NRL MVP Index: AJ Brimson and Ryan Papenhuyzen chase James Tedesco’s fullback crown
It’s no surprise that James Tedesco stands above all other fullbacks, but the shock comes with who is nipping at his heels. FIND OUT WHO.
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It took just nine games for AJ Brimson to stamp himself as the second best fullback in the NRL and, alongside Ryan Papenhuyzen, one of the men to challenge James Tedesco for top billing.
Since Melbourne great Billy Slater’s retirement in 2018, Tedesco has ascended to the throne and been unchallenged as the game’s undisputed No.1.
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He continued that trend last season as he recorded an MVP Rating of 78.18 to lead all fullbacks.
But his dominance wasn’t as clear in 2020 and looks set to come under further threat with the rise of two of the game’s most exciting talents.
Brimson and Papenhuyzen returned MVP Ratings of 76.6 and 71.32 respectively to finish ahead of more established fullbacks Dylan Edwards (70.59), Clint Gutherson (68.93), Tom Trbojevic (68.65) and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (64.97).
With both being just 22, the pair appear likely to take their rivalry to the Origin level over the next decade, after Brimson made his Queensland debut in 2020 and Papenhuyzen was part of NSW coach Brad Fittler’s extended squad.
Titans head of culture Mal Meninga fired a warning to the rest of the competition, declaring “the world is his oyster” after Brimson’s rapid rise to the top in 2020.
“He’s a great trainer and he’s got excellent leadership skills, AJ,” said Meninga, the Kangaroos coach who is also a Fox League analyst.
“He has that desire and the world is his oyster.”
Brimson missed the first half of last season due to stress fractures in his back but once he returned he transformed the Titans into one of the competition’s most dangerous sides and helped spearhead their five-game winning streak to end the season.
Brimson’s 76.6 MVP Rating average was so good, it ranked fifth best in the competition.
With a full season to work with, as well as a better forward platform to work with following the recruitment of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita, Brimson could well enter Dally M contention.
Meninga, though, was quick to point out the areas in his game Brimson needed to improve.
“Kicking off on the right foot is so important, and AJ needs to keep involved in the game and keep learning,” Meninga said.
Papenhuyzen has gone from Wests Tigers discard to being shopped around by the Storm, before turning it all around and cementing himself as Slater’s long-term successor.
Although he now has to prove himself without the guidance of Cameron Smith, Papenhuyzen forms the nucleus of a Storm outfit that continues to regenerate itself in the wake of superstar retirements.
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Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is still rightfully counted as one of the best fullbacks in the NRL, but his curiously low MVP Rating of 64.97, which had him languishing 11th among regular fullbacks last season, belies his stature in the game.
But scratch the surface, and there’s a real fear the New Zealand Warriors are wasting the rugby-bound Kiwi’s final years in the NRL.
Where Tedesco had 11 Tries, 15 try assists and 16 linebreaks in 2020, Tuivasa-Sheck only had five tries, three try assists and eight linebreaks.
So while Tuivasa-Sheck still carries the ball exceptionally well, and is a nightmare for any defender one-on-one, he did not show the same passing game as Tedesco, Clint Gutherson or Kalyn Ponga and his score suffers as a result.
It’s not because Tuivasa-Sheck can’t pass the ball — he may have only had three try assists last year, but he had 14 in 2019 — meaning it’s more the fashion in which the Warriors have used him.
Getting the best out of his superstar fullback before he switches codes, with both his running and passing, shapes as one of Nathan Brown’s most important challenges for 2021.
THE RISE OF LATRELL
The Charity Shield gave a first glimpse of what Latrell Mitchell could be in 2021. With a full pre-season under his belt on last year’s experience at fullback, there’s no telling how far he can take South Sydney this year.
Mitchell clocked in at 13th on the MVP Ratings last year with an average of 63.6 per game as his playmaking from the back proved to be his greatest strength in his new position — he had 15 try assists and 26 linebreak assists in just 14 games.
It’s unlikely Mitchell will ever become a true metre-eating fullback but that’s not an issue. Souths’ recruitment of Penrith winger Josh Mansour will offset that.
But, to join the likes of Tedesco as one of the competition’s best fullbacks, he needs to keep playing to his strengths and add more to his running and support game.
“With a full pre-season he’s fit, I believe he’s the most talented player in the game and he’s in a good headspace as well. I’ve got some intel coming out of Souths that he’s flying,” Fox League’s Braith Anasta said.
“Latrell is his own man, and a lot of people said through the year he’s not going to be your stereotypical Billy Slater, James Tedesco type fullback. It’s not his game.
“One area where he can improve is his support play. Being a support player as a fullback is a real team thing, it helps other players in his side isolate defenders and have a greater impact, so it’ll help bring his halves and Damien Cook into the game even more.
“That’s the one area he needs to work on, that’s the next evolution of his game.”
TEDDY ON TOP
When it comes to fullbacks, everybody else in the league is playing second to Roosters, New South Wales and Australian superstar Tedesco.
The 28-year old has the third highest MVP Rating of any player (78.18) with only Shaun Johnson (78.91) and Nathan Cleary (84.54) beating him home.
In terms of the best overall player in the sport, taking into account skill, strength, speed, consistency and ability to perform under pressure, it’s difficult to put anybody past Tedesco.
With Cameron Smith so far remaining uncontracted for 2021, the numbers prove what most already knew to be true — nobody playing anywhere in the rugby league world right now has mastered the game to the same extent as Tedesco.
Originally published as NRL MVP Index: AJ Brimson and Ryan Papenhuyzen chase James Tedesco’s fullback crown
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