An elite centre of the 21st Century, former representative player Willie Tonga has named his two favourite players to play alongside during his 13-season career in the NRL.

The outside back also revealed the main factor and reasoning behind his move to the North Queensland Cowboys after a long five-season stint with the Canterbury Bulldogs, in which he won an NRL Premiership in 2004.

A Kangaoors and Queensland representative,ย Tongaย played for theย Parramatta Eels,ย Canterbury Bulldogs, andย North Queensland Cowboysย before deciding to hang up his boots at the end of the 2014 season.

Later, he spent time overseas playing in the Super League with the Catalan Dragons, Leigh Leopards, and Bradford Bulls.

Speaking toย Zero Tackle,ย Tonga was asked who his favourite players to play alongside were in either the NRL, the Super League competition, the State of Origin arena or on the international scene.

The outside back went on to reveal two players stood out above the rest of his ex-teammates, one from his time at the Canterbury Bulldogs and one from his time at the North Queensland Cowboys.

"I'd say, Sonny Bill," Tonga told Zero Tackle.

"Even though he was athletic, the way he trained, he didn't want to get beat in anything. So his work rate was just ridiculous and it's a testament to where he got."

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 04: Johnathan Thurston of the Cowboys yells in frustration after missing a conversion kick during the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium on October 4, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Revealing Sonny Bill Williams was one of his favourite teammates to play alongside, he also admitted that Johnathan Thurston was another, stating he was "the reason" behind him making the move from Belmore to Townsville.

"JT as well. A lot of people wrote him off because of his size and said he was too small, but to me, he's going to be one of the greatest halfbacks that's ever played," Tonga continued.

"To be able to play alongside him at the Bulldogs and then go to the Cowboys.

"That's the reason why I went to the Cowboys to play alongside JT because I had five years of injuries. I thought I needed to get away from Sydney. I need to get out of the Bulldogs and change.

"I guess for me to get back to that level that I knew I could play at which was Queensland (and) Australia, I've got to play outside of JT. So that's the reason why I moved to North Queensland."