Celebrating Wingers

Celebrating Wingers

Oscar Pannifex

One of the oldest and fondest past times in the world of rugby league is hanging shit on wingers.

Once simply a try scoring merchant – someone with speed or agility or a knack under the high ball – our modern day wingers are built a little different.

Scoring tries, saving tries, starting exit sets, defending kicks and making the right reads on the end of a defensive line – the job description for wingers today is a complex one.

Let’s take a look at some of the standout wingers from NRL Round 23, and what they’re doing right that makes them so valuable in today’s game.

Daniel Tupou (Sydney Roosters)

The evergreen Daniel Tupou just keeps on keeping on. Since making his debut way back in 2012, ‘Tups’ has scored a whopping 142 tries in 238 games for the Sydney Roosters.

Big, rangy and an acrobatic finisher, Tupou has constantly evolved to keep up with changing trends in the game.

As wingers are tasked with more and more responsibilities, Tupou has continued to produce.

He averaged just 101 running metres in 2013 – his first full season in the NRL – but has consistently improved on that number in every year since.

His average 177 running metres this season is his second-best return across 12 years in the NRL – not bad for a 32 year old.

While Tupou’s adapted his game to keep relevant in the modern era, one thing has never changed.

He’s one of the best try scorers we’ve seen in the NRL and has perfected that diving finish in the corner.

It’s great to see him signed on again for 2024, which should see him retire as a one-club player and one of the greatest wingers in the NRL era.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (New Zealand Warriors)

We’ve seen plenty of outside backs make a case for themselves as a fullback, often chasing the payday that comes with wearing the No.1 jumper.

Watene-Zelezniak went down that path a few years ago but since embracing his role on the paint, the Warriors flyer has become one of the best wingers in the competition.

Now in his 10th season in the NRL, Watene-Zelezniak is still putting up career numbers.

His 17 tries this season is comfortably the best return of his career, and he’s ultra-consistent in yardage with 150 running metres per game this year and a career average of 139.3m.

He’s quick, mobile, strong through contact and good in the air, but Watene-Zelezniak’s greatest asset is arguably his effort areas.

He competes on every play and is often rewarded for his efforts off the ball – like with this try against the Gold Coast last week.

There’s few prettier sights in the NRL this season than seeing that mullet flapping in the wind when Watene-Zelezniak breaks into the back-field.

David Nofoaluma (Wests Tigers)

He’s in the backend of his career and has been an oft-maligned player for a few years now, but there’s no denying the skill of Nofoaluma.

In NRL Round 23 he notched 100 tries for the Wests Tigers – the first time a player has done so for the joint-venture or for the Tigers or Magpies, respectively.

That try wasn’t his crowning moment last weekend, though.

As a player who’s often made the difficult look easy and the easy look difficult, this try involvement shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

He doesn’t have the legs to go the length anymore, but that pass back infield for Luke Brooks was the best pill we saw across the NRL last week.

Nofoaluma’s career might be coming to a close, but there’s no doubt he’s still got a few highlight reel moments left in him.

Brian To’o (Penrith Panthers)

Arguably the best winger in the game right now, To’o is a model of consistency.

No current winger is more active in yardage than To’o, who averages an absurd 204 running metres per game this season.

With a career average of 198.4 running metres across five years, To’o has been putting up these numbers from day dot.

He produces those numbers through sheer weight of involvement.

It’s not uncommon to see To’o take 20 hit-ups a game, and it’s those kinds of efforts that’s allowed Ivan Cleary to employ such a unique strategy in yardage.

With Penrith’s back five so busy in exit sets, their middles are afforded the opportunity to frontload their defence and catch a breath in yardage.

What makes To’o so unique though is how effective he is at both ends of the field.

A powerful finisher who’s capable of leaping over someone or barrelling straight through them, the greatest compliment we can give To’o is that he’s the guy every other winger in the game tries to model right now.

Jamayne Isaako (The Dolphins)

As part of the work RLWriters does for a few Queensland Cup clubs, I had the privilege of watching Isaako play for the Tweed Seagulls in 2022.

It was an unhappy end to the season for Isaako, to say the least.

Six points up in the final minutes of a semi final, Isaako was beaten on the outside to concede Tweed’s narrow lead before dropping the ensuing kick-off in the in-goal.

One failed short drop-out later and Sunshine Coast kicked a penalty from in front and Tweed’s 2022 season was over.

It’s fair to say Isaako has left that memory far behind him.

Leading the NRL for points scored this season and posting 19 tries from 20 games, Isaako is in career form for The Dolphins right now.

He’s one of the best aerial targets in the game and his average 161 running metres in 2023 is his best return from eight years in the NRL.

Mikaele Ravalawa (St George-Illawara Dragons)

If players are paid on potential than Ravalawa would be the richest winger in the NRL.

Ridiculously powerful and with a knack for finding the try line, the Dragons form has long coincided with Ravalawa’s ability to finish in the corner.

His combination with Zac Lomax could be the most potent centre / wing partnership in the game but unfortunately for Dragons fans – and footy fans in general – we don’t see St George work towards this pair consistently enough.

When they get it right, they’re impossible to stop.

The offloading ability of Lomax is the perfect foil for Ravalawa’s finishing qualities, and I’m excited to see what Shane Flanagan does with this duo in 2024.

Get Ravalawa one-on-one with virtually anyone and he’s too big, too strong and too fast to bring down close to the line.

His 61 tries from 82 games has to be one of the best strike rates in the NRL and at just 25 years of age, Ravalawa still has plenty of improvement left in him.

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Who do you rank as the best winger in the game right now and why? Let us know in the comments.

Written by Oscar Pannifex | rugbyleaguewriters.com