South Sydney Rabbitohs centre Greg Inglis was medically forced into an immediate retirement from his playing days in the NRL earlier in the week, in the news many neutral fans of the league dreaded.
Inglis notched up 263 NRL games, scoring 149 tries, 32 Origin appearances for Queensland (18 tries) and 39 Tests for Australia (32 tries), breaking countless records on the way. To commemorate an incredible career, here are five of the great man's most influential performances.
After falling short to Brisbane the previous year, Melbourne returned to the big dance against a Manly side in its fifth season since reinstating the Manly name. Inglis in his third season of first grade, turned in a Grand Final performance for the ages. 'GI,' playing at five-eighth, set up the opening try with a ball to Anthony Quinn and doubled his side's lead later when he received the ball ten metres out from the line before rampaging towards Anthony Watmough and shrugging off another couple of defenders on the way to the line. With the game all but over at 18-4 and 25 minutes remaining, Inglis stormed onto an offload from Brett White and raced 65 metres, beat Michael Robertson and scored the try of the game. He picked up the Clive Churchill Medal for player of the match at the end of the game.
At just the age of 22, Inglis was already in his fourth Origin series and making his 8th appearance in an Origin match. After Billy Slater scored the opening try, Inglis scored the second when, despite the attention of three defenders, he managed to touch the chalk with the ball. Just two minutes after the break, Inglis made a blistering break before putting the afterburners on and speeding past Newcastle duo James McManus and Kurt Gidley to touch down and extend their 12-point lead into 18 following Thurston's conversion. Queensland won game two and secured their fourth consecutive series with Inglis earning the Wally Lewis Medal for Origin player of the series and Ron McAuliffe medal for Qld's player of the series.
It may have been a weaker Brisbane side that was forced to push Tonie Carroll to five-eighth and Darren Lockyer to halfback (Alex Glenn was originally named in the no.7 jumper!) but it was a dominant display by Melbourne that led them to their fourth consecutive Grand Final. Inglis scored a hat-trick - the first a display of sheer speed and strength to touch down, the second a result of a scrum base play and the third an 80-metre intercept.
The Rabbitohs were in red-hot form coming into this match, winning their last three in a row. A young Dylan Walker scored a try on his first grade debut while Beau Champion, Sam Burgess, George Burgess, Adam Reynolds and Nathan Merritt all got on the scoresheet in a 54-10 rout of the Tigers but it was a four-try haul from 'GI' that stole the show. Inglis was at his best in support play, backing up Issac Luke for his first, and being found by John Sutton by his third. His second try was a brilliant individual effort, picking up a loose ball before moving out of the danger zone and racing 95 metres to score with a crowd of five Tigers players in pursuit. Inglis ran for more than any other player on the night with 236 running metres to his name. He scored his fourth with a minute remaining, chasing an Adam Reynolds kick to score in the corner. It was surprisingly the only game in his career which Greg Inglis has scored more than three tries.
After falling short in the Preliminary Final in 2012 to Canterbury and again in 2013 to Manly, the Rabbitohs were hoping it would be third time lucky in 2014 against their biggest rivals, the Sydney Roosters. After falling behind 12-0, tries to Lote Tuqiri and Alex Johnston brought the scores back to 12-apiece at the break. Ben Te'o's barnstorming effort took the Bunnies to the front for the first time before Inglis produced a match-sealing double. Inglis received an inside ball from John Sutton to slide over untouched to make the scores 24-12 and if that wasn't enough, the Souths fullback climbed highest to pluck an Adam Reynolds cross-field kick and crash over next to the upright. Despite two consolation tries, Souths hung on and went onto defeat the Bulldogs in the decider to seal their first premiership since 1971.