8 more sleeps to go

#8 Jamie Lyon

So here is yet again another Manly player, and this time it's the captain of the ship, or "co captain" I should say. At 31 Lyon is one of the "old timers" compared to most of the players to have featured in this countdown, but he's playing quite possibly the best footy of his career. The Jamie Lyon story goes all the way back to the year 2000 when he made his début for Parramatta where he would go on to make 70 appearances. He'd then embark on a trip to the Super League making 60 appearances for St Helens, before coming back home to the NRL where he took on a contract with Manly who has since logged 138 games and counting. That's a whopping 268 games of club footy for Lyon, a wealth of experience and add to that 8 appearances for Australia, 10 for NSW and 2 for NSW Country. Lyon was a Man of Steel winner in the UK all the way back in 05, and lead St Helens to a Super League Title and a Challenge Cup Title. He was the Dally M Centre of the year in 2010 and 2011, the RLIF Centre of the Year in 2011, and in 2012 he added the Dally M Captain of the year award to his shelf. With Manly he was a Grand Final winner in 2008 and 2011, including being part of the side that put a 40-0 Grand Final thrashing on Melbourne, he's also one of a small number of players still in the NRL who has been part of a series winning NSW State of Origin effort, Lyon has had success in every facet of the game.. A finalist for Centre of the Year in 2012, missing out to a high flying season from Josh Morris riding shotgun with Barba, Lyon should be an automatic selection for both NSW and Australia, but elects to remove himself from the representative frame. Of course Lyon is more than welcome to make his own decisions, but it's a shame that his career rep honours won't historically reflect just how good he is. His lack of representative appearances may see him not in the spotlight as often as some of the other centres in the game, but his on field performances for Manly make it clear who the top dog in the midfield is.

Killer breaks the Sharkies hearts

Lyon is another one of these fantastic players who has all the talent to play across multiple positions. While in recent years he has settled down in the centre role, and subsequently became the best centre in the game, Lyon has spent much of his career playing at five-eighth also. This is by no means in a "fill in" type capacity, he has the ability to be a legit NRL level five-eighth, and indeed when Manly won the title in 2008, Lyon spent the majority of the season at five-eighth, including through the finals. He has all the five-eighth skills, a great tactical kicking game, the passing game, and the critical understanding of the game that comes with being a class five-eighth. While it's not a requirement of a guy in the 6 jersey, he's also a great goal kicker, which lead to him being one of the most prolific point scorers in the competition in 2012 with 190. Defensively he's a rock, he's got plenty of pace, and he's got the sort of rugged mentality in his approach to the game that is so often found in those who are good on the defensive side of the football. .

A rare highlight where Barba wasn't the star

Taking a look at his stats, you see the versatile, well rounded game he brings to the table...

• 11 tries
• 18 assists
• 16 tackles per game
• 75 metres per game
• 7 line breaks
• 15 line break assists
• 45 kicks in play
• 55 tackle breaks
• 25 offloads

this really tells the story when it comes to Jamie Lyon's abilities. While he was 4th overall in the NRL in points, he isn't pushing the top of the rankings in any of these stats, but he's merging so many different skills together and that's what separates him from the pack. It's a unique threat to have a centre who is also such a talented kicker, sure there's centres in the comp who can boot a ball, but Lyon has the tactical kicking game. Whether it be an attacking grubber or chip through for his winger for a try, or a defensive kick to take the pressure off, he has all the tools and he has the brains to make the right decisions. Manly's 2012 season saw the squad constantly shuffling players through due to injury, but this didn't seem to phase Lyon. He held things down on his side of the field no matter what forwards and wingers were playing with him, and again this is an example of how his wide array of skills come into play. He can adjust his game to play with anyone,  and he can adjust his game to play against anyone, he has so many options in how he approaches the game that there isn't situations or combinations that he can't adapt to. Factor in his tenacious approach to the game, his experience, big performances in big matches, the way nothing phases him, he's a fantastic leader for his side and that lead to a thoroughly deserved Dally M Captain of the year award to celebrate another brilliant year from Lyon. Heading into 2013 and his 14th professional footy season, Lyon looks as dangerous as he ever has, and as part of a great Manly outfit, expect more of the same from the man known as Killer this year.

