Happy 100 NRL Grid

NRL Grid turns 100 today and we have seen an incredible number of footy fans work their way through some incredible questions and bringing back some incredible names.

Who have been the most named players?

Only one player has been entered over 20,000 times. That player is James Maloney. Maloney played for Melbourne, New Zealand, Penrith, the Roosters and Cronulla and playing for a multitude of clubs has certainly been the common thread among those at the top of the usage count.

The top four of Maloney, Brett Morris, Kieran Foran and Benji Marshall all have moved around a lot. Morris played a long time for three clubs. Foran has played for five. Marshall is a long-time Tiger but also played for the Dragons, Broncos and Rabbitohs.

The only player with over 16000 used who played for just a single club is Billy Slater. Only six players in the Top 20 in usage have played for a single club: Slater, Cameron Smith, Alex Johnston, Jarrod Croker, Darren Lockyer and Daly Cherry-Evans.

Croker is the only player in the 20 most used not to play Origin or international football.

What about the least used?

Well, there are some names from the past and some names you most likely have never heard of.

We have put a cut off at 50 - so used on average once every two grids.

In the 20 fewest used we have some veterans who only just made it into the NRL Era - Les Davidson and Kevin Iro.

Super League veteran Greg Eden played six games for the Broncos in 2016 but has been used 50 times. Brett Oliver played six games across three seasons for the Bulldogs during their heyday of 2003-05 has been used 50 times also.

Albert Talipeau played nine games for the Roosters. Ahmad Bajouri was a cult hero at the Tigers and Rabbitohs. Both were used exactly 50 times.

Rhys Hanbury played 21 games spanning six seasons before nine years playing for the Crusaders and Widnes in the UK. Travis Robinson is the equal greatest Indigenous Lebanese representative with his brother Reece. Shane Gray played just a single NRL game for the Titans as well as scoring in his only international for the Philippines. Hooker Paul Dezolt played for six straight seasons and scored just five tries - with four of those coming in consecutive weeks in 2002. Willie Meehan played just a single NRL game but made a name as a boxer, winning all nine of his fights and claiming the WBF Australiasian Heavyweight title, as well as a standover man for the Hell’s Angels. Ryan Walker played three games for the Panthers in 2011.

NRL Grid is 100 and it has been one almighty experience plumbing the depths of your Rugby League Knowledge to remember both the greats and the forgotten of the NRL Era.