Why fullbacks are No.1 in the NRL
Date
April 10, 2015 - 10:00PM
Brad Walter
Sports Reporter
Brett Morris left the Dragons because Canterbury offered him a fullback's wage, Penrith released Lachlan Coote to North Queensland to accommodate Matt Moylan in the No.1 jersey, the Warriors snared Roger Tuivasa-Sheck from the Roosters on an $800,000 a season deal that virtually guarantees he will never play wing again, and Souths are set to lose Alex Johnson because they can't provide the same opportunity.
For coaches and those charged with overseeing the salary cap at NRL clubs, fullback has become one of the key positions in determining the make-up of a team's roster, and there are seemingly more players who want to wear the No.1 jersey than ever before.
Morris, Tuivasa-Sheck, Parramatta's Will Hopoate and Canberra's Jack Wighton have all made the transition this season, while Johnston and Manly's Peta Hiku have moved from the wing to fullback to cover injuries during matches.
Others such as Penrith's Dallen Watene-Zelezniak, Newcastle's Sione Mata'utia and boom Sea Eagles rookie Tom Trbojevic are waiting for their chance.
Converting players from other positions to fullback is nothing new - Brett Mullins, Anthony Minichiello, Ian Schubert, Mat Rogers and Matt Bowen are just some of those to have made a successful transition over the years.
But often they did so out of necessity due to injury or the loss of the team's regular fullback, whereas coaches now choose their best players in the position.
"The fullback used to just be an extra man [in attack], but he is now really the second pivot on the edge to your halfback or five-eighth," Australian coach Tim Sheens said.
Dragons recruitment manager Peter Mulholland said the salary cap meant the highest-paid players at each club were more likely to play halfback, five-eighth, fullback or hooker.
"If you have got a player who can have an influence on the game and you pay him more money because of that, you have to have him where he can get his hands on the football more often," Mulholland said.
EVOLUTION
The modern fullback owes some thanks for their increased value to the Johns brothers, Andrew and Matthew, at Newcastle in the late 1990s, according to Sheens.
"The Johns' started playing left and right and both interchanging as first and second receivers, whereas once upon a time the halfback - as was our rugby roots - followed the ball and the five-eighth always rotated back to the long side," Sheens said. "That was still being played by Ricky Stuart and Laurie Daley at Canberra in the early 1990s, but the Johns' revolutionised that and changed the halfback role, so the fullback became more important.
"With the halves splitting left and right, you needed another ball player and the fullback - instead of being a Graham Eadie or Garry Jack-type, which was mainly a strong-running player because the two centres often played together, became the second pivot on either side of the ruck."
Sheens converted Mullins from wing to fullback at Canberra after the retirement of Gary Belcher but as a junior he had played five-eighth, while he also moved Bowen into the role at the Cowboys.
"Gary played like a five-eighth, he was good with the ball, so I picked a bit up from him as well, but my game was more of a running game because of all the ball players I had in front of me to run off, like Ricky and Laurie and Mal Meninga," Mullins said.
In contrast, Bowen was a link player and formed a strong partnership with Johnathan Thurston.
"Thurston is what I call a 76," Sheens said. "He basically drives the No.6 out of the game because he is at the ball all the time and Bowen was his partner in crime wherever the ball went. Bowen was like a second receiver, but the modern fullback also has to be able to play through the middle in gaining ground through your get-out sets and have speed and be good under the high ball."
VALUE
At the Rabbitohs, captain Greg Inglis is the highest-paid player on about a $1 million a season and Morris, Hopoate, St George Illawarra's Josh Dugan and Melbourne's Billy Slater are among the top earners at their clubs, while Tuivasa-Sheck will fall into that category at the Warriors.
In contrast, the average salary of the top 15 highest-paid wingers in the NRL was $270,000 in 2013.
"If you think about Inglis, he learnt his trade playing in other positions, but the value of him to your side is vitally important so you put him in a position that is going to match his dollar value," Mulholland said.
"It is his influence on the game that is going to create the position you pay for him. If you have to pay big dollars to keep a bloke, you put him in a position where he is going to handle the ball a lot more.
"Josh Dugan is very, very effective in the centres but for the money we are paying him, he is better off having the ball in his hands 20 times per half than six or seven times per half by being stuck on one side of the field."
TRANSITION
After Mullins' first game in the No.1 jersey, Sheens questioned whether he should every play there again, but in his first full season at fullback in 1994 he scored 22 tries and gained selection for Australia.
"I enjoyed the roaming aspect of it," Mullins said. "You just had freedom, you could pick and choose when to come into the line and you weren't set on one side of the field.
"There are some great players playing there now. The kids these days have all the bases covered in terms of skills to chime into the line and also they can return the ball, which is what you want from your fullback. It has become the prime position."