Check back in tomorrow for number 7, which means we'll be at the one week point! with this Wednesday all but wrapped up, there's only one League free day of each day of the week left to endure. That means only one more League free Monday, one more League free Tuesday, one more League free Wednesday and so on, so revel in the fact that every day is a countdown milestone at this point! Throw me a Tweet if you have any comments @WellsNorthShore 

15 sleeps to go

We've reached the halfway point of the 30 day count down now, and at the end of this post we will have crossed over that halfway barrier. After this post, there will be only 14 sleeps remaining, only two more weeks! and with the televised games this weekend,  it's just going to keep flying by. Moving on to number 15 in the countdown, it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate guys at this stage, and there's just so many players that I think wow, I can't believe I missed him out, but such is the wealth of talent that the NRL is blessed with. I would love to hear anyone you think I may have missed out, but remember if someone comes in, then someone has to go out, so I'd also love to hear who you think didn't quite deserve to make the cut too.

#15 Daly Cherry-Evans

At just 23, the Manly halfback has seen a meteoric rise in a very short span of time. Some may argue that I'm jumping the gun putting DCE up so high in the rankings, but this guy in his first season won the Dally M Rookie of the Year, RLIF Halfback of the Year, and guided his team to an NRL Grand Final victory, scoring a try in the final. As he enters what will be just his third year, despite already having 54 NRL games under his belt, what halfbacks can you say you would take over him? no surprises, I'll take Cronk over him, and Cronk will of course be revealed later in the countdown and Thurston would be an automatic selection, but he's playing at five-eighth now. For me, this is the best number 7 in the business behind Cronk and that's saying a lot. Even though he's only been around 2 seasons, the only reason DCE isn't already playing Origin for Queensland is the aforementioned Cronk and Thurston, if he was from NSW I have no doubt he would have been playing for the Blues in 2012. Cherry-Evans isn't going anywhere any time soon, but as Cronk waited in the wings for Lockyer and Thurston, so too will DCE wait behind Thurston and Cronk. While the representative honours will have to wait, don't let that fool you, he's Origin class, he's world class.

Yes I posted this on the Brett Stewart entry, but it's worth posting again

It really is fantastic how well rounded DCE's game is at just 23 and after only two seasons. He plays with the poise and control of a guy who has been in the competition 10 years, I'm sure beginning your career by winning a Premiership goes a long way to help a young blokes confidence. He has a huge boot that he's very precise with, and he uses it often, with the 5th most kicks in play during the 2012 year. While he's most adept at kicking off his profound right foot, he's also shown there's plenty of talent in the left one as well should be forced to use it. While he may not be quite as ferocious as his halves partner Kieran Foran, he's also not shy about making tackles, he doesn't go hiding in the backline and he notched up over 20 tackles 18 times over 28 rounds, never dropping below 12. Given DCE's outstanding attacking nous, he'd be one of the games better players without this commitment to defense, and while he misses a few, he's pretty reliable as far as halfbacks go. 

This whole NRL thing seems pretty easy

At 180cm and 84kg, DCE is one slippery character and he breaks an awful lot of tackles for a halfback. He's very elusive and very agile and he has that uncanny ability to almost squirm his way out of tackles, he's the type of player who one moment looks like he's been wrapped up with an elementary tackle, but then he's slipped out and he's away. To add to that he's also deceptively strong and packs a very useful fend especially when he's got a bit of steam up, you'll often see him take a gap or make a break, followed quickly by a would be tackler getting a firm hand to the chest dispatching them away. Speaking of steam, Daly has plenty of toe on him. If he makes a break, often you may as well just shut the gate because he'll be gone. As I said earlier, he plays like he's been around the track for years, and this shines through in his passing game. His passing is very controlled, very accurate, in fact he's very accurate in almost everything he does. But while I say controlled, that doesn't mean he's tentative, it means that he makes the right passes. He's really just the ideal pivot to navigate your team up and down the field. A great kicker, a great playmaker, a great individual threat, he's got it all.

