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NRL Team of the Decade: Legends choose best of the best

With the decade about to come to an end, NRL.com assembled an all-star judging panel to determine the best team of the past 10 years and heavyweights Melbourne and the Roosters have dominated.

Both sides won two premierships during the decade - Roosters 2018 and 2013, Storm 2017 and 2012 - and produced an array of the game's finest players who shone at Test, Origin and club level.

The Storm's 'Big Three' Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk all got the nod from a judging panel which included Immortals Mal Meninga, Andrew Johns, Wally Lewis and Bob Fulton.

The other benchmark side of the 2010s, the Sydney Roosters, have premiership captain Boyd Cordner, dual international Sonny Bill Williams, tryscoring machine Brett Morris and champion halfback Cronk in the all-star 17.

Players who played at more than one club across the decade - including Cronk, Morris and Greg Inglis - are counted as a representative of each of those clubs.

Premiership-winning coaches Phil Gould, Craig Bellamy, Trent Robinson and Ricky Stuart were also part of the panel along with Hall of Famers Peter Sterling, Darren Lockyer, Danny Buderus and Laurie Daley.

Unveiling the NRL Team of the Decade

The Team of The Decade 2010-19

The Team of the Decade 2nd XVII

NB: Michael Morgan named at hooker in 2nd XVII after Cameron Smith was unanimously chosen in Team of the Decade. Of all the players who received votes Morgan was the only one who has played dummy half at the top level. James Maloney named at halfback in 2nd XVII after polling votes as a bench player and also a starter.

 

See the squads chosen by all 23 legends

The Tally of Votes

 

VOTES PLAYER
23 GREG INGLIS
  CAMERON SMITH
  JOHNATHAN THURSTON
22 BILLY SLATER
  SAM BURGESS
  JASON TAUMALOLO
21 COOPER CRONK
20 MATT SCOTT
17 PAUL GALLEN
16 JESSE BROMWICH
15 BOYD CORDNER
  SONNY BILL WILLIAMS
11 JARRYD HAYNE
10 JUSTIN HODGES
9 BRETT MORRIS
  LUKE LEWIS
  JAMIE LYON
8 SEMI RADRADRA
  JAMES TEDESCO
7 JAMES GRAHAM
  WADE GRAHAM
  CAMERON MUNSTER
  JARED WAEREA-HARGREAVES
4 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK
  VALENTINE HOLMES
  TOM TRBOJEVIC
3 ANDREW FIFITA
  SAM THAIDAY
  COREY PARKER
  JAKE TRBOJEVIC
2 GLENN STEWART
  ANTHONY WATMOUGH
  DAVID KLEMMER
  JAMES MALONEY
  LATRELL MITCHELL
  WILL CHAMBERS
  JOSH ADDO-CARR
  MANU VATUVEI
  JORDAN RAPANA
1 TYSON FRIZELL
  KIERAN FORAN
  BEN TE'O
  JOSH PAPALII
  JOSH MCGUIRE
  DALY CHERRY-EVANS
  BENJI MARSHALL
  MICHAEL MORGAN
  MATT GILLETT
  DANE GAGAI
  PETERO CIVONICEVA
  DARREN LOCKYER
  FELISE KAUFUSI
  COREY OATES
  DARIUS BOYD
  SUILASI VUNIVALU
  SIMON MANNERING
  STEVE MATAI

 

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the NRL, ARLC, NRL clubs or state associations.

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