NRL: The 10 best defenders in rugby league

Nathan Cleary isn’t just the NRL’s premier playmaker but also one of the best defenders, according to one of rugby league’s most feared hitmen, Trevor Gillmeister. See his top 10 rankings.

Nathan Cleary is not just the NRL’s premier playmaker, he is also the best “pound-for-pound” defender in today’s game.

That is the opinion of one of the most feared hit men in rugby league history, Queensland legend Trevor “The Axe” Gillmeister.

But Gillmeister went even further and ranked Cleary at No 5 on his list of top 10 tacklers in the entire NRL.

The stunning praise comes after South Sydney forwards this week pinned a target on Penrith’s returning superstar ahead of Friday’s grand final rematch.

Gillmeister reckons you target Cleary at your own peril.

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Nathan Cleary never shies away from impact in a tackle. Picture. Phil Hillyard

“He’s deadset the best pound-for-pound (defender) in the game,” Gillmeister said ahead of Cleary’s comeback from off-season shoulder surgery.

“He is the best halves defender in the competition by a country mile.”

With so many more bone-rattling hits now, there is less focus on the wrestle.

We contacted Gillmeister to get him to rank his best of the best.

In a wide-ranging interview, he declared the footy this year was the best “I’ve seen in 10 years” thanks to further adjustments to the six-again rule change, but Gilly also explained why bad tackling technique learnt through the wrestle-dominated era continues to cause so many head injuries.

And, of course, he reminisced about some old sparring partners, including why “I loved playing Chief and Spud”.

Jake Trbojevic is a consistent hitter. Picture: NRL Photos

GILLY’S TOP 10 HIT SQUAD

It came as no great surprise that ‘The Axe’ had Jake Trbojevic and Victor Radley fighting for top spot.

“You’ve probably got to ask the blokes who get hit by them (who hurts the most),” Gillmeister said, before eventually settling on the Manly lock at No 1.

While he said it was a split-decision, in his opinion Trbojevic has the most consistent technique “for getting under the ball and loosening the old ribs up a bit.

“But it’s a toss-up. Victor has good acceleration when he comes into a tackle and I love the way he plays.”

Behind those two he put Raiders wrecking ball Josh Papalii at three.

“Has good timing and uses his legs well, and they are seriously f***ing good sized legs,” Gilly said.

Another hugely underrated axe man came in at four, Rabbitohs skipper Cameron Murray.

“You could count on one hand in a year how many times someone finishes on their front when Cam Murray hits them,” Gillmeister explained.

“And I love the way he can mix his tackles up. He’s just relentless.”

Then came Cleary, with Gilly making no apologies for putting a halfback ahead of the likes of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Jaydn Su’A, Liam Martin, Jai Arrow and Jack de Belin who rounded out his top 10.

South Sydney’s Cameron Murray is a relentless defender. Picture. Phil Hillyard

“He has backrowers running at him all the time, and he can put a good big backrower on his back,” Gilly said of Cleary.

“And you know why?

“I spoke to Ivan a few years ago about it.

“He was on the Gold Coast when I was working down there and I bumped into him on the beach.

“He said because (Nathan) was tackling those big island boys when he was a kid (and Ivan was coaching the Warriors) he had to learn how to do that, get his head out of the way.”

‘BEST FOOTY I’VE SEEN IN 10 YEARS’

The NRL has copped plenty of backlash this year and rightly so over some disastrous refereeing decisions and judiciary punishment.

But Gilly’s response when asked what he thought of the on field action so far will be music to Peter V’landys’ ears.

“It’s been fantastic,” Gilly said.

“I reckon the first round, that is the best first round of footy I’ve seen in 10 years.

“Across the board it wasn’t as much wrestling and the game was quicker around the ruck, and I reckon the skill level was just higher.”

“IT’S A LOAD OF BULLSHIT”

For a rusted on league fan, listening to “The Axe” explain the art of cutting an opponent in half was fascinating.

And Gilly reckons a big problem that has contributed significantly to increased concussions is that so many modern players learnt poor technique coming through the wrestle dominated era.

“I hear all these different theories about people saying you shouldn’t go into the ribs,” he said.

“Mate, it’s a load of bullshit.

“It’s all about your feet position. If you go into a tackle with your feet side-by-side you are always going to come out second best.

“But if you have got one leg in front of the other (similar to a boxer’s stance) you can move your head out of the way better.”

“I LOVED PLAYING CHIEF AND SPUD”

To this day Gilly still credits what his dad taught him in the backyard and what he learned from his great mate and mentor, the late Barry “Bunny” Reilly (known as the original Axe) for his tremendous technique.

But back in his day, he said every pack had blokes you just didn’t want to run at.

“I do remember speaking to blokes you played against years ago and we would all agree there was always two or three blokes in the late 80s and early 90s in every forward pack who could cut you in half,” he recalled.

“I remember playing against Canterbury. Cement (David Gillespie). Steve Folkes, Peter Kelly was another, he’d come in from any angle. He broke my nose one day, Kel. But you dish it out you’ve got to cop it.

“David Boyle at Souths, Bundy (Les Davidson), Mario (Fenech), Michael Andrews was another. There was always two or three in every forward pack that could cut you in half.”

And while Paul “Chief” Harragon and Mark “Spud” Carroll were two of the most feared of that era, they were also two blokes Gilly didn’t mind challenging himself against.

“I mean, they were two really great players and great competitors, but I loved playing against ‘Chief’ and ‘Spud’ because I knew they were going to try and run over the top of me,” he continued.

“You have got to be up for the challenge or get out of town.

“And I got sat on my arse plenty of times too, don’t worry.

“But if you can’t tackle one-on-one you shouldn’t be playing.

“I don’t care if it is an 85kg halfback tackling a 120kg front-rower.

“I mean, you mightn’t get him down every time, but you still have a crack.”

# Gilly will be running a tackling and skills coaching clinic (13-16 years) at Brisbane Norths Rugby League Club during the Easter holidays with former Queensland greats Allan Langer and Nate Myles helping out. For information click here