Basically that entire last paragraph in one short video

Embarking on what will be his 3rd year, many players would be looking to break out, to take that next step into the star category. DCE has been a star since his very first year, he's played like a guy in the prime of his career from his rookie year. There's not that much more for this guy to do to his game but just keep on keeping on. Expect Cherry-Evans and Manly to once again be premiership contenders, and expect DCE to again be nipping at the heels of Cronk and JT for a Maroon jersey, if either of them go down then he'll be getting the call up. 2013 will be another year of DCE solidifying himself amongst the games most elite players, right where he belongs. 

"The Phenom" seems an accurate title for this video

Check back in tomorrow as we reach the two week mark of just 14 sleeps to go. As always, I'm around on Twitter @WellsNorthShore if you have any comments.

23 sleeps to go

Moving on to 23 more sleeps now until NRL 2013 and thus we reach 23 in my countdown of the 30 best players in the NRL...

#23 Brett Stewart

I've always been a huge fan of this bloke and that has never changed, he's one of my favourite players. Around 05-08, this guy had a legit claim to being possibly the best fullback in the competition as well as being maybe the fastest guy in the comp. But come 2009, the rocketing career of Brett Stewart came tumbling down. Initially set to prominently feature in the NRL's main ad campaigns for the year, the ads were halted after Stewart was charged with two counts of  sexual assault on a teenage girl. Despite eventually having the charges cleared, the NRL suspended Stewart for the first four games of the season. He'd go on to play only 5 games in 2009 after injury ravaged the rest of his year, yet still he amassed a staggering 6 tries in those 5 games. 2010 brought even worse fortune as Stewart was only able to play 1 game. Stewart's career had degenerated from one of the games brightest stars to being decimated by injuries as well as having his image smeared through the media and of course the fans were quick to jump all over him, regardless of what the courts may have decided, Brett was a "rapist",

Everyone loves a good negative story

But in 2011 the man known as "Snake" came slithering back, putting up 15 tries in 20 games as part of a dominant Manly outfit that won 17 of the 20 games he appeared in en route to the second Grand Final win of his career. Still, many people seemed to sleep on the Snake's return, either they weren't paying enough attention, or they simply didn't want to give him the respect he deserved. So in 2012, the Snake was once again up to his old tricks, 21 games, 14 tries, and all three Origin's for New South Wales, finally getting back his number 1 blue jumper for the first time since 2008. He may have lost a little bit of his speed, but he's still bloody quick, and he's back. If you jumped on the Stewart hating bandwagon, it's time to jump off and respect one of the greatest players in the game.

One of the most brilliant plays of the last couple of seasons

As I said earlier, I've always been a fan of this guy, but I really do believe that the injuries and the legal issues have lead to Stewart not getting anywhere near the recognition he deserves. Stewart isn't just one of the best try scorers in the competition, he's one of the greatest try scorers in the history of the sport. Let's break down his try scoring exploits

• Over 159 career NRL games, he's amassed 127 tries, that's a strike rate of 80% which is simply amazing.
• In 16 finals appearances, he's scored 13 tries, a strike rate of 81%
• In 8 Origin appearances for NSW, he's scored 5 tries, 62%
• and, although the sample size makes it fairly redundant, in his 1 game for Australia, he scored, 100%.

For comparisons sake, let's check out some of the other elite try scorers in the game today and see how they stack up

• Ben Barba, 62 tries in 80 NRL games, 77%
• Akuila Uate, 70 tries in 90 NRL games, 77%
• Billy Slater, 140 tries in 224 NRL games, 62%
• Manu Vatuvei, 102 tries in 152 NRL games, 67%
• Nathan Merritt, 137 tries in 200 NRL games, 68%

Long story short, none of these guys can touch the strike rate of the Snake, many of them aren't even particularly close. 

