Players that started as plodders and became top tier

[Big Pete]

Early days in this thread but it really does seem like there aren’t many genuine surprises when it comes to ceilings in the NRL. Obviously heaps go the other way and look like guns early only to fall flat.

Jack Wighton probably surpassed some expectations with his career.

DWZ maybe?

Saab definitely improved a lot since his dragons days

0/3 for me.

Wighton was a gun when he debuted for the Raiders in 2012 and everyone had him pegged for a long career. There was a teething period where he was too talented to be a centre, not talented enough to be a spine player but he grew into it.

DWZ had massive raps coming through the juniors and while he didn't quite live up to those, you could still see something special. I still remember that finger tips catch he took against the Bulldogs in the 2014 prelim to give the Panthers a sniff.

Wasn't Saab only 18 years old and he gave St George an unlikely sniff on debut? There was always something there but he had a falling out with the club and Manly swooped. Even now, he's in that Moses Suli category where there's a good player there but his mind is rarely on the game.

I'll raise you an Adam Mogg and Dane Nielsen. Both screamed depth players, both ended up being a part of successful Origin series.

 

[Big Pete]

Jack Reed

It depends on when you consider 'started'.

Reed came into the squad after a quality season at the Devils and was one of the stand-out rookies of the competition.

Right now, I think mrslong is kicking our butts. I don't think you could have had a worse initiation than Hunt and he really only started to live up to expectations in his fifth year in the NRL. His start was awful and was at the time the darkest period in Broncos history.

 

[Sproj]

Tyson Gamble

 

[Renegade]

Dunamis Lui perhaps?

 

[Sproj]

Kurt Capewell
Scott Sorensen
Billy Walters
Jackson Ford
Jake Granville
J'Maine Hopgood
Zac Hosking
Lindsay Collins?
Scott Drinkwater?

And of course:

Damian Cook
Nicho Hynes

 

[Renegade]

I assume plodders to mean - had a reasonable shot in first grade for a club and were average at best, but eventually improved and/or improved at a different club.

Majority of your suggestions do not fit this bill @Sproj . They're just mostly players that didn't see much first grade until they moved clubs.

 

[Culhwch]

Paul Gallen before/after the juice?

 

[theshed]

0/3 for me.

Wighton was a gun when he debuted for the Raiders in 2012 and everyone had him pegged for a long career. There was a teething period where he was too talented to be a centre, not talented enough to be a spine player but he grew into it.

DWZ had massive raps coming through the juniors and while he didn't quite live up to those, you could still see something special. I still remember that finger tips catch he took against the Bulldogs in the 2014 prelim to give the Panthers a sniff.

Wasn't Saab only 18 years old and he gave St George an unlikely sniff on debut? There was always something there but he had a falling out with the club and Manly swooped. Even now, he's in that Moses Suli category where there's a good player there but his mind is rarely on the game.

I'll raise you an Adam Mogg and Dane Nielsen. Both screamed depth players, both ended up being a part of successful Origin series.

Yeah you’re right. I’m really struggling.

Surely there’s some Bellamy magic we are over looking.

Nick Meany perhaps?

Or Wayne fixer upper?

Mark Nichols?

Was Weyman always good? Jamie Soward?

Pre-Seibold Darius Boyd?

 

[Big Pete]

Yeah you’re right. I’m really struggling.

Surely there’s some Bellamy magic we are over looking.

Nick Meany perhaps?

Or Wayne fixer upper?

Mark Nichols?

Was Weyman always good? Jamie Soward?

Pre-Seibold Darius Boyd?

What about both supercoaches working their magic to turn Jeremy Smith into the best lock in the competition? Seriously thought Melbourne were forced to pick a VRL player when he came into their team, but he was one of those rare Storm players who actually got better after he left the club.

Mark Nicholls was another who came through under the Bennett & Bellamy learning tree.

Meaney is a good shout, always just seemed destined to be a fill-in fullback, has emerged as one of the better fullbacks in the competition.

I'd pay Weyman and Soward. It wasn't a huge shock that they came good but Soward in particular was one of those players with massive raps on them, got absolutely chewed up and spat out by Sticky, did well at St George but Nathan Brown seemed non-committal and then he became one of the best players in the competition with Bennett.

Weyman was always rated but just couldn't stay on the field for one reason or another.

Darbs is borderline. He was good enough to keep his place in a premiership team at 19 years of age and had some classy moments. I don't recall being too upset when he left the Broncos and was surprised when he returned to Suncorp and looked like he hadn't left the gym since leaving the club.

What about...

Blake Austin
Blake Green
Bronson Harrison
David Shillington
Michael Morgan
Marty Taupau

 

[BroncsFan]

James Maloney??

Was a junior at Melbourne I think? but went off to warriors to get an opportunity... had decent start for them, basically similar to how Chad went at warriors from memory.

Then went to rorters ... and exploded into one of the best 6's in the game throughout the rest of his career

 

[BroncsFan]

Blake Austin

Blake Austin was very highly touted at penrith coming through wasn't he??

