BY CURTIS WOODWARD
They are the most feared men to ever play the game. If you had the football, you stayed clear of these guys.
In the second of the Top Squad 25 series, we list the 25 most feared hitmen to ever play rugby league.
1: ADRIAN MORLEY
Few players bring different generations of fans and their opinions together quite like Adrian Morley. Simply, everyone agrees ‘Moz’ was a maniac and put the fear of God into everybody.
2: PETER JOHNSTON
This one may come from a little left field but those that saw journeyman prop Peter Johnston play will agree that he should be on this list and was even once dubbed the most feared hitter in the Winfield Cup and often got the better of his more highly fancied combatants.
3: TONIE CARROLL
A one-man wrecking crew – Tonie Caroll was much more than Darren Lockyer’s bodyguard. Standing 186 cm tall and weighing a tick over 100 kg’s, the Christchurch-born human tank could play in the forwards or centre.
4: RUBEN WIKI
The legendary Kiwi was scary enough when he played in the centres at the Raiders let alone as a warhorse prop in Auckland at the Warriors.
5: SONNY BILL WILLIAMS
Another Kiwi on our list – SBW became an overnight superstar with the Bulldogs in 2004 with his lethal shoulder and silky ball skills. Joel Clinton is still picking his teeth out of the SFS rubble.
6: STEVE MATAI
While Jorge Taufua can be found further down this list, former Manly teammate Steve Matai smashes his way into the top six for his reputation for putting the biggest players on the field on their arses. When Matai came in-field, major collisions ensued.
7: CHARLIE FRITH
The former Rabbitohs front rower played 49 games over three seasons and quickly became a cult hero at Redfern for his brutality. One legendary story goes Frith hit Magpie Bill Cloughessy so hard one afternoon that when they rolled Cloughessy over, all his teeth fell out of his mouth.
8: KEVIN RYAN
A member of the famous St George teams that won eleven-straight premierships in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Ryan was nicknamed ‘Kandos’ after the NSW town that produced cement.
9: IAN ROBERTS
There were few that hit as hard as Roberts. The big Kangaroos and Blues enforcer copped plenty in his career but dished out just as much in return.
10: SOLOMON HAUMONO
‘Big Sol’ never truly reached his potential but you could always bank on Haumono to make the end-of-year highlight reels for his brutal shots.
11: JOHN DONNELLY
A legend of the Magpies club, “Dallas” Donnelly spent plenty of time on the sidelines for his style which even for his time, scared the hell out of plenty of players.
12: TREVOR GILLMEISTER
Never the biggest or fastest forward on the field, ‘The Axe’ made up for it with his technically-perfect tackling style which buckled much larger opponents in half, time and time again.
13: LES BOYD
Boyd terrorised opponents over a career that spanned almost a decade at both Western Suburbs and Manly. A volatile player, Boyd was famously given a 12 month suspension for an elbow in the 1983 State of Origin series that left Queenslander Darryl Brohman with a broken jaw.
14: ROY ASOTASI
A great of both the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs clubs, Asotasi pulled off one of the cleanest shots of the modern era when he zeroed in on poor little Parramatta playmaker Brett Finch one day at ANZ Stadium. Check it out below.
15: PETER KELLY
One of the great props of the 1980’s and a contender for best player to never represent the Kangaroos. A leader wherever he played, Kelly was pivotal in Canterbury’s 1984 and 1985 grand final wins.
16: SAM BURGESS
Regarded as one of the most feared defenders of his era. The big Englishman took individual battles with opposing players personally and could turn games with one big defensive play.
17: JOSH PAPALII
The first current NRL player on the list and a Raiders legend to boot. A quiet man who lets his work on-field do the talking. Has reinvented himself since moving into the front row and is considered one of the premier props in the game.
18: LES DAVIDSON
A fan favourite of many back in the ’80’s and ’90’s. Davidson was as tough as nails and never took a backward step in coming forward.
19: TERRY RANDALL
This Manly legend was regarded as the most fearsome defender back in his day and his style regarded “brutal but fair”.
20: PAUL HARRAGON
One of the best big men the game has produced and an even better leader. Going into the 1997 grand final, Harragon was of the thinking that it was almost impossible to get sent-off in a grand final. What followed was pure carnage from the Knights skipper which helped lay the foundation for Newcastle’s epic win.
21: JORGE TAUFUA
The Sea Eagles winger has broken many players in half but his recent hit on Storm star Cameron Munster sent the internet into a frenzy with the footage going viral in the United States.
22: DAVID GILLESPIE
Gillespie made up for his lack of height by becoming one of the best hitters of his decade or any other. You don’t get called ‘Cement’ Gillespie and not a make a list like this.
23: NIGEL PLUM
A quiet assassin who never received the individual accolades like many on this list. A journeyman who played for the Panthers, Raiders and Roosters, Plum shortened up many who wandered too close to his big frame.
24: MATT RUA
Once regarded in the late 1990’s and the early 2000’s as one of the best defenders in the NRL who was part of the Storm’s maiden premiership in 1999.
25: RON GIBBS
A great of the Manly club, ‘Rambo’ was more a human missile than a regular old defender when at the peak of his powers. A ferocious defender.
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