We’re living in an era of superstar fullbacks – James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Clint Gutherson, Latrell Mitchell, Ryan Papenhuyzen – they’re the players kids want to be, the highlight-reel merchants who make for compelling TV and divide opinion on a weekly basis.
Even Scott Drinkwater has been a revelation this year.
But for all the headline grabbers in the No.1 jersey, there’s one custodian in the modern game who has proved just as important to his side – but without all the fanfare.
Dylan Edwards is enjoying career-best form in 2022 – but if you’ve been watching the Panthers’ fullback more than occasionally, you’ll know that this year’s performances are the result of constant hard work and improvement.
It seems like an eternity ago that questions hung over Edwards’ ability underneath the high ball, but it was 2019 when he made 10 errors in the space of two weeks and faced intense scrutiny.
But by the end of 2020, he’d restored the Panthers to the top of the kick defusal rankings and redeemed himself – but he wasn’t done there.
In all the key metrics for the game’s best fullbacks, Edwards has constantly improved. Tackle breaks, kick return metres, metres per game – they’ve all gone up gradually, but they’ve all gone up.
Sure, he might not play as influential a role in the attack as Tedesco or Trbojevic, but in 2022 he’s finished No.1 in the league for average running metres and second in overall metres, he’s blown away the opposition in kick return metres (first by nearly a kilometre over Tedesco) and sits in the Top 10 tackle breakers in the NRL.
He was only trailing Ben Hunt by six points when Dally M voting went behind closed doors, and is still a strong candidate for Fullback of the Year, despite having to regularly share points with his captain Isaah Yeo and the rest of Penrith’s talented ensemble.
But despite the fact he’s been constantly overlooked for higher honours behind the game’s biggest names, Panthers hooker Api Koroisau would take Edwards over his more-fancied counterparts every time.
“Everyone sees the flashy plays and James Tedesco is a freak doing incredible things,” Koroisau told Zero Tackle.
“But Dylan is just one of those guys who turns up each and every week, a guy who will never let you down. He’s playing some incredible footy.
“His work rate is just unbelievable. I wouldn’t want any other fullback on my team.”
Koroisau and Edwards will be boosted by the return of star halves combo Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai this week, but the two-time premiership winner knows it’ll take more than that alone to steer them to victory over the only team they haven’t beaten so far this year.
“It’s hard to pinpoint (the reason for the Eels’ recent dominance),” Koroisau said.
“They just play really well every time they come up against us. They’ve got a great forward pack – and great backs too. I think their team as a whole, when they turn it on they’re quite good.
When asked if there was a strategy in place to halt the Eels’ relentless attacking momentum, Koroisau admitted that if there was, he didn’t know about it.
“To be honest, I don’t listen too much to the gameplan,” Koroisau joked.
“One of their real dangers is the individuals in their team. They can all come up with big plays and create something from nothing. They’re one of those teams where if you don’t play for 80 minutes, they’ll nip you.”
Thankfully, though Koroisau might not pay much attention to the game plan, he can always turn to the club’s star halves for direction.
“It’s good (to have them back). Nathan’s such a great leader on the field. To have them both back, the way they lead us around and make sure everyone knows their roles, it’s like they haven’t even been gone.”