I always found it kind of odd that Snake's don't even have legs

Stewart has achieved all of this, not only battling injury and legal issues, but also while battling diabetes, taking five insulin injections daily and up to 20 sugar tests on playing days. Stewart has to inject insulin before all three meals, as well as before sleeping. Stewart's outstanding performances serve as a great inspiration to others with diabetes and he has done his part to help raise diabetes awareness. Another of the many hurdles that Stewart has had to overcome in his career.

Manly had special Snake jerseys designed to help promote Diabetes awareness

Stewart's most impressive trait is his blinding speed. While injuries have slowed him down, he's still one of the fastest players around. He's quick off the mark, but when you see him chew up a large portion of the field is when his speed truly shines, he's produced many highlight reel worthy try savers off opponents interceptions. So often interceptions result in an aimless chase right down the other end of the field, but if you make an intercept against a team with Brett Stewart, don't be too surprised when he mows you down. Like the best fullbacks, he's fearless and more than willing to put his body on the line, such as when he was knocked out in the 2007 final against Melbourne. He'll leap up for the high ball without concern and he'll willingly get in front of the biggest blokes to defend his try line. Perhaps the most underrated aspect of Stewart's game however is his playmaking ability. For as great of a try scorer as he is, he's also a fantastic player when it comes to involving himself in the back line as a distributor, and it may surprise many to learn that his 14 tries in 2012 were actually surpassed by the number of assists he had on the year with 15, that's as many as his Manly halfback team mate Daly Cherry-Evans. When you combine his incredible speed, courage on the field, playmaking, experience including multiple Origin's and Grand Finals, along with the mental strength to overcome multiple severe injuries, extended legal issues, and juggling his diabetes, you've got one hell of a player.

Still about as fast as they come

Check back in tomorrow for number 22, not long to go now until we break through the 20 mark. Don't let the drug scandal bring your excitement for the season down, bring on NRL 2013

29 sleeps to go

One sleep down, 29 more to go en route to March 7th and the beginning of the 2013 NRL season. So lets open up another number on the NRL advent calendar, number 29 on my list heading into this new season...

#29 Kieran Foran

Let me get one thing out of the way early, this guy may just be the biggest whiner in the whole competition. The next call against Manly that Foran agrees with will be the first, but the 22 year old Kiwi international five-eight is pound for pound one of the toughest players in the competition. Capable of also playing at halfback or centre, Foran's young career already features a premiership win with Manly, international honours and will be appearing in this years All Star game. His 2011 season saw him as a legitimate threat for the Dally M Medal throughout the year, but his part in the infamous brawl with Melbourne rendered him ineligible. Unfortunately, Foran's stellar 2011 year was followed up by a hampered 2012 which saw him missing games or appearing in a noticeably reduced capacity.

When fully healthy however, Foran in combination with halves partner Daly Cherry-Evans are the best 6-7 combo in the business. While Foran may not have the playmaking and kicking ability of the likes of Cherry-Evans or Cooper Cronk, he's certainly no mug, but he also brings an element that few others in his position bring to the table in his rugged, tenacious efforts on defense. Foran stands just 180cm tall in a competition loaded with monsters and hovers around 90kg, but plays like he's the biggest man on the field. While some halves shy away from the more physical aspects of the game, Foran embraces it. It may sound strange, but even as a Kiwi, I at times wish Foran was Australian, only because I would love to see him in the Origin environment. When Gould prattles on about what makes an "Origin player", he's talking about the traits that Kieran Foran possesses, this guy was tailor made for Origin, except for the whole being from Australia thing (which actually matters now thankfully). Foran doesn't care if you're Kasiano or Tony Williams, he'll still step up and put his body on the line to stop you, though unfortunately his rugged playing style may be his undoing and lead to more injury concerns, when he's healthy he's a soldier that any team would love marching out for them and proves the perfect halves partner for his buddy DCE

Check in tomorrow for #28 in my countdown towards the 2013 NRL season, as always if you have any comments, criticisms, suggestions, or you just want a chin wag about the greatest game of all, leave a message in the comments for get at me on Twitter @WellsNorthShore