Top of the props: Rugby league’s best big man revealed
They do the dirty work and rarely get the plaudits — until now. Find out who comes out on top as we rank the Top 20 front-rowers in rugby league’s modern era and VOTE IN OUR POLL!
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In the latest of our series on the NRL’s finest, it’s time to rank the best front-rowers of the past 40 years.
1. GLENN LAZARUS
The only player in premiership history to win grand finals with three different clubs, Lazarus was the premiere prop forward of the 1990s and there was some distance back to second. Across 21 Test matches, 19 State of Origin appearances and 254 NRL games for Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne, Lazarus was a fixture at the highest levels of the sport and one of the modern game’s true winners.
2. SHANE WEBCKE
All the other props who came after Shane Webcke wanted to be Shane Webcke, but there can only be one. The best forward in the world in the early 2000s, Webcke became an automatic selection for Queensland and Australia, and a three-time premiership player with Brisbane, by doing the little things right and doing them as well as he could every single time. They don’t make them like him anymore.
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3. STEVE ROACH
The best prop of his time bar none, Roach was a regular for New South Wales and Australia for much of the 1980s and carved out an untouchable legacy at Balmain, emerging as the club’s best forward in their final glory days. A three-time Dally M prop of the year, Roach was the Blues most capped forward when he retired in 1992.
4. PETERO CIVONICEVA
They build them different in Fiji, and Civoniceva is living proof. An ageless wonder, Civoniceva played a combined 72 matches for Queensland and Australia - he became a fixture in both teams early in his career and did not relinquish his spot for close to a decade. Hardworking and intimidating, Civoniceva didn’t know how to take a backward step.
5. MATT SCOTT
Rarely given the accolades he deserved, in Scott’s prime he was, without question, the best prop in the world. While he lacked the spectacular elements of some of his contemporaries, Scott’s consistency was his trademark. In all his years with the Cowboys, Maroons and Kangaroos it is difficult to recall a subpar performance.
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6. STEVE PRICE
So much of the modern prop’s game is about metres and Steve Price churned them out like few others. There was little that was fancy about his game, but he was consistent, durable and always gave his best, be it for Canterbury, New Zealand, Queensland or Australia. The difference between his best game and his worst was almost invisible.
7. JARED WAEREA-HARGREAVES
There was an ebb in the middle of Waerea-Hargreaves career, and after a 2017 preliminary final humiliation at the hands of Jason Taumalolo and North Queensland it seemed his time as one of the game’s top props was over. But since then Waerea-Hargreaves has risen up again - he was the most important forward on the back to back Roosters, and was unlucky not to get the Clive Churchill medal in 2019. Add in his earlier form and it’s as impressive a run as any forward has had in the modern era.
8. JAMES GRAHAM
It’s easy to say a player will do whatever it takes to win, but it’s more real for James Graham than most. With an endless desire to fight and win, Graham’s tenacity and skill have helped him make an enormous mark on the Australian competition since he joined the Bulldogs in 2012. If he’d spent his entire career in the NRL he’d likely be even higher.
9. DEAN PAY
There was little that was flashy or expansive about Dean Pay’s game, but that didn’t matter. Be it for Canterbury, Parramatta, NSW or Australia, Pay always played the same way - tough, uncompromising and with no quarter asked for or given. It was straight up and down, and it worked.
10. JESSE BROMWICH
Outside of Melbourne’s big four, Jesse Bromwich might be the best player the Storm have ever had. The Kiwi has been one of the best props in the world for close to a decade now and played a crucial role in Melbourne’s four grand final appearances since 2012. Blessed with light feet and disarming athleticism, Bromwich also formed a crucial part in New Zealand’s 2014 Four Nations victory.
11. ANDREW FIFITA
Andrew Fifita was a winger in the juniors, and sometimes you can still see that even though he’s been a forward for years now. What other prop is as light on his feet? What other prop could run 40 metres to score, rounding the fullback along the way? What other prop is as dangerous close to the tryline? Volatile and unique, Fifita should have won the 2016 Clive Churchill medal and is clearly one of the top props of modern times.
12. ROY ASOTASI
The most important recruit of South Sydney’s rise from laughing stock upon return from laughing stock in 2002 to premiers in 2014 is not Sam Burgess or Greg Inglis, it’s Roy Asotasi. The punishing Kiwi left the year before the grand final victory, but signing a player of his calibre was transformative for the Rabbitohs, and from him came all the rest. Mean as sin and hard as nails, Asotasi was a punishing footballer, both with the ball and without for the Bulldogs, Rabbitohs and New Zealand.
13. PAUL HARRAGON
A tower of strength for Newcastle from 1988 to 1999, Harragon was one of the club’s first home grown stars and used his size and power to great impact, becoming a Test and Origin regular after making his debut in both arenas in 1992. Captain of the Knights first premiership side in 1997, Harragon will enjoy hero status in the Hunter for the rest of his life.
14. DAVID GILLESPE
A defensive specialist, success followed Gillespe throughout his long career, and he played a major part in three premierships (two for Canterbury, one with Manly) from 1984 to 1997. A perennial representative player, Gillespe accrued 15 Origin caps for New South Wales and made 19 appearances for Australia.
15. IAN ROBERTS
Another of the athletic front rowers of the 1980s and 1990s who helped set the mould for what the position looks like today, Roberts was the kind of player who could impose his will on the opposition. A fixture for New South Wales and Australia in his prime, Roberts was one of the most intimidating players of his time.
16. NATHAN CAYLESS
“Underrated” is an overused word in rugby league, but it suits Nathan Cayless down to the ground. Amid Parramatta’s rise and fall through the 2000s, Cayless’ effort and form never wavered, and he captained the club for almost a decade. His finest hour came in the Test arena, when he skippered a rag tag New Zealand side to a shock victory over Australia in the 2008 World Cup final.
17. FUIFUI MOI MOI
Cult classic, not bestseller. One of the most fearsome forwards of recent years, Moimoi’s kamikaze style made him a fan favourite in ten years with Parramatta from 2004 to 2014 and he was close to the best prop in the world at his peak. His performances in the Eels run to the grand final in 2009, capped by his incredible try in the loss to Melbourne, were particular highlights.
18. BRENT KITE
One of only three props to win the Clive Churchill Medal, Kite was a proven and consistent performer throughout his long career for St George Illawarra, Manly and Penrith. His best days were as a Sea Eagle, where he played 221 matches and won two premierships, as well as earning the majority of his 10 Origin and 14 Test caps.
19. MARK O’MELEY
Carved out of rock and willing to grind your bones to back his bread, Mark O’Meley was the answer to the old question of what would happen when an unstoppable force met an immovable object. Through his career with the Bears, Northern Eagles, Bulldogs and Roosters, there were few who ever got the better of “The Ogre”.
20. SAM BACKO
Sometimes, when you watch matches from the 1980s, you can see players who would not make it today. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact. The game wasn’t as fast, the players weren’t as athletic, and there are some guys who, in all likelihood, couldn’t make the transition. Sam Backo is not one of those guys — you could put him in a time machine, bring him to today and he’d be a success. That, of course, assumes you can get him to give up the smokes. A rare athlete with excellent footwork and mobility for his size, Backo was before his time.
Honourable mentions: Ben Hannant, David Klemmer, Paul Rauhihi, Luke Bailey, Mark Carroll, Josh Papalii, Quentin Pongia, Dane Sorensen, Craig Young, Pat Jarvis, Martin Bella.