Top 50 Super League players (36-40)

Part III of my top 50 Super League players begins with the Magic Man, a player who inspired New Zealand in ending Australia's domination in the 2004 Tri-Nations series and gave hope to his adopted country, France and the Catalans Dragons ...

36. STACEY JONES: No player has haunted Great Britain the past decade more than the former New Zealand scrum half maestro with the magical feet and daring vision. From a personal view, he went to Catalans to get away from it all, walk the streets unmolested and enjoy his footy. Famous in Perpignan for not even having a phone. But through his presence and brilliance on the field, Jones became as well known in Perpignan as he was in Auckland and was the pivotal figure in the Dragons' first two years, culminating in last year's Challenge Cup final appearance. In many respects, he paved the way for league success this year.

37. BRIAN CARNEY: Gaelic Footballer from Cork plucked from obscurity and his law degree studies in Dublin, who not only made the Super League grade with Gateshead, Hull and Wigan, but went on to play with distinction for Great Britain and Newcastle Knights in the NRL. Carney is a great story by any stretch of the imagination and he was one heck of a player, with pace to burn. Not many players can step into Jason Robinson's boots and more than hold their own, but Carney succeeded in doing just that. He had hamstring like piano wires, but when they weren't playing him up, Carney was a joy to watch in full flight.

38. PAUL ANDERSON: Twenty stones of twinkle-toed muscle. For a huge man, Anderson was incredibly nimble on his feet. It was not uncommon for him to swat off a couple of tacklers and side step another two to go under the posts. Only injuries and illness laid the Halifax giant low. There was subtlety to his power and he collected a stack of medals, winning three Super League titles with Bradford and another with St Helens, with whom he enjoyed an Indian summer, before moving on to the coaching staff at Huddersfield.

39. DAVID FAIRLEIGH: There are a stack of fine Australian forwards holding out for a spot in the top 40  - David Furner, Marc Glanville, Jim Dymock, Danny Nutley , to name just a few - but the square-jawed Fairleigh gets my vote. He played only one season for St Helens - 2001 - but what a season. "I was like a Canadian Mountie after him - they always get their man," Saints coach Ian Millward said. A huge, intimidating presence in the St Helens front row, whose impact was immediately felt in Saints' opening World Club Challenge defeat of Brisbane. A player who came with a big reputation and left with an bigger one.

40. TEVITA VAIKONA: He arrived wide-eyed in Hull from a tiny island in Tonga, nearly froze to death and hated the food. But he quickly established himself as a folk hero on Humberside and a legend at Bradford from 1998-2004, for whom he touched down 89 times in 145 appearances. With Vaikona on one flank and Lesley Vainikolo on the other, Bradford had two wingmen whose "Tonglish" confused their team-mates as much as their devastating running left defences scratching their heads. And when it came to hair-dos, the pair loved to outdo each other. An accountant by trade; he was some bean counter ...

See on the blog tomorrow numbers 31-35 on the top 50 list.

PICTURES BY ANDREW VARLEY AGENCY

Comments

[Milly]

Brian Carney only no 37. The guy was a magician who could pull a ball from thin air and could escape from 4,5,6,7 tacklers on his day. Loved watching him play and wish we had an English winger with half his talent.