The NRL’s introduction of the two-point field goal for successful kicks from beyond the 40-metre line was derided as one of the more pointless rule changes of recent times.
But despite the assumption that it would be a rarely-used commodity, we’ve already seen Adam Reynolds boot the first two-point field goal in Round 5 and Nathan Cleary slot a crucial deadlock-breaker a week later.
To celebrate the elusive art of the field goal, Will Evans from This Warriors Life ranks the best exponents of the NRL era in this week’s Zero Tackle Top 8.
Some the most clutch, sweet-striking field goal kickers of the modern era, including Shaun Johnson, Anthony Milford, and icon match-winners Johnathan Thurston and Andrew Johns, couldn’t squeeze into this list.
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And give Will's other Top 8 stories a read below!
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Without further ado, here is this week's edition: field goal exponents.
2. Darren Lockyer
Brisbane champion Darren Lockyer kicked a relatively modest 21 field goals in 355 first grade games, but many of them were match-winning efforts.
A brilliant clutch performer, Lockyer slotted a last-minute match-winner against the Roosters in 1999 and a premiership-sealing field goal in the Broncos’ 15-8 win over Melbourne in the 2006 Grand Final.
He also nailed an incredible 40-metre field goal to sink the Gold Coast in golden point in ’07, bouncing the ball off each upright before it dropped over; and knocked over a high-pressure one-pointer soon after suffering a fractured cheekbone in Brisbane’s golden point semi-final defeat of St George Illawarra in 2011, which proved to be his final act in the NRL.
Lockyer also kicked an angled 46-metre attempt over for Queensland during the 2010 Origin series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iwm7zd1lfE
