Six Tackles: Super League Wingers of 2017
Here at Love Rugby League, we have picked out six of the stand-out wingers in the Betfred Super League this season.
Greg Eden (Castleford Tigers)
What a return season to Super League it has been for Greg Eden. He probably couldn’t of a dreamt a better scenario as to how this year has gone for him. Eden has played a vital role in Castleford’s success this season and helped them win the League Leaders’ Shield. The son of former Castleford, Wakefield and Halifax player Phil Eden is the league’s leading tryscorer, with 38 tries in 27 Super League games for the Tigers this year and is surely going to be on the England plane going to the World Cup later this year.
Tom Davies (Wigan Warriors)
Tom Davies joined the Warriors Academy as a trialist in 2015 and made his first team debut just 18 months later. The flyer has scored 14 tries in 24 games for Wigan this year but try scoring that is his best attribute. Instead, it’s his work rate. Davies’ work in getting Wigan out of yardage is quite impressive and he even broke the Super League record set by James Roby for VO2 training in the off-season. Davies is fifth top metre maker in the league, with St Helens’ Alex Walmsley topping the chat with 4,256 metres made while Davies has made 3,359. However, Walmsley has played seven more games than Davies. It looks to be a promising career for the winger.
Mahe Fonua (Hull FC)
Alongside Eden, Mahe Fonua was named in the Betfred 2017 Super League Dream Team and rightly so. The blockbusting winger is known for troubling defences with his frame and powerful carries but he has also got 11 tries in Super League as well. The Tonga international will join NRL side Wests Tigers in the off-season but he has won the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup with Hull FC this year and could still win the Grand Final. The 24-year-old has had a fantastic two years in England and Rugby League fans will be sad not to see him in Super League next season.
Regan Grace (St Helens)
Like Davies, it has been a magnificent debut season for Regan Grace. He is the type of player who gets fans out of their seats in games with some blistering runs and he works hard for his side. Grace, who is the brother of Reality TV star Lateysha Grace, has scored 10 times in 22 Super League appearances in 2017 and has 66 tackle busts to his name. A product of the Saints Academy, Grace has really flourished under Justin Holbrook. The 20-year-old has been the poster boy of Wales’ marketing campaign for the World Cup and it will be interesting to see how he handles the international stage.
Joe Burgess (Wigan Warriors)
Joe Burgess re-signed for Wigan Warriors ahead of the 2017 season after spending time in the NRL with Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs respectively. The speedster has crossed the whitewash 18 times in 22 Super League matches, putting him seventh in the tryscoring chart while he has also got seven assists. He has been a stand-out player for the Warriors this season and is very reliable under a high ball. Burgess is expected to be included in England squad for the World Cup but he plays on the same wing as Eden so it could cause a healthy selection headache for Wayne Bennett.
Ben Jones-Bishop (Wakefield Trinity)
It was a tough choice between Ben Jones-Bishop and Mason Caton-Brown for the spot but the former just edges it. Jones-Bishop had huge potential when he was a youngster at Leeds Rhinos but this has been his best season to date. Your eyes are drawn to him every time he picks up the ball because you never know what he is going to do with it. He undoubtedly one of the fastest wingers in the world and his pace has seen him go over for 20 tries this season in 27 Super League starts and he has made 30 clean breaks. He might not make the England squad for the World Cup but he has played a big part in Wakefield’s season nonetheless.