There's a constant stream of DCE apologists that won't accept any thought that he may not in fact be the best player in the comp. He's not even playing like the best half in the comp at the moment, but they'll keep shouting you down with the excuses.
What I keep thinking about is what has he achieved since he backflipped and signed his lifetime deal ??. No premierships, no Dally M awards, not even a halfback of the year. Sure he managed to outlast Cronk and Thurston and get a Maroon jersey, but has he dominated at that level ?? I don't see a player that has improved. He looked great up to 2015 when he had arguably one of the greatest Manly sides ever around him, since that imploded he hasn't consistently looked any where near that player. I don't know that the circumstances will ever exist again where we have a side like that for him to shine to that level - not when he takes up such a significant portion of the cap. I think Tommy at full fitness can maybe get him part the way there.... here's hoping anyway.
What quality half plays decent if he doesn't have a quality team around him that is fit most of the time?
Would Cronk have been successful without Slater and Smith, and then Keary and Tedesco?
Would Thurston have been able to finally win a premiership without Michael Morgan and Taumalolo?
Would Reynolds have been able to win a comp with Souths without Inglis and Burgess?
I'm not saying DCE is definitely worth the $1.3M or is the best half in the comp at the moment, but just like any star player, he isn't going to go back to the heights he was at without having other quality game-breakers like Turbo and the same halves partner week in week out in the side like the above players.
A big part of DCE's early success was he had the same halves partner for his first 5 seasons in the NRL, for the next 5 seasons, these have been his halves partners:
Jamie Lyon, Dylan Walker, Blake Green, Api Korisau Jackson Hastings, Cade Cust, Lachlan Croker, Pita Godinet, Cameron Cullen, Feleti Mateo, Kane Elgey, Josh Schuster...
