The NRL's top five centres

[Eagleheart]

By Matt Encarnacion
NRL.com
6:00am Thu 01st January, 2015

NRL.com's writers have entered their votes for the five best centres in the competition heading into 2015 and have come up with two Kiwis and three Kangaroos – one of whom the NSW Blues would dearly love to come out of rep footy retirement.

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http://www.nrl.com/the-nrls-top-five-centres/tabid/10874/newsid/83347/default.aspx

Killer at number 1 of course and Stevie not far behind at number 4.

Love my Mighty Sea Eagles.......!!!!

 

[Gib the Pom]

Without a question of a doubt the best centre in the world, and the best centre I have ever watched play the game.

 

[sheridanstand78]

Killer is the heart beat of our club.

He is the most influential player since BK and sets a great example to the younger players about what it takes to be successful at the highest level.

We need to ensure that Killer is involved with the club once he finishes playing.

We have had 9 blessed years with him in our team.

 

[Killer03]

I've written before about Killer being the best centre I've seen, he truly has it all. And I do think the one good thing the other guy did, was play him 5/8. He copped a lot of flak for it, but it developed Killers game, especially his kicking game (what centre in the game kicks like Killer?), but his passing game also improved.

Where Killer has all the centres covered I've seen is that if you go through the attributes, some might cover him in certain parts, but Killer is top shelf in all parts.

Below is what I think centres should be judged on (in no particular order)

1. Speed
2. Kicking Game
3. Passing Game
4. Try Scoring Ability
5. Ability to set up a try
6. Defence
7. Game Awareness

1. Speed. Sure Jennings and J Morris are right up there, but they fall away on a lot of the other attributes. And Killer is no slouch, he still has plenty of pace.
2. Kicking Game. No other centre I have seen comes close (I didn't see much of Fulton, so can't comment). Killers ability to kick on tackle 5 is a massive bonus for us.
3. Passing Game. Killers time at 5/8 developed that beautifully.
4. Try Scoring Ability. There's been a lot of centres with that fantastic ability to find the try line, Inglis being one of them. However when a try is on offer, very rarely does Killer miss out.
5. Ability to Set Up a Try. When players like Cheyse Blair say they just want to come to Manly to play outside Jamie Lyon....that tells you something. Players like Matt Gidley were good at setting up their wingers, but plenty of others like Jennings are hopeless. Even Hodges is pretty ordinary on this.
6. Defence. It's been acknowledged that Matt Cooper and Jamie Lyon are 2 of the best defensive centres in the last 10-20 years.
7. Game Awareness. I haven't seen other modern day centres that have the awareness of what's needed like Jamie. You may have a freak like Inglis that can turn a game when he feels like it, but I don't believe he has the feel for a game like Jamie, and being captain has only made it better.

I'm sure Killer is working alongside Hiku and the younger brigade and showing them what it takes to be a great centre.

 

[Bandit]

Manly centres - Alltime Top 5;

1. Bob Fulton
2. Jamie Lyon
3. Steve Matai
4. Albert Torrens
5. Micheal O'Connor





(just kiddin' with Al Torrens).

 

[HoldenV8]

Albert Torrens.....lol ok. Not a bad player but no where near the top 5 we've had. Not even top 10, or maybe 20.

Gordon Willoughby, Russel Gartner, Ray Branighan, Darrell Williams, Terry Hill, Craig Innes.....to name but a few.

 

[BOZO]

I've written before about Killer being the best centre I've seen, he truly has it all. And I do think the one good thing the other guy did, was play him 5/8. He copped a lot of flak for it, but it developed Killers game, especially his kicking game (what centre in the game kicks like Killer?), but his passing game also improved.

Where Killer has all the centres covered I've seen is that if you go through the attributes, some might cover him in certain parts, but Killer is top shelf in all parts.

Below is what I think centres should be judged on (in no particular order)

1. Speed
2. Kicking Game
3. Passing Game
4. Try Scoring Ability
5. Ability to set up a try
6. Defence
7. Game Awareness

1. Speed. Sure Jennings and J Morris are right up there, but they fall away on a lot of the other attributes. And Killer is no slouch, he still has plenty of pace.
2. Kicking Game. No other centre I have seen comes close (I didn't see much of Fulton, so can't comment). Killers ability to kick on tackle 5 is a massive bonus for us.
3. Passing Game. Killers time at 5/8 developed that beautifully.
4. Try Scoring Ability. There's been a lot of centres with that fantastic ability to find the try line, Inglis being one of them. However when a try is on offer, very rarely does Killer miss out.
5. Ability to Set Up a Try. When players like Cheyse Blair say they just want to come to Manly to play outside Jamie Lyon....that tells you something. Players like Matt Gidley were good at setting up their wingers, but plenty of others like Jennings are hopeless. Even Hodges is pretty ordinary on this.
6. Defence. It's been acknowledged that Matt Cooper and Jamie Lyon are 2 of the best defensive centres in the last 10-20 years.
7. Game Awareness. I haven't seen other modern day centres that have the awareness of what's needed like Jamie. You may have a freak like Inglis that can turn a game when he feels like it, but I don't believe he has the feel for a game like Jamie, and being captain has only made it better.

I'm sure Killer is working alongside Hiku and the younger brigade and showing them what it takes to be a great centre.

If you didn't see Fulton then you haven't seen anything feathered friend

 

[mozgrame]

I bet the Titans have their nose out of joint. No mention of their centre of excellence.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Albert Torrens.....lol ok. Not a bad player but no where near the top 5 we've had. Not even top 10, or maybe 20.

Gordon Willoughby, Russel Gartner, Ray Branighan, Darrell Williams, Terry Hill, Craig Innes.....to name but a few.

...Frank Stanton, Alec Tennant, Cracker McDonald, Dale Shearer, we've always been blessed with quality out wide. Fulton is the greatest because of his dominating presence and aggressive streak (not physical intimidation but mental intimidation, hard to describe if you never saw him play) but Lyon is right up there in most other attributes.

 

[Bandit]

Albert Torrens.....lol ok. Not a bad player but no where near the top 5 we've had. Not even top 10, or maybe 20.

Gordon Willoughby, Russel Gartner, Ray Branighan, Darrell Williams, Terry Hill, Craig Innes.....to name but a few.

Torrens was abit of an in-joke.
One or two of my non-Manly mates and I
used to have abit of a laugh - just
stirrin'.

cheers

 

[Snake]

You know Killer means business from the moment he starts walking down the tunnel; he has such an aura about him. The temperament of the man is his greatest quality IMO. What I mean to say is he plays at 100 miles an hour, but seems to have all the time in the world to make decisions. A great example of this was last season against the Panthers when he caught the bomb and had the nous to dish the ball off perfectly into the arms of the oncoming support for the match winner.

He also reads things beautifully off the ball; the time and space he gave Snake in the same game (against Penrith) whilst positioning himself perfectly to take the pass and score in the corner was wonderful...he never thought to rush Snake or cut back on the inside...such a smart footballer.

 

[Frank]

Albert Torrens.....lol ok. Not a bad player but no where near the top 5 we've had. Not even top 10, or maybe 20.

Gordon Willoughby, Russel Gartner, Ray Branighan, Darrell Williams, Terry Hill, Craig Innes.....to name but a few.

Craig Innes was awesome. Would always be in my top 5. Maybe even in front of Matai.

 

[mozgrame]

I remember Torren's scoring 4 tries against the dogs one day. He wasn't flashy, but he was solid enough. Always did his job.