NRL 300 Club Rankings, Part One

In round 1, Thurston played his 300th first grade game. In round 2, it was Billy Slater's turn to reach the milestone. In round 3, they play each other. Where do they fit with the other 29 players to have made the '300 Club'?

This is part one, and will cover 31 down to 11, before part two has the Top Ten.

Match totals are correct to Round 2, 2018.

31. John Morris (300 matches for Newcastle, Parramatta, Wests Tigers and Cronulla)
30. Chris Heighington (319 matches for West Tigers, Cronulla and Newcastle; still playing)

I think Morris is the only 300 game player that spent a large part of his career being disliked by his own club supporters. Heighington's most memorable contribution to rugby league is his absent-minded, expletive-laden interview following the Grand Final win in 2005.

The long careers of both players can be attributed to rugby league evolving from a 13-man to 17-man game - both players making a lot of interchange appearances.

Gerard's classic 1982
 footy card.

29. Geoff Gerard (320* matches for Parramatta, Manly and Penrith)
*I've also read sources that say 325 matches. Often in the pre-interchange era, replacement players were poorly recorded. In fact Penrith didn't record them all, and Gerard retired at 303 games before being credited with more matches later.

Gerard is the only player I can't recall seeing play on this list. He had remarkable longevity for a player from the era when players still had day jobs, substitute players were very limited, and sport science was non-existent.


28. Scott Prince (300 matches for North Queensland, Brisbane, Wests Tigers, Gold Coast and Brisbane again)

A very good halfback, Prince was the Clive Churchill Medal winner for best of ground in the Tigers 2005 grand final victory, and the inaugural captain of the Gold Coast Titans. At his peak, he was generally regarded as the fourth best half in the game (behind Thurston, Cronk and daylight).


27. Luke Priddis (315 matches for Canberra, Brisbane, Penrith and St. George-ILLAWARRA)

I think Priddis is underrated, as his career was overshadowed by Danny Buderus. He did win premierships with Brisbane (2000) and Penrith (2003 - also Clive Churchill medalist) and probably should've won a third in 2010 with the Dragons in his final year.


26. Luke Ricketson (301 matches for Sydney)
25. Ryan Hoffman (307 matches for Melbourne, New Zealand and Melbourne again; still playing)
24. Anthony Watmough (303 matches for Northern Eagles, Manly and Parramatta)
23. Luke Lewis (307 matches for Penrith and Cronulla; still playing)

These are not the only NSW Origin back rowers to play 300 games, but they are the only ones I'm grouping together.

22. Hazem El Masri (317 matches for Canterbury)

Hazem El Magic still holds the record for most points in a career. Most will remember his sharpshooter goal kicking, but he also found the try line 159 times, still the equal 7th most in history.

Graphic from nrl.com last week.
It's fair to say Hazem was pretty good off the kicking tee.

21. Paul Langmack (309* matches for Canterbury, Wests and Sydney City)
*Some sources have 315 matches

Langmack already seemed old playing for Wests in the early 1990s, apparently past his best years at Centerbury, yet he would almost play through the entire decade as crafty ball-playing back rower. I don't know what surprised me more - that he never played for Australia, or that he ended his career with three games at the Roosters of which I have no recollection.

20. Brent Kite (313 matches for St. George-ILLAWARRA, Manly and Penrith)

A Raiders junior, Kite first played for the Dragons, and while he made his Origin debut there, it was at Manly where he became one of the best forwards in the game. He was awarded the Clive Churchill medal at the 2008 Grand Final, when Manly won 40-0, making him the best player in the best Grand Final win in history.

19. Jason Croker (318 matches for Canberra)

I initially had this idea for a comparison between the great Raiders 80s-90s sides and the West Indies cricket team, where Croker was Brian Lara, the last link to a great team trying to keep it together.

It was a pretty dumb analogy. I couldn't decide if Mal was Viv or Clive, and are Daley and Stuart opening batters or bowlers?


18. Brett Kimmorley (307 matches for Newcastle, Hunter Mariners, Melbourne, Northern Eagles, Cronulla and Canterbury)

A rare Hunter Mariners sighting!

Kimmorley was the second hardest person to place in the 31.

Before the holy trinity of Smith, Slater and Cronk, Kimmorley led Melbourne to a premiership in just their second season, and his flat style of attack changed the way other teams played too. At the time, it was legitimate to debate who was a better halfback - Kimmorley or Andrew Johns?

On the other hand, he played at a lot of clubs, not normally the sign of an all-time great player. Also after the 2005 State of Origin intercept, he never seemed quite the same player at club level.


17. Corey Parker (347 matches for Brisbane)

Parker started first grade as a pudgy kid with a shaved head, and ended it as a super fit workhorse with a prematurely grey head. The entire time he had the rare ability to offload while attracting multiple defenders, and perhaps the even rarer ability to kick goals as a forward.

Typical view of Hindmarsh -
no pair of shorts could contain
his arse. 

16. Nathan Hindmarsh (330 matches for Parramatta)

Named player of the year in the NRL five times based on public votes, I waver on whether Hindmarsh was an all-time great player or just an all-time great tackler.


15. Cliff Lyons (332 matches for Norths and Manly)

One of the great characters of the game, Lyons failed to crack the big time at his first attempt with the Sharks, and played bush footy for three years with Gundagai before finally making his first grade debut at age 24 with Norths.

He switched to Manly the next season, and made up for his late start by seemingly playing with them forever in the NRL. He was outstanding too! One of the best playmakers going throughout his career, putting players (especially Steve Menzies) into gaps at will, and with a shrewd kicking game.


14. Terry Lamb (350 matches for Wests and Canterbury)

Like Lyons, Lamb was an ageless, crafty five-eighth, and the first player to reach 350 matches. Two of the games are particularly remembered: the 1988 Grand Final, where he knocked key opponent Ellery Hanley unconscious out of sight of both the referees and TV cameras; and a game in 1992 where Lamb lost track of the score and kicked a field goal when two points behind.

13. Steve Price (313 matches for Canterbury and New Zealand)

12. Ruben Wiki (311 matches for Canberra and New Zealand)

It's not a great sign for the Warriors that two of their top three* most iconic and influential players spent most of their careers at other clubs.

*The third icon is Stacey Jones.


11. Cooper Cronk (325 matches for Melbourne and Sydney; still playing)

Cronk, still looking fucking weird
in a Roosters jersey.

Cronk was the hardest player to place in the rankings. For all the other active players to have reached 300 matches, their standing in the history of the game seems fairly settled, even if their career is not quite yet.

But for Cronk, it's less certain.

Was he merely the third wheel in the Melbourne "big three" - a very good player flanked by two greats? Or can he lift the Roosters to a premiership and lift his own reputation to the level of Smith and Slater? I don't know, but it's going to be interesting to find out over the next two seasons.