13 sleeps to go

After a highly entertaining Charity Shield to once again give us a tease that NRL is just around the corner, we now have just 13 more sleeps until March 7th, and just one more sleep until the World Club Challenge, Warriors vs Broncos and Foundation Cup tomorrow night. The Rabbitohs certainly looked the part in their Charity Shield outing, Luke, Reynolds, Sutton, Inglis leading the charge as you would expect. They appear ready to pick up where they left off the 2013 year, amongst the top teams in the competition. The Dragons really let themselves down by coughing up the pill far too often, you simply aren't going to take down a team with the size and skill of the Bunnies by making simple errors like that. Now let's move on to number 13 in the countdown with another of the reformed bad boys of Rugby League...

#13 Nate Myles

The 27 year old Myles has been one of the best forwards in the competition for a long time now, but 2012 saw Myles put together what would be his most impressive yet, culminating in being named the 2012 Wally Lewis Medal winner, Dally M Representative Player of the Year and the Dally M Second Rower of the Year. He's certainly came a long way from the young bloke who was done for drink driving back in 2006 and suspended 6 games by the NRL after a drunken tirade in 2010 which involved defecating in a hotel lobby and being found naked on the fire escape. Much like his Titans team mate Greg Bird, he appears to have put his alcohol issues behind him and he is now really maximizing his potential on the field, leading to him being named a co captain at the Titans after just one season at the club.

You won't like me when I'm drunk

At 187cm and 105kg, Myles is built like a brick you know what, he's a very solid  human being. Again like Bird, he's very old school in his approach to the game. Capable of playing in the front row, second row, or lock as required, Myles isn't one of the new breed of flashier, ball playing second rowers. Myles game is based around the fundamentals of what a big tough forward is meant to do. He carries the ball and he carries if often with 339 carries in 2012, and he racks up tackles with 781. He can produce the occasional offload, but he's by no means prolific, he isn't the type of guy to make linebreaks or bust tackles or offer much in the playmaking department. He keeps it simple, he's a big strong guy, and he puts that to use by imposing himself physically around the field by running at guys and tackling guys all night. It takes strength, it takes toughness, it takes an enjoyment of smashing bodies around, and Myles has all of these traits.

Myles and Bird are enough to drive the most sane player up the wall

While Myles doesn't have the flash or flare, he brings another element to his game to support his strong ball running and tackling, and once again it's something he shares in common with Greg Bird. Myles is one of the most niggly characters around. As I've confessed in the past, I'm not saying this is a bad thing, there's room in Rugby League for this sort of behaviour to be effective, there's referees on the field to punish Myles as they see fit but admittedly he is very crafty at walking the line. It's all part of the old school approach that Myles brings, he keeps it basic, he keeps it rough, he keeps it nasty. He knows every trick in the book in the tackle and in the ruck, and it's not just simple things like slowing up the play the ball or slipping the ball out, Myles tricks are often more sinister in nature, about how he can inflict pain on his opponents while they are vulnerable. But testament to Myles, he dishes it out, but he doesn't go into hiding if someone comes knocking for him, while so many may refer to him as a "grub" today, I suspect there's many old timers about who idolized blokes who played like this back in their day.

Nate Myles 101: Head-butts and other antics

2012 may have been the year that Myles play was finally recognized formally through medals and awards, but he has been part of the outstanding Queensland Origin team since 2006. During that time, Myles has logged a whopping 20 Origins, meaning Myles has played in all 3 games for Queensland every year but one since his first selection, that being 2009 where he only made 2 appearances. While he's only been selected 3 times for Australia, making his début in 2010, it says a lot about Myles that he can be one of the players who has earned his way into a Queensland outfit that is widely regarded as the greatest Origin team of all time, and lay claim to a position, refusing to budge despite some very talented challengers to his spot. At 27, Myles, health permitting, should still have a few years of Origin left in him, and with 20 games already Myles is on track to wind up his career with one of the more impressive Origin careers to have been put together. He certainly doesn't appear to be showing any signs of slowing down, considering he was selected as Queensland's best player throughout the 2012 campaign. Myles is the third Titans forward I have named in the countdown, and Queensland Origin regular Ashley Harrison was certainly pushing for a spot also. Surrounded by such talent, 2013 stands to be a big year for Myles after the heights he reached last season. He's tasted so much success in the Maroon jersey, but he's never won a Premiership. With the responsibility of being a co captain, no doubt a lot of pressure will be on Myles broad shoulders to rectify that and translate some of his Queensland success to a struggling Gold Coast outfit. As part of possibly the best forward pack in the NRL, Myles stats may take a blow, but the follow up act to 2012 should be a blinder.

