Jayden Sullivan has asked for a release following news of Ben Hunt's extension. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
It’s undoubtedly true that every successful NRL side has a strong spine - the spine players inject creativity, guidance and structure, and touch the ball more than any other player on the field.
The fullback, halfback, five-eighth and hooker control all of the action, direct traffic and are normally the best players on the park, receiving much of the credit when things go right, but equally much of the backlash when things go wrong.
In recent years, the NRL has been blessed with some of the greatest ever spine talent, with Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Jake Friend (to name a few) as well as current megastars Nathan Cleary, James Tedesco and Daly Cherry-Evans.
With 2022 set to be as fast, physical and competitive as ever, the sides with the best spines will continue to blow bottom sides out of the water.
Remembering that this is a ranking of spines rather than a ladder prediction, here is how we view each of the club's best spine options for 2022.
Daine Laurie, Jackson Hastings (Adam Doueihi), Luke Brooks, Jacob Liddle
Honestly, it's hard to see where the Tigers’ points are going to come from here, and none of these four inspire great confidence defence-wise either.
Liddle had an uninspiring 2021 and threw an unacceptable amount of forward passes, while Luke Brooks has barely fired a shot the last two seasons.
Adam Doueihi was a shining light in 2021, but will miss the start of the season due to his ACL injury late last season. Jackson Hastings had his troubles in his last NRL stint, and may take time to warm up to his role, and would probably be better in the lock or utility role that Tyrone Peachey is filling.
Daine Laurie is a star and will undoubtedly make his mark, but is still less than 30 games into his career and may be weighed down being the main creative spark of an entire NRL side at just 21.
Matt Dufty, Matt Burton, Kyle Flanagan, Jeremy Marshall-King
You can see pros and cons to the Bulldogs’ 2022 spine.
Pro: Matt Burton comes to Belmore in red-hot premiership form.
Con: That form was at centre.
Pro: Jeremy Marshall-King is fit, and was fairly impressive in 2021.
Con: How long until he’s injured again?
The Bulldogs have plenty of promise spine-wise but they’ve got a lot of ‘ifs’ before they succeed. If Kyle Flanagan delivers on his potential as a youngster, if JMK stays fit in 2022, if Matt Burton can translate his Panthers form to the Bulldogs system as a half, if Matt Dufty can recapture his electric best... then the Dogs’ playmakers can support their forwards and wide men enough to notch some wins.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Scott Drinkwater, Chad Townsend, Reece Robson
Is 2022 hammer time? Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, fresh off his Queensland debut in 2021, has the speed to succeed.
However, the Cowboys will enter the 2022 season with a lot of question marks over their spine. Is million-dollar man Valentine Holmes best used at centre rather than fullback?
They bought Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden to be the side’s long-term halves combination, but neither set the world on fire last season.
Scott Drinkwater is simply too good to be left out. Give Drinkwater, Hammer and Robson two years to develop in the top grade, and 2024 looks scary for the Cowboys.
So much talent. That said, I don’t think the Cowboys play finals this year.
Kalyn Ponga, Adam Clune, Jake Clifford, Chris Randall (Jayden Brailey)
A few weeks ago the Knights were higher on this list. The off-season has really hurt the Knights spine-wise, but there’s still plenty of opportunity to succeed in 2022.
Granted, losing skipper Jayden Brailey to another injury is tough, and Mitchell Pearce’s departure will force Jake Clifford to step up this season.
However, the Knights have Ponga, and when there’s a Ponga, there’s a way. I don’t think that the Knights or Ponga really figured out the role he should play on the field in 2021, but if they can get it right, Ponga could have a Trbojevic-like season.
I’ve liked the look of Randall's tough tackling style in the few games he’s played thus far, and Adam Clune will benefit from an extended run in the starting side and will hopefully start to hit his straps as a game manager.
Jayden Campbell, Alexander Brimson, Toby Sexton, Erin Clark
Last year, the Titans spine looked a bit old and tired. Jamal Fogarty and Ashley Taylor struggled with injury, AJ Brimson wasn’t injecting himself into the game enough, and Mitch Rein was never bad, but just had minimal impact.
This season is a clean slate.
Jayden Campbell looked the goods last year and will certainly rack up a highlight reel, but his smaller stature may mean he struggles on kick returns until he bulks up a little.
Erin Clark will do well as an impact running hooker like Brandon Smith (and supported by Aaron Booth off the bench).
Toby Sexton’s composure and kicking game was impressive in the few games he played last year, however I’m not 100 per cent sure that the game management component will click straight away for the Titans with Brimson not a renowned kicker. AJ needs to be brilliant for the Titans to score consistent points every week.
Tyrell Sloan, Jayden Sullivan, Ben Hunt, Andrew McCullough
The Dragons have reached a perfect balance age-wise. Ben Hunt played some of the best football of his career last season (including his Origin heroics) and has grown with the captaincy. Andrew McCullough is getting through a mountain of defensive work and strongly leads the youngsters in the Dragons side.
Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan have plenty of promise and should play with freedom and the complete backing of their side.
With Junior Amone and Moses Mbye waiting in the wings, the Dragons have a bit of depth in case things don’t go quite to plan.
Reece Walsh, Shaun Johnson, Chanel Haris-Tavita, Wayde Egan
Not since 2018 (with RTS and Shaun Johnson in his first Warriors stint) has there been such a dangerous half-fullback partnership at the Warriors.
Johnson, a few years older and with a cooler head on his shoulders, should have a solid season, with Harris-Tavita continuing as a useful halves option.
Wayde Egan has all the tools to become a top hooker, but it remains to be seen whether he goes to a new level in 2022.
With the current squad they have, I don’t see the Warriors making the finals, but will see a big improvement spine-wise, no longer fully reliant on RTS for inspiration.
Jamayne Isaako, Tyson Gamble, Adam Reynolds, Jake Turpin
Everything hinges on Adam Reynolds. The ultimate professional enters the next stage in his already illustrious career with a big job to do.
The unfortunate injury of Tesi Niu will see Jamayne Isaako or Selwyn Cobbo slide into the fullback role, with Tyson Gamble’s tough defence at five-eighth a good fit for Reynolds.
Jake Turpin has improved as a rake, however, realistically, he doesn’t need to do too much to feed the Broncos’ monster pack with Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan. If Reynolds can take charge and manage this Broncos side strongly, the Broncos are still a chance of making the top eight despite their horror last two years.
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