Before we get into the wingers, I want to thank the TCT community for the feedback and terrific engagement on the Fullbacks piece.
I will just single out one piece of feedback for special attention. To my old friend Josh McKenzie, despite our 30 years of friendship, I could not in good conscience include your old man, Steve, in the list. He will forever hold a valued place in Eels history with his important role as fullback in our club’s first ever premiership in 1981. However, his tenure as fullback at Parra was just too brief.
So, after my first article covered off the Fullbacks, let’s talk about the greatest Parramatta wingers of the last 50 years.
Winger is arguably the most exciting position on the field. They are the try scorers, the flyers, the speedsters, the flanks.
I suspect that most people will be able to guess who the top two will be but there may be some conjecture over which order they should sit in.
The club has had some phenomenal wingers in the last 50 years, with a number of freakish try scorers and representative players.
There are a lot of players who I found difficult to separate. So, let’s find out who made the cut!
Honourable Mentions
*Maika Sivo
Do I feel great about this honourable mention? Not entirely.
Scoring 104 tries in 115 appearances for the club meant that I couldn’t in good conscience leave Maika off this list. When comparing him to other solid contenders such as Michael Erickson or Graeme Atkins (not Scott Donald & Bureta Faraimo as one of my friends cheekily suggested the Parra greatest wingers list would be a shootout between), it’s impossible to ignore the sheer weight of tries and Maika’s ability to finish.
Sivo, Sivo, Sivo
For someone with such an incredible try scoring strike rate it may feel unfair for me to hesitate to even give Sivo an honourable mention.
The reason for my hesitation is that Sivo’s Parramatta career can almost be split into two distinct parts.
When he burst onto the scene in 2019, it appeared as though Parramatta had managed to unearth another Semi Radradra. Fast, powerful and with an incredible fend, Sivo scored tries for fun and terrorized opposition defences in his first few years.
Sadly, he was never the same player following an ACL injury in 2021 and despite still being an effective try scorer and finisher, he was often criticized for being too slow, not running with enough energy and making poor decisions in defence.
Overall, the body of work is good enough to rate an ‘Honourable Mention’ here but there was a time when it appeared as though he would go down as an all-time great.
While speaking of Maika, on behalf of TCT, we wish Maika a quick recovery following the unfortunate news that he has injured his ACL and will miss the 2025 Super League season for Leeds.
* Neil Hunt
Hunt & his hair
Neil Hunt was an excellent complementary piece to what was arguably the greatest club football backline in history.
In fact, his NSW Origin debut was memorable as the backline featured six Parramatta players, with the only exception being Marty Gurr of the Roosters at fullback (a match which NSW of course won, 10-6).
However, to limit Hunt’s impact to just being a finisher on the end of an all time great backline would be unfair.
He was the club rookie of the year in 1979, played two Origin games for NSW and was part of a premiership winning team in 1982 (sadly missing out on the 83 GF due to injury).
* Eric Grothe Jnr
Although at times it felt as though he walked in his father’s shadow (particularly early in his career), Eric Jnr was a brilliant player in his own right.
Guru the Younger
A match turning and blockbusting winger, the similarities with his Dad were considerable. Although he lacked the glorious flowing mane and beard, he was a winger in the same mould.
Built like a train and deceptively quick, he was a tackle breaking winger who could, as is needed in the modern game, make the tough metres from the back.
Eric burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old before an unfortunate knee injury derailed the early part of his career. After an unremarkable stint at the Roosters, Grothe returned to Parramatta and finally reached his potential.
In 1995 he was a key component of the minor premiership winning Eels team and went on to represent Australia and NSW. The 2005 season also saw his crowning individual achievement, winning the Dally M winger of the year award.
Much like his Dad, if it weren’t for injuries, Eric’s career could’ve been even more impressive than it already was. As it is, he is still one of the finest Parramatta wingers of all time.
* Neville Glover
Given that Neville Glover rose to the heights of playing for NSW and Australia, I agonised over whether to include Neville Glover in my top three.
As a 20-year-old, “Nifty” was a key component of the 1975 team which triggered the emergence of the club from the darker times of their first 25-30 years of existence.
Nifty
From 1975 onwards, the ‘What’s the matter, Parramatta?’ tagline became forgotten as the club went on to make 7 grand finals in 11 seasons. Glover was a valuable member of this side, with his explosive pace complementing the likes of new recruit, Mick Cronin, in the centres.
A gradual loss in form and the emergence of Eric Grothe and Graeme Atkins meant that unfortunately Glover was not in the drought breaking first grade premiership winning team against Newtown in 1981.
Sadly, the stigma of a key dropped pass in the 1976 Grand Final is how many fans remember Neville. However, this is unfair for a great servant to the club, a player who was instrumental in many match winning moments, and a winger who could bring the crowd to its feet with his evasiveness and that signature goose step.
Third Place: Luke Burt
Years at Parramatta: 1999-2012
1st Grade games for Parramatta at the position: 133
Premierships: 0
Representative Games: NSW Country Origin x 1, Australian PM 13 x 1
Personal Honours: 2002, 2007 Jack Gibson Coaches Award, 1999 Eric Grothe Award (Eels Rookie of the Year)
Following the Fullback review, there were some understandable question raised by some readers as to why Luke Burt didn’t feature in the list. Given Burt played more than half of his 264 first grade games on the wing, he had to be considered primarily to be competing for a wing spot in these listings.