Roman's imprisonment cleared the way for Nate to make a move on Nicole

Check back in tomorrow for number 12 in the countdown. I hope everyone enjoyed the Charity Shield, I sure did, even without shoulder charges! and looking forward to three games to sink my teeth into tomorrow. Any comments, suggestions, complaints, or general chin wag, you can reach me on Twitter @WellsNorthShore

17 sleeps to go

On forth we march into the second to last week until the 2013 NRL season is under way. Fortunately this week features four televised games with the Charity Shield, World Club Challenge, Broncos vs Warriors trial game and the Foundation Cup, that's almost as much as we get in a regular NRL week! and after we enjoy the smorgasbord of offerings this weekend, there will only be one more week of horror to deal with! so with 17 sleeps to go, let's move on to number 17 in the countdown with one of the competitions more infamous blokes

#17 Greg Bird

Whether you love him, hate him, or love to hate him, everybody has an opinion on this character. At 28, Bird is heading into his 11th season, and 12th professional season overall as he played 2009 in the UK Super League. Throughout that time he's been a menace both on and off the field. Off the field he's been far from a poster child, despite posing in the 2007-2008 Naked Rugby League calendar. He was accused of sending "inappropriate" text messages to Lara Bingle, appeared in court charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on his girlfriend by smashing her face with a glass. He eventually faced 5 charges including common assault against a female unrelated to the "glassing" case. In the end, Bird was found guilty of 1 count of recklessly wounding his girlfriend and 1 count of making a false accusation to police. But Bird appealed the charges and was acquitted of the charges after evidence from both he and his girlfriend. Since then, Bird has managed to keep his nose fairly clean off the paddock, but on the paddock he's always getting into something, much to the chagrin of his opponents...

Watmough would surely know a good grub if he saw one

But in no way am I saying that's a bad thing, despite his "grub" reputation. Whether people like it or not, Bird's carry on can be a successful tactic in the NRL, and Bird's put together a very successful career with 164 NRL games, 4 games for Australia, 3 for the Indigenous All Stars, 3  for NSW Country and 11 for NSW. Bird is the type of guy who will get under the opponents skin and take them off their game, but he's a tough bugger as well and he's not afraid to mix it up. While he walks a fine line at times, he's another one of the blokes that Gould is talking about when he's going on his tangents of what an "Origin" player is. Bird is at his absolute best in the Origin arena, and although he's more often than not coming out on the losing end, as has every NSW player in recent years, he's put together a couple of Man of the Match performances and always seems to elevate his game when he buts on the blue jersey. He thrives in the physical, niggly, aggressive Origin atmosphere, it brings out the best in him, he's taken some huge hits over the years but bounces right back up ready for more, this is what he was born to do. He's an old school player, right down to the sleazy moustache, he would have fit right in during the 70s or 80s, where a clothesline was just a good tackle.

Simmer down gents, it's just a game right?

There's more to Bird's game however than just running about stirring the pot, and you don't get the rep honours he's earned without the skill to go with it. Bird is one of the most versatile players around, while he's most at home in the backrow or at lock he can fill in at five-eighth in a pinch, which is a testament to the footy skills he has that he can slot into such a pivotal position on the field. He doesn't have many stand out elite skills, but he does everything well, and brings the aggression and enthusiasm to support those skills. Bird always seems to bring whatever the game requires, not only is he versatile in his skill set, but he's very versatile in his approach to the game, he adapts to the way the game is flowing and injects himself however is needed. When the situation dictates, he's more than capable of putting up big tackle numbers, he's also capable of logging huge metres on attack also, but he isn't the time to consistently bring those huge numbers week in week out. When you need him however, he'll deliver for you. It's that sort of adaptability, and his aggressive, physical approach to the game, that also makes him a fantastic leader, leading to him being a co captain of the Gold Coast Titans this season. 

Come at me bro

Like him or not, it's hard to not admit that he demands you respect his ability on the field. I think it says a lot about the man that after his troubles off the field in his earlier years, to the point where his visa to the UK was rejected when he tried to make a move to the Bradford Bulls, that he's managed to now leave those things in the past and become the type of player that has deemed worthy of being a captain at his club. In what are now likely to be the prime years of his career, what is now left for Bird is to take on the captaincy role and lead his team to the promised land. Despite a very respectable career, Bird has experienced very little team success. Courageous efforts for an outmatched NSW outfit have garnered nothing, and he's only been to the playoffs in 2002 and 2010, both times winning 1 game before being eliminated. As part of what is arguably the best, on paper, forward pack in the 2013 competition, Bird will be no doubt be desperate to finally start adding a feather or two to his cap in the form of Origin series wins and NRL Premierships. But win or lose, one thing you can be sure of is that Bird will give you all that he's got, and his opponents are going to hate playing against him.

