JT would push himself to exhaustion like no-one else, all in pursuit of any little win on the field. He was only slight, and at the start of his career he was just bones, big ears and nothing else. But he built his body throughout his career through sheer hard work and nobody competed harder than Thurston. Except maybe Tommy Raudonikis, but he went about things very differently. Tommy would bite, scratch, kick, fight and squirrel grip. Anything he thought he had to do to win a game, Raudonikis didn’t think twice about. So JT and Tommy, so incredibly competitive. One quite clean, the other incredibly dirty. Control – Cooper Cronk For sheer ability to execute a game plan and be the coach’s eyes and ears on the field, it’s Cooper. No-one was as prepared and organised as a halfback. Nine grand final appearances says it all. Long-range run threat – Mitchell Moses Mitch’s biggest strength is his running threat from 40 metres out or his own side of halfway. He’s got real high-end speed and can maintain it, he’s always so dangerous from long distance. Moses’ long kicking game is phenomenal too. How often have you seen him save a poor set with a drop punt that can travel 60-65 metres on the fly? Intuition – Kevin Walters Not to be underestimated in a playmaker is knowing and understanding what your halfback or five-eighth is up to. All the best halves combos have a strong bond. But I still think Kevvy was the only person in the world who knew what Alf was thinking when he had the ball. Kevvy’s ability to play Alf was a true gift and it made him the perfect Robin to his Batman. Tempo and manipulating the defence – Isaiya Katoa Izzy Katoa’s tempo – his ability to play fast to slow, and slow to fast with the ball to manipulate the defence – is just incredible. Already at the age of 21, he executes the block play better than anyone in the game. His deception with ball-in-hand, the way he looks in and plays out, his change of speed, it all makes the defence think the opposite of what he’s actually going to do. And that is what playmaking is all about. Toughness and fitness – Tom Dearden Tommy Dearden’s running game is built on a classic show and go and his Origin III masterclass will be remembered as one of the great individual performances. He’s just as tough as they come and that was plain to see when he led Queensland to a famous win. His try-saving tackles are already iconic. And out of all these halves, if you were to get them all together, I’d say Dearden would be the fittest of the lot. Short-side plays – Jason Smith and Jim Dymock A special mention to these two greats of the late 90s and early 2000s. No-one played short sides better than Jason Smith and Jim Dymock. With four-on-four, three-on-three or three-on-two set-ups, these two just mastered knowing when to catch the defence napping. There’s an art to short side play. Smith and Dymock were our Picassos. So for any young aspiring halves and playmakers; these champions that I’ve highlighted, go and study them on YouTube, TikTok, however you like. Everything they do – their body position when they pass, how they hold the ball and why, where and when they get their hands on the ball, how they guide their team around the field, which defenders they target and their kicking styles. Put it all together and you get the perfect playmaker. The rise of Ryles This week it’s master and apprentice with Craig Bellamy’s Storm up against his old assistant Jason Ryles, who learned his craft down in Melbourne, along with stints under Eddie Jones in English rugby and Trent Robinson at the Roosters. His first year as an NRL coach has seen him make some massive calls and I think, all in all, he’s done an incredible job. I can see their attack evolving and getting better each week after biting the bullet on first Clint Gutherson for Isaiah Iongi, and then dropping Dylan Brown to get a head start on building for 2026. And then Parramatta turn around and pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season, knocking off Brisbane in Brisbane. Ricky Stuart without a doubt deserves to be Dally M coach of the year. But for me, Ryles is second behind him. He’s still changing a lot within the club, so Eels fans need to be patient. Maybe not next year, but definitely in the next two seasons, I see them challenging for the top eight again. Jonah and Jahrome: Time for Pezet’s reward Melbourne are without Jahrome Hughes on Thursday night in very wet, miserable conditions. Can the Storm win the competition if he doesn’t come back? Well, when Hughes was fit I thought they’d be our premiers for sure. But to lose your Dally M halfback this late in the season, even if he does return, it brings them back to the pack. We’ll see Cameron Munster take on extra responsibility and we saw him thrive in Origin when he was challenged. And we saw Harry Grant take that responsibility last week and produce what would have been the very rare 10 out of 10 performance in the old Rugby League Week player ratings. I’m at the point now where I rate Harry among the best three hookers I’ve seen. Jonah Pezet has been named on the bench with Tyran Wishart at No.7. But I think we could see a switch, or Pezet at least getting big minutes at halfback. He’s had his share of injuries so I haven’t seen too much of Pezet. But from what I have seen he’s an on-ball halfback with control and a very good kicking game. Pezet knocked back big offers last time he was off-contract, Newcastle chased him with big dollars, and he has served a lengthy apprenticeship behind Hughes. He has clauses in his deal that should come into play now Hughes has re-signed, so to me, he deserves a shot at halfback. Where the Eels have an advantage though – regardless of who is wearing the Storm No.7 – is Mitchell Moses’ kicking game and the longest boot in the game. Melbourne used to be almost impossible to beat in the wet because of their ruck control. I haven’t seen quite that dominance this year though, which could bring Moses and Parramatta into the contest. It’ll be a low-scoring, wet weather affair, but I think the class of Munster and Grant gets the Storm home. Joey’s tips: Storm by four.First try-scorer: Cameron MunsterMan of the match: Harry Grant NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter