Firstly, this list has been counting down the top thirty players in the NRL and it has been absolutely jam packed with talent. We are truly fortunate as fans to have so many incredible players to watch, but what of those who missed out? there's a long list of amazing players that did not make the cut. These aren't just "good" players, but Origin players, International players, and it's a reminder of just how talented the NRL altogether is. Let's take a look at a quick list of guys I compiled who are still very much household names...
Alex Glenn, Matt Gillett, Tom Leayrod-Lahrs, Danny Buderus, Jamal Idris, Glenn Stewart, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Justin Hodges,Konrad Hurrell, Chris Sandow, Ben Hannant, Kade Snowden, Andrew Fifita, Ben Te'o, Michael Gordon, Sika Manu, Todd Carney, Issac Luke, Darius Boyd, Sam Perrett, Shaun Fensom, Kane Linnett, Josh McGuire, Ryan Hoffman, Josh Hoffman, David Stage, Krisnan Inu, Tony Williams, Michael Ennis, Corey Parker, Tariq Sims, Michael Gordon, Manu Vatuvei, Steve Matai, Matt Duffie, Kurt Gidley, Ben Matulino, Frank Pritchard, Brett Morris, Josh Reynolds, Adam Reynolds, Nathan Friend, Jake Friend, Nathan Merritt, Michael Jennings, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, James Maloney, Matt Ballin, Luke Douglas, Dallas Johnson, Ashton Sims, Blake Ferguson, Josh Papalii, Aidan Tolman, David Shillington, Anthony Watmough, Jamie Buhrer, Michael Crocker, Ben Creagh, Matt Cooper, Mitchell Pearce, Dane Nielsen, Jason Nightingale, Trent Merrin, Braith Anasta, Shaun Johnson, Simon Mannering, Chris Houston, Jeremy Smith, Timana Tahu, Lachlan Coote, Tim Grant, Fuifui MoiMoi, Luke Galloway, Tim Mannah...
this list is by no means exhaustive, there's plenty of other very talented players in the NRL, and every year the Under 20s competition introduces us to new exciting talents. Just soak that bunch of guys in for a moment, so many great players there, maybe you think a couple of them belong in the top thirty, but the point is to reflect on just how deep the NRL is, which is one of several reasons why it is the greatest competition in the world.
"hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha" - Johnathan Thurston
The second thing I wanted to do was to investigate how the teams in the NRL were represented throughout my list. In theory, the most successful teams of 2012 will likely be well represented. I paid no attention to this when creating the list, so this reflection is as much to satisfy my own curiosity as anything else.
Sea Eagles 5
Cowboys 4
Bulldogs 4
Melbourne 3
Titans 3
Tigers 3
Rabbitohs 2
Sharks 2
Warriors 1
Knights 1
Thaiday 1
Raiders 1
Eels 1
Panthers 0
Dragons 0
Roosters 0
It is important to note that roster movements saw the Panthers drop from 1 to 0 with the move of Luke Lewis, and the Rabbitohs lose 1 player while the Titans gained 1 with the move of Dave Taylor. Melbourne's 3 are of course a lot more valuable than any other 3 that can be put together. For the most part however, these rankings paint an accurate picture of where the power currently seems to reside in the NRL. Moving on now to the moment you've all been waiting...
#1 Johnathan Thurston
The newly crowned "face of the game" after Ben Barba's exit from the stage, JT has for me been the best player in the NRL for many years now. 2012 was yet another great year for Thurston, third highest scorer in the competition with 192 points, with 90 goals, 232 kicks in play and 23 offloads. Thurston moved into five-eighth for both the Cowboys, Queensland and Australia, a move prompted by the retirement of Darren Lockyer, Thurston stepped forward to fill the void at 6 and allow Cooper Cronk to play in his regular halfback position. The number changed, the game didn't for JT, scoring a try and adding 4 goals in the ANZAC test victory over New Zealand, along with a try and 9 goals in the State of Origin series. Though Thurston's Cowboys would bow out to Manly in the semi final, on the back of some very dubious decisions, the Cows spent the year as one of the most dynamic teams in the NRL and the play of JT and Matt Bowen were the triggers for their explosive backline. Thurston's shift to five-eighth resulted in being named the Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year for 2012, the first year he had played the position full time, and immediately becoming the best player in the NRL wearing number 6.
