The complete top 50 list: Group 10's best players from the last 25 years

If I had a dollar for every time I'd heard that in the last week than I'd be sitting pretty somewhere in the Whitsundays sipping on a cocktail rather than bracing for another Orange winter, but here we are ... new beanie firmly in hand.

Those icy cold Sundays on the sidelines though, they boast some perks.

It has been a genuine pleasure to watch, cover and officiate some of Group 10's best players over the course of the last 25 years.

From Mick Sullivan's iconic era at CYMS to the old Workies-Panthers rivalry of the mid-2000s. The simply insane end to the 2009 Group 10 grand final in Mudgee (oh Terry, we won't forget) and the incredible impact big, bad Chris Bamford had in Orange in 2017.

Then there's Mudgee's run of five-straight grand final appearances from the turn of the century, Hawks' incredible effort in 1999, Panthers' resurgence under Doug Hewitt in 2018 and 2019 and an emotional St Pat's premiership win in 2008.

Let's not forget stunning comeback grand final wins by Hawks in 2003 and Mudgee in 2016, too.

Those mini-flashbacks are, really, just scratching the surface when we look back at memorable moments across Group 10 over the last 25 years, too.

And those who influenced those moments helped form the bulk of our Top 50 players in Group 10.

A top 10 of Elvy, Maranda, Sullivan, Colley, Van Veen, Osborne, Forbes, Gregory, McAlpine and the great William 'Bubba' Kennedy was fairly easy to come up with.

But I copped a bit of grief about the order ... and leaving old Bubba at No.8.

A genuine legend of not just Group 10 but Country Rugby League as a whole, Kennedy has been a vital part of premiership winning sides at three different clubs.

Not many can boast that.

On top of premierships, Kennedy's try-scoring ability made him as lethal as any player in the bush for almost two decades. So much as, without any official count ever taking place, it's almost safe to say Bubba has scored around the 350 tries make. An insane number.

But when you play for over 20 years and cross the stripe at will, you get up around that figure. And that is rarefied air.

So why not higher, if not at No.1?

In my mind, if you're building a side from scratch there's two areas you need to fill to be successful in the bush.

Props and halves.

Front-rowers are golden in country footy. Good ones win you games, great ones win you premierships.

There's a great line from legendary coach that was once asked how many props do you need in your squad? His response: 'Two to start, two on the bench and two suspended'.

You can't have enough. And, largely, the madder the better.

And then there's halves. The best run out in a dinner suit and come off looking exactly the same. They win the big moments. Guide the team around the park. And, invariably, lead the team to victory.

It's why messrs Sullivan and Colley, and the 10 premierships those players share make up the top two.

It's why Osborne, arguably the best big man to play in Group 10 in the last two decades, is at three and why Gregory, a mainstay for Mudgee in the early part of the 2000s, is at four.

Why Jono Van Veen and Ben McAlpine, two of the best No.6s we've seen who could also claim to be two of the best fullbacks in the last era, make the top six and then why Kip Maranda, the toughest prop in the toughest team to come out of Lithgow, makes it in at 7.

Then, and only then, is there a spot for the best outside back in the Group over the course of the last 25 years - Bubba Kennedy.

Of course, a number of other legends were left off the list all together. Not everyone could fit in. It was a tough process. A great one to nut out though, and the support we've enjoyed on the back of the countdown has been immense.

If you think there's a glaring omission, send in a letter to the editor: nick.mcgrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au

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