It did make me think of Terry Campese though... Not sure if he was always rated, but for a period there he was untouchable

 

[Big Pete]

Kurt Capewell
Scott Sorensen
Billy Walters
Jackson Ford
Jake Granville
J'Maine Hopgood
Zac Hosking
Lindsay Collins?
Scott Drinkwater?

Capewell - Filled in for Wade Graham and made 40 tackles in a huge finals game against the Raiders that went a long way to winning them their premiership. Was always one of those players that just needed time in the second row to find their feet.

Sorensen - I'd pay Scotty. Just seemed like a Chris Smith type fringe forward and now he's one of the best edge backrows in the game.

Walters - Nah, even at the Tigers he was displaying this type of form. Has always been a wish.com version of Harry Grant which isn't the worst thing to be. Wayde Egan would be a better example.

Ford - Not entirely sold on him yet.

Granville - One of life's great mysteries was why he didn't receive more opportunities at the Broncos.

Hopgood - He never really got much of a crack at Penrith and always looked good when he filled in. He was long overdue. One of those prospects that was so obvious even I was calling for him to be signed by Kevie back in 2021.

Hosking - Nah hit the ground running and was an awesome fill-in for the Broncos.

Collins - I'd pay it, couldn't hold the ball early in his career to the point where I wasn't that upset he left. I don't think it was until his forth season that he really became a player of promise, then he took it another level when he made Origin.

Drinkwater - Even on debut he was one of the best players on the park for Melbourne and was always doing something at the Cowboys.

Cook - Saved the Bulldogs season in 2015, then Maguire signed him and seemingly forgot he had him.

Hynes - Pretty sure everyone wanted to sign him after his debut.

 

[Big Pete]

James Maloney??

Was a junior at Melbourne I think? but went off to warriors to get an opportunity... had decent start for them, basically similar to how Chad went at warriors from memory.

Then went to rorters ... and exploded into one of the best 6's in the game throughout the rest of his career

North Sydney junior when they had a really loose affiliation with Melbourne. (ie. Melbourne would send them players when they played in Sydney). Then he went to Parramatta for a couple of seasons and was completely ignored by Hages which was one of several reasons why Eels fans can't stand him. Returned to Melbourne in 2009 and made his debut there before going to the Warriors.

Didn't take him too long to find his feet in the NRL either. His break out game was against the Broncos where Kemp puctured his lungs and Maloney tore us a new asshole.

 

[Sproj]

Capewell - Filled in for Wade Graham and made 40 tackles in a huge finals game against the Raiders that went a long way to winning them their premiership. Was always one of those players that just needed time in the second row to find their feet.

Sorensen - I'd pay Scotty. Just seemed like a Chris Smith type fringe forward and now he's one of the best edge backrows in the game.

Walters - Nah, even at the Tigers he was displaying this type of form. Has always been a wish.com version of Harry Grant which isn't the worst thing to be. Wayde Egan would be a better example.

Ford - Not entirely sold on him yet.

Granville - One of life's great mysteries was why he didn't receive more opportunities at the Broncos.

Hopgood - He never really got much of a crack at Penrith and always looked good when he filled in. He was long overdue. One of those prospects that was so obvious even I was calling for him to be signed by Kevie back in 2021.

Hosking - Nah hit the ground running and was an awesome fill-in for the Broncos.

Collins - I'd pay it, couldn't hold the ball early in his career to the point where I wasn't that upset he left. I don't think it was until his forth season that he really became a player of promise, then he took it another level when he made Origin.

Drinkwater - Even on debut he was one of the best players on the park for Melbourne and was always doing something at the Cowboys.

Cook - Saved the Bulldogs season in 2015, then Maguire signed him and seemingly forgot he had him.

Hynes - Pretty sure everyone wanted to sign him after his debut.

Wouldn't going from reserve grade to first grade stardom in your mid 20s count? This is the case for many of these guys listed.

 

[Big Pete]

Blake Austin was very highly touted at penrith coming through wasn't he??

It did make me think of Terry Campese though... Not sure if he was always rated, but for a period there he was untouchable

The way that I remember it they gave him a couple of games at the back end of a season when Penrith had nothing to lose. He wasn't terrible but I don't recall him setting the world on fire.

He was talked up like a key part the following year, struggled and virtually disappeared off the map until he re-emerged at the Tigers which is where he turned some heads.

 

[1910]

Petero.

Playing Colts for Dolphins was picked in Frist grade a few times but didn't get on the field. Won the Colts GF in the centres. Queensland U17 at lock.

95, 96, 97 Reserve grade. Was nearly 22 when he played NRL.

Certainly nothing that suggested 300 games and the career he had coming.

 

[Big Pete]

Wouldn't going from reserve grade to first grade stardom in your mid 20s count? This is the case for many of these guys listed.

I don't think you've come onto the NRL scene until you've played that level. Otherwise what are we basing it on exactly? Were you watching these players come through NYC, NSW, Queensland and Bartercard Cup?

 

[Sproj]

I don't think you've come onto the NRL scene until you've played that level. Otherwise what are we basing it on exactly? Were you watching these players come through NYC, NSW, Queensland and Bartercard Cup?

But if they aren't debuting/being a mainstay before 24-25 and then go on to be stars, surely that counts. Hence Cody Walker, Nicho Hynes and Damian Cook for example.