Crucial to helping provide direction on the field, a good five-eighth has a strong game sense and knows when to utilise their passing ability and when it's better to run the ball and take on the opposition line.
Have your say on who has been the best five-eighth to play during the past 25 years.
During 25 years of the competition, there have been a number of players who have stood out in this position with their ball-playing skills, their instinct to run the ball and their ability to work in well with their spine.
To acknowledge the Intrust Super Cup reaching a milestone 25 years and to highlight some of the amazing talent the competition has helped foster and unearth, fans are being encouraged to vote on a 25-year team.
This team is not an official team, but rather, a chance for fans to have their say on who they think has lit up the competition during its 25 years.
Members of the Queensland Rugby League staff have helped select a shortlist of players for each position.
The criteria for selection:
- Players to have played at least two seasons, ideally 50 games
- The ‘game impact’ of players has been taken into account, with players who have made key contributions to winning results
- Entertainment value – when they play, does it help bring fans through the gates?
The next position to select for the fan-picked 25-year team is five-eighth.
Intrust Super Cup 25-year team five-eighth nominees
1. Brad Davis
As influential as they come, Brad Davis was named captain of the 20-year Anniversary Team. Fiercely competitive and someone who didn't take a backward step on the field, Davis could often get under the skin of his opposition (and the match officials), but more often than not, he would leave his mark via his actions. Blessed with footy smarts, he was a premiership winner with the Tweed in 2007 and won the Duncan Hall Medal for player of the match. Davis is also the club's highest points scorer with 1066 points from his 154 games.
2. Cameron Cullen
Sometimes you forget just how much current Redcliffe Dolphins skipper Cameron Cullen has already achieved in the game, given there's still plenty of time left in his career. A two-time premiership winner, Cullen was the Duncan Hall Medal winner in Burleigh's 2016 title triumph and was named five-eighth of the year as well in the QRL's Team of the Year. He also captained the Dolphins to their victory in 2018. Cullen, who also played for Mackay Cutters, made his competition debut for the Dolphins in 2014 and has since played 82 games of Cup so far.
3. Ase Boas
An Ase Boas grubber kick helped create history in 2017 when PNG Hunters forward Willie Minoga pounced on the ball to score what was the match-winner in their grand final against the Sunshine Coast. Suncorp Stadium erupted with excitement when skipper Boas slotted the conversion to make the victory official. A long-time leader in the Hunters setup, Boas was instrumental in that premiership season, not only claiming the Petero Civoniceva Medal as the player of the year, but also XXXX People's Choice award and the Duncan Hall Medal as the player of the grand final.
Grand Final post match - Ase Boas
4. Cody Walker
Cody Walker has since gone on to play State of Origin for the Blues, but in a breakout year of Intrust Super Cup in 2013, the Easts Tigers game changer was part of the XXXX Queensland Residents side than narrowly lost against their New South Wales counterparts. That year, Walker played in the grand final, won the Courier Mail Medal (now Petero Civoniceva Medal) and was the competition's leading point scorer with 171. The following season, his form was similarly strong, with the electric half helping to again steer the Tigers into the grand final.
5. Brendon Lindsay
Ipswich Jets great Brendon Lindsay established a reputation as being the ultimate clubman. In his 224-game career, which also included stints with the Gold Coast Vikings and Logan Scorpions, the Scottish international representative player proved himself to be a tough competitor. When he retired from the Intrust Super Cup in 2012, he had played 224 games and scored 569 points, with 474 of them coming during his time with the Jets.
Vote now in the poll.
Poll closes on Thursday, April 23, at 10am and results will be published later that day.
If your choice isn't listed - be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments on the Intrust Super Cup Facebook page.
