Darren Lockyer: The player that must stay fit at your club

DARREN LOCKYER: One injury can destroy a club’s premiership hopes. Here are the players that must stay fit for their club to have any hope of lifting the NRL trophy.

Billy Slater in action for the Storm. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

THE finals are around the corner and tonight’s clash between the depleted Cowboys and Cronulla will tell me if the Sharks have the form and desire to clinch back-to-back titles.

It only takes one injury to a big-name player at this time of the season to destroy a club’s premiership hopes.

Here are the players I believe must stay fit for their club to have any hope of lifting the NRL trophy.

MELBOURNE

Billy Slater — Cameron Smith is the heart and soul of the side, but if Slater produces his best form in the finals, the Storm will be almost unbackable. Billy is the real key. If teams can keep him quiet, it brings Melbourne back to the field, but if he is fully-fit and playing mistake-free football, he is the X-factor they were missing in last year’s grand final.

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Billy Slater is tackled by Jason Taumalolo.

BRONCOS

Anthony Milford — For the Broncos to have any hope of winning, they need Milford to fire. Whenever Anthony has a big game, the Broncos win well. I think he has more scope to improve. Overall, I’d say he had a better year last year, but when you have a good year, teams start marking up on you a bit better. Injuring his shoulder mid-season didn’t help and he has to get some confidence back. Milford is at his best when he is running at a retreating defence. He is the one key who can unravel a defensive side like the Storm.

ROOSTERS

Dylan Napa — He has gone to another level since his Origin debut and to win the big games, they are going to need really aggressive efforts from their pack. The opposition usually target Jared Waerea-Hargreaves but they need to be wary of what Napa can produce. The Origin series did wonders for Napa’s development. He can really make a big difference to the Roosters in those big games because he has a relentless aggression.

Dylan Napa’s relentless aggression is vital for the Roosters.

PARRAMATTA

Mitchell Moses — We haven’t seen the best of Parramatta yet and Moses is the guy to extract more from them. I liked the way he took control against the Titans on Thursday night and he showed some beautiful touches to set up a few tries. But the question mark for me is how Moses handles pressure and the arm-wrestle of finals games. He’s only been at the club a few months so

CRONULLA

Andrew Fifita — Cronulla can’t go back-to-back if Fifita is off the boil. You only have to look at the grand final last year and what he did in Origin I this year. If he has a big game, the Sharks are unstoppable. He hasn’t really fired a shot since his brilliant Origin game. His hunger levels probably dropped a touch after that performance and his confidence took a bit of a hit after Queensland shut him down well in Origin II.

PENRITH

Matt Moylan — I really like the instinctive brilliance Moylan brings to the Panthers. Nathan Cleary is a wonderful talent who has the cool head to handle the finals, but Moylan is the real X-factor. In clutch moments this year, Moylan relished stepping up and he doesn’t mind taking a calculated risk under pressure. I’m not quite sure if Penrith have the all-round game to go all the way but if they do, Moylan must fire.

Matt Moylan brings instinctive brilliance to Penrith’s game.

MANLY

Tom Trbojevic — The Sea Eagles will look for Daly Cherry-Evans to steer the ship but Trbojevic could blow teams off the park in the playoffs. He’s one of the most gifted young players I’ve seen and the finals won’t faze him at all. If the game is tight, Trbojevc is the one guy who can pop up out of nowhere to bust the contest open.

COWBOYS

Michael Morgan — Jason Taumalolo is always such an explosive figure but for the Cowboys to make waves in the finals, they need Michael Morgan to take control. He is playing with more confidence since the Origin series. The absence of Johnathan Thurston has forced him to take more responsibility and to his credit, Morgan is thriving on it.

DRAGONS

Paul Vaughan — If the Dragons can sneak into the finals, I’d like to see Vaughan unleashed. Their early-season surge was on the back of Vaughan’s rampaging charges in midfield. At 110kg, his powerful, hard-running style is the perfect platform for the Dragons to be finals giant-killers.

Originally published as Darren Lockyer: The player that must stay fit at your club