In his younger days Thurson would wear several spiders on his head to ward off tacklers
The 2012 Five-Eighth award was but another feather in the cap for JT who has been recognized as one of the top halves in the game several times in his career, starting way back in 2005
- 2005 Dally M Halfback of the Year
- 2005 Dally M Player of the Year
- 2007 Dally M Halfback of the Year
- 2007 Dally M Player of the Year
- 2007 RLIF Back of the Year
- 2007 RLW Player of the Year
- 2008 Wally Lewis Medal
- 2009 Dally M Halfback of the Year
- 2011 Golden Boot Award
- 2012 Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year
Thurston was also named in the Indigenous Team of the Century. The most impressive part of Thurston's career however is his exploits in State of Origin. Thurston is the only player to have played in every single game in Queensland's 7 consecutive Origin series victories. Since Thurston's Origin début in game 1 2005, Thurston has played an astonishing 24 straight Origin games. This leaves JT with North Sydney great Gary Larson for the all time record, and provided he isn't injured, Thurston will break the record for most consecutive Origin appearances in 2013. The Queensland Origin teams over the years have been a unit of amazing players, but Thurston is the only man who can lay claim to being part of the entirety of Queensland's dominance. His 24 Origin appearances have resulted in 4 tries and 61 goals, he's also been a staple of the Australian team for a long time with 23 appearances, 10 tries, 99 goals.
JT doing it all
On the field, Thurston is the best playmaker in the business, nobody leads an attack around the field quite as well as he does. Incredibly intelligent on the field, one of the best kicking games in the business, the ability to take the line on and break through it with his dummies and steps and amazing vision. At times it seems as if Thurston's thinking is three or four plays ahead of what is happening on the field, he's already got everything organized, it's just a matter of him playing the waiting game until he can execute. Despite the regular screams of frustration he unleashes when he doesn't do something perfectly, Thurston is one of the coolest customers in Rugby League. That's why he's been such an amazing goal kicker over the years. He's brilliant when it comes to kicking goals to begin with, but when the pressure turns up, Thurston never notices. This is the guy you want on the sideline attempting a match winning kick, he will put his trademark big curve on it, bending it back over almost every time. He has all of the tools that you want from a guy in the halves, and defensively he's no giant but he has so much heart that he makes an impact, Thurston loves to get involved in absolutely everything. It's the "heart" that Thurston shows that sells me on him being the best player in the game. Unlike the cerebral Cameron Smith, Thurston wears his heart on his sleeve for all to see. He's so passionate about the game, he's so passionate about leading his team, there seems to be no star harder on himself when he does well, and no star that relishes in the "fun" of the game as much as he does. All of these guys up the top of the list have the skillset to be the best player in the game, they all "do it all", so for me, what separates JT is that heart, that passion, the leadership. There's nobody else in the game I would rather have leading me into war.
How do you separate these two?
While I tried to maintain judgement of players for this list strictly based around on field abilities, Thurston's personality deserves special focus. He is the perfect face of the game, he may have the odd blow up out of frustration, but he is passionate, hard working, determined but at the same time is so grounded. He has every right to have an enormous ego, but Thurston so often is the fun loving comedian of the "stars" of Rugby League. There is nobody who seems to love the game more than Thurston. The work he does in the community and the work he does with fans, it all goes a long way. His interactions with the ball kids when he makes his kicks are just a brief little glimpse at how good of a bloke he is. It appears such a small gesture to many of us, to pick up the kicking tee, hand it to the kid and give him a little rub on the head, but to those kids who look up to JT as a hero, it means a lot to them. Despite his at times ferocious on field persona, he always switches that off, just for a couple of moments, to give these kids respect and attention, no matter how tired he is, regardless of whether his team is winning or losing. Rugby League players have developed such a terrible reputation over the years, the increasingly media dominated world has not been kind to the indiscretions of League players. Thurston is the guy we as League fans can be proud to point to and say this is our guy, this is our leader, this is the face of our game, this is the best we have.
I hope those who had a read enjoyed this countdown and I hope it helped pass the time for you until kickoff tomorrow night, it certainly made the time go by for me! and with that I depart, with the excitement of a kid on Christmas eve, waiting for kickoff tomorrow night. Check back in during the season on my blog as I'll be posting my thoughts and rantings throughout the year. As always, any comments feel free to give me a message on Twitter @WellsNorthShore thanks to everyone who has floated me a message or give me a RT it is much appreciated.
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