line where I could get a start," he said. "If I had a favourite position, I'd lean to fullback because it is suiting me more at the moment.
"My fitness allows me to bob up anywhere, whereas when I was five-eighth, I was more a ball player and a tackler and didn't do as much running. My running game has picked up since I've moved to fullback."
Gidley can carry the ball 200 metres a game, make 600 metres from kicks and commit 40 tackles. He can score two tries, set up three via a kick, offload, break the line and save four points. He can handle kick returns, take the role of first or second receiver, force offloads and run from dummy-half.
"I jumped in as hooker a few times before Bedsy came back," he said of Buderus's unavailability early in the season, a brief stint which doesn't explain why Gidley is ranked 10th in the NRL in dummy-half runs.
Gidley's work ethic is steeped in Newcastle and its family values.
His father, Geoff, drives coal trains but he bundied off in time to drive to Coffs Harbour to watch Kurt play for Country. Gidley could have been man of the match if he had not lost the ball over the try line in the final minute of play.
His brother Matthew played for NSW in the centres and is his hero.
"He is the eldest brother of three and led the way on and off the field," Gidley said.
Rugby league players traditionally attract the media for their tries, goals and length-of-the-field runs, while they earn the respect of their teammates with their hard-hat statistics.
Gidley draws praise from both and his versatility for NSW, where he can play every position in the back line and allow five-eighth Braith Anasta to shift to lock, will add to his admirers.
He admits his hyperactive puppy style, playing with a manic, yet controlled glee, derives from his love of life.
"I'm a busy player because I'm enjoying trying to get through as much work as possible," he says. "Rugby league is something I have been playing since I was seven and I enjoy the sport and enjoy playing with my mates."
