Return of the Specialist Centre

Return of the Specialist Centre

We kicked off the 2023 NRL regular season way back in Round 1 with a deep dive into some of the premiere dummy-halves in the competition.

Harry Grant, Jeremy Marshall-King, Josh Hodgson and Reed Mahoney all had leading roles for their clubs in the opening round, inviting me to zero in on the hooker position to early on.

Over the last few weeks though, a number of specialist centres have produced highlight reel performances as clubs search wide for points.

It’s a natural progression for the centre position, which has become more important in the six-again era where defensive lines are being compressed towards the ruck and left exposed on the edges.

It’s a complicated position to master, you need to be strong in yardage, a smart defender and capable of bringing your winger into the game in attack.

Pass, run, kick – the better centres can do it all and they did just that in the past two weeks.

Let’s have a look at some of the best centres in the game right now and what they’re doing well to deserve the recognition.

Zac Lomax

The impending arrival of Shane Flanagan at the St George-Illawarra Dragons has triggered an immediate uptick in the form of Zac Lomax.

He’s played on potential for a long time but produced two of his better games in recent memory over the last few weeks.

Against the Raiders in Round 19 and the Tigers in Round 21, Lomax ran for a total 478 metres, scoring three tries, setting up another two and busting an outrageous 15 tackles.

He capped it all off by putting this move on Junior Tupou and the Tigers left edge last week:

Lomax has had a disrupted last few seasons.

He was moved to the wrong side of the field to begin this year and has even spent time in reserve grade – apparently without being given anything to work on – while the Dragons have struggled as a whole.

On his day Lomax is the best centre in the NRL, but his day hasn’t come around consistently enough.

He’s in dire need of quality coaching and judging by his last few weeks, Flanagan might already be giving him just that.

Lomax’s ability to skip to the outside of his opposite man, draw in the winger and flick an offload away to Mikaele Ravalawa is one of the most effective repeatable actions in our game.

Despite this, we don’t see the Dragons build towards it nearly often enough.

I think that might change in 2024 under Flanagan. Lomax is still just 23 years of age and has plenty of time to realise his obvious potential.

Bradman Best

A surprise State of Origin selection in Game 3 this year catapulted Best into the spotlight and he’s relished in it.

The barnstorming left centre has been in great form over the last month and had a leading role in the Knights upset win over Melbourne in NRL Round 21.

He’s still got an occasional error in his game but Best is playing with more consistency this season.

The work of Jackson Hastings at halfback has been particularly important for Best, who is being given more opportunities to positively impact a game.

He runs a killer outside-in line from the centres and is strong enough to drag multiple defenders into the in-goal, but it’s that back-handed offload to his winger that has me excited about Best’s trajectory.

If he can consistently get that pass right, Best will immediately become one of the best left-edge centres in the game.

He demands attention as a ball-carrier, often dragging two or more into the tackle.

Because of this, Greg Marzhew is usually left in space on the paint and Best is learning how to bring his winger into the game.

With 12 assists from 18 games played this season, Best has obliterated his previous best assist tally of six for a season.

He’s playing with more smarts and awareness than he ever has and continues to justify his Origin selection with his form in clubland.

Kotoni Staggs

When Kotoni Staggs was picked for the Blues in 2022, he was a strike attacking centre with some defensive frailties.

Prone to make the wrong read when defending on his line, Staggs relied on highlight reel moments in attack to positively influence a game.

In 2023, Staggs is a completely different player.

Much improved defensively, Staggs has become a crucial cog in what is the fourth-best right edge defensive unit in the NRL this season.

He’s staying in his systems and making better reads from two-man than he ever has.

He’s also become a much more well-rounded attacking player.

With an average 121 running metres per game in 2023, Staggs is a reliable yardage merchant for the Broncos this season. He’s productive coming out of his own end while still proving an attacking force in good-ball.

With five assists and 10 tries from 19 appearances this season, Staggs is putting up career numbers on both sides of the ball. The way he dismantled the Rabbitohs left edge last week is the most recent reminder of Staggs destructive properties with the ball in hand.

Like Jackson Hastings has done for Bradman Best at Newcastle, Staggs can thank Adam Reynolds for bringing him into the game in attack. He’s getting the ball at the right times and in the right places to have positive involvements, and the Broncos right edge looks all the better for it; no team has scored more tries than Brisbane (38) down their right edge this season.

Plagued by injuries and inconsistencies early in his career, Staggs is putting it all together in 2023. He’s playing far better now than he was when he earned a Blues call up last year and will be a pivotal part of Brisbane’s premiership push this season.

Izack Tago

It is frightening to think how good Tago might become.

The most damning statistic to consider when appraising Tago is that he is still just 21 years of age. Bradman Best, Zac Lomax and Kotoni Staggs all had highlight reel moments at this stage in their careers, but none of them performed as consistently and reliably as Tago is for the Panthers right now.

On both sides of the ball, Tago is putting up elite numbers. His average 164 running metres per game is comfortably the best in this list, and his 87.7% tackle efficiency also ranks at the top.

Tago’s ceiling is impossible to gauge but it’s his floor that should have Panthers fans excited. He rarely has a bad game and doesn’t need to have attacking highlights to impact a result.

That’s not to say he doesn’t produce highlight reel moments, though…

We need to credit Penrith’s systems for bringing Tago so effectively into first-grade, but as an individual he’s performed beyond his years. He can play both sides of the field and will spot up on the wing or in the backrow if needed, too.

Kept injury free, Tago will be a big part of Penrith’s attempt at the three-peat.

Campbell Graham

He mightn’t be as flashy as the other names on this list, but don’t let that fool you.

Graham is one of the premiere centres in the NRL and has been for the last two seasons. A change of tact in the Rabbitohs attack saw Graham become the tip of the spear this year, scoring 15 tries from 16 appearances and finally getting the recognition he deserves.

In reality though, Graham has been doing the same things for a few years now.

He’s got one of the best kick chases in the competition and is ultra-reliable coming out of his own end. He consistently takes the second hit-up in an exit set and always bends the line despite the defensive attention he receives.

Without the ball, Graham is one of the stronger defensive centres in the game. He makes a good read in the line and usually ranks near the top in his position for one-on-one tackles.

Powerful in yardage, defensively sound and as consistent as they come, the Rabbitohs need ‘Stretch’ on the field if they’re to feature in this year’s finals series.

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Who do you rank as the best centre in the NRL right now, and why? Let us know in the comments below.

Written by Oscar Pannifex | rugbyleaguewriters.com