He's also got one hell of a sweet tooth

Check back in tomorrow for number 16, as always if you have any comments or criticisms, give me a message on @WellsNorthShore 

19 sleeps to go

Finally we've broken through into the teens now, and over a third of the way through the countdown. With the World Club Challenge not being on until Saturday morning for those of us in Australia and New Zealand, that means after today there's only one more Saturday left without footy on our TV, everything is going swimmingly! so let's move on to number 19 on my list of the thirty top players in the NRL...

#19 Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor copped a fair bit of criticism around the 2012 Origin period and found himself out of the team come game 3 of the series and I'm sure a few people will disagree with me having him here. This year he joins a Titans team to create an absolutely loaded back row situation, joining Origin regulars Ashley Harrison, Greg Bird, Nate Myles and supplemented by the likes of Mark Minichiello, Luke Douglas, Luke Bailey. Much is being made of the Sharks forward pack this season and with good reason, but this Titans group may well be in the mix for the strongest forward pack in the competition. For all of the detractors that were chiming in about Dave and his place in the Queensland team, let's take a look at what he did for the Bunnies in 2012...

• 19th in the NRL in line breaks with 14
• 15th in the NRL in runs with 335
• 14th in the NRL in metres with 3104 (giving him an average of 9.2 metres per carry)
• 17th in the NRL in tackle busts with 85
• 6th in the NRL in offloads with 41

and Dave isn't exactly the type of bloke to log huge minutes to pad his stats, what he does is make impact, and those are impact stats. Metres, line breaks, offloads, tackle busts, that's how the big man stamps his print on the game.

While that appears to be a young child, it's actually a full grown woman

At only 24, Taylor is preparing to enter what will be his 8th year in the NRL, yet another one of these young players who feel like they have been around forever, but that's because in this instance, Taylor really has been around a long time already. But even when the man known as Coal Train first appeared in the NRL, he didn't look the least bit out of place, that's because he's an absolute mountain of a human being. In a competition full of plenty of big blokes, Taylor still stands out as one of the true big boys, standing at 185 and a hulking 123kg. But he's not just big, he's strong as an ox, which is why he's putting up the type of stats I presented earlier, the metres, the tackle busts, the strength to free up his arms for the offload, that's his calling card. I'd wage there's very few in the competition who could take on Big Dave in an arm wrestle, he's one of the few in the competition who makes a habit of manhandling opponents, tossing legit professional athletes around like he got lost and wound up at schoolboys game.

Big Dave says no

As if his imposing figure and tremendous strength wasn't worrying enough for opponents, the most freakish thing about Dave Taylor is that he's one of the biggest men in the competition, yet is loaded with skill. Sure, he can just run straight at your defense all game, and he'll break through it too or sap the life out of your defense trying, but trapped inside the frame of the big man is a guy who fancies himself as halfback or five-eight material. For his size, his ball skills are fantastic, Dave could get by as a rampaging front rower who just lugs the ball up, but he's so much more than that. He's got the offload, but he's also just a really good passer in general, the defense can't just simply brace themselves for the bus that is about to run them over because Dave may well be part of a play designed to exploit just that. Now there's several good ball playing backrowers in the comp, though at quite the size of Taylor is a rarity, but to cap it off he's got some skill in his feet as well. He's surprisingly agile for a man his size, though he isn't stepping around like he's Matty Bowen, he moves pretty well, about as graceful as a 123 kilos is ever going to move and he's got a bit of a kicking game. He's not going to chew off big raking kicks for you, but he isn't shy about putting a grubber in, and he's good at it too. If you wanted to make an overpowered player on Rugby League Live 2, Taylor would serve as a pretty good prototype.

How would you approach this situation?

For Taylor now it's all about finding consistency, maintaining his fitness, maintaining his health. 2012 saw him earn his first international cap with Australia, and was the third year in a row he was part of Queensland's Origin campaign, seeing him now up to 6 Origins. Earlier in his career there was questions about his work ethic and his weight, but he seems to have put those to rest. Of course he's still a heavy bloke, but he always will be, you could feed him lettuce sandwich's and water and that wouldn't change. In recent times he's looked in very good shape and seems to be fully committed to his training. So from here it's just about cutting down the errors to fully capitalize on his potential, remembering again that he's only 24, so he's still a young bloke who can work out the kinks. If he can do that, the world will be at his feet. 

If there was ever a bloke who looked like he'd chop a good tree

Check back in tomorrow for number 18, hopefully everyone enjoyed the first week of Super Rugby, right? if you have any comments or criticisms direct them to me at @WellsNorthShore