Burt with Hindy
Burt was an able deputy at fullback, but I remembered him best as a nippy, speedy and crafty winger. He was also as safe as houses and incredibly reliable.
From the time he made his debut as a 17-year-old in front of over 100,000 fans at Homebush in the 1999 double header season opener, Burt provided over a decade of excellent service for the club.
Burt was the ultimate pro, turning up week in and week out for the club, rarely turning in bad performance. As his electric pace faded in his later years, he was able to continue to contribute at a high level through his rugby league IQ and game awareness.
Like many of his contemporaries, Burt narrowly missed out on a premiership after being part of the 2001 & 2009 Grand final losses as well as playing in four losing preliminary final teams.
On top of all his team success, Burt also holds the record for most first grade tries, sits 5th for most first grade games played and 2nd for most points scored for the club.
To top it all off, his farewell game in 2012 was shared with Nathan Hindmarsh. As always, the ultimate complementary piece.
Second Place: Semi Radradra
Years at Parramatta: 2013-2017
1st Grade games for Parramatta at the position: 94
Premierships: 0
Representative Games: 4 x Fiji, 1 x World All Stars, 1 x Australia
Personal Honours: 2 x Dally M Winger of the year (2014, 2015)
The list for most tries in a single season for Parramatta contains Semi Radradra in two of the top three entries. His 24 tries in 2015 still stands as the most tries scored in a season for the club.
Semi taking off
While his compatriot, Maika Sivo, will go down as one of the great finishers the club has seen, Radradra (who had a similar try scoring strike rate), was so much more than that.
The ‘Semi-Trailer’ as he was occasionally known, was the best winger in the game during his time in the NRL, something which was recognized by being awarded the Dally M winger of the year award in 2014 & 2015.
Modern wingers can typically be broken down into two baskets; 1) Strong ball runners from the back who get the attacking set off to a strong start or 2) Elite finishers who can dazzle on the wings with their pace and finish tries. Semi was both and more.
In my time watching the game, I would be hard pressed to think of a player more capable of creating something out of nothing. His four try effort against Brisbane in 2017 was reminiscent of Brett Mullins’s golden period in 1994 where he seemingly scored tries from anywhere.
Long range tries, close range tries, Semi was the ultimate deterrent to any opposition player looking to kick to his corner.
Semi was to some people controversially picked to play for Australia in 2016 based on residency grounds. However, nobody could argue that he didn’t deserve this honour based on performance.
Sadly, Semi chose to end his time with Parramatta after the 2017 season and pursued a lucrative contract in French Rugby.
While I can’t begrudge him maximizing his earning potential during his career, it is unfortunate that we never got to see the rest of his career play out in Rugby League. If he had maintained his early trajectory, he had a chance to be considered one of the great players of all time.
His comparatively short tenure with the club is one reason why he was beaten to the number one spot on this list by the next player to be listed.
First Place: Eric Grothe Snr
Years at Parramatta: 1979-1989
1st Grade games for Parramatta at the position: 131
Premierships: 4
Representative Games: 5 x City Origin, 9 x NSW Origin, 8 x Australia
Personal Honours: Eels Rookie of the Year, NRL Hall of Fame, Eels Hall of Fame
It’s ironic that longevity at the club has pushed Eric Grothe ahead of Semi Radradra on this list given that most Parramatta fans would lament that injuries limited the career of the man affectionately known as Guru.
Guru takes on the Dogs
Tall, fast, powerful and with arguably the best fend in the history of the game, Grothe is widely considered to have been one of the greatest wingers the game has seen when at the peak of his powers.
For the first half of his career, his resume was such that he could lay claim to being the greatest winger of all time (not just at Parramatta). Sadly, a series of knee injuries hampered him for the last few years of his career and robbed not just Parramatta fans but indeed the rest of the league, of the chance to watch an incredible talent reach his full potential.
Like the “Semi Trailer”, the “Guru” could score a try from anywhere and looked almost like a cheat code on the field. His career was filled with spectacular tries but perhaps none better than his effort in the 1983 Major Preliminary Semi Final against Canterbury where he beat six defenders to dive over with Steve Mortimer clinging to his ankles, in a scarcely believable run.
No mean feat against an excellent defensive Canterbury side which would contest the 1984, 85 and 86 grand finals and not concede more than six points in any of those games.
Grothe wasn’t just an attacking weapon, he was also an underrated defender. His size relative to other wingers of the era meant that he was able to crunch his opposite number in defence. His great speed also allowed him to be an excellent cover defender and there are several examples of him coming from the clouds to mow down opposition speedsters.
A legend of the game, Eric Grothe belongs not just at the top of my list for Parramatta’s greatest ever winger, but I would argue is also the greatest winger to have ever played the game.
Chris Ricketts
The order and choice of wingers, is spot on.
It is. Great analysis and justification.
Yeh! I reckon you got it right with the top 2 and as you say, circumstances could have made either of them the greatest ever…… I like and take your point that Eric was the best ever.
Semi is just a great shame that he was badly treated by Mal Meninga when he was chosen to play for Australia and the domestic violence issue that he was completely cleared of was used as a leverage against him being not selected again.
Unfortunately social media was also unkind to him during this period, and some so called Parra supporters saw him as singularly greedy when he left us.
I can remember the story of his depression issues when BA found him sleeping on a bench one morning rather than going home the previous night.
Parramatta finds/found themselves in a unique position with our two top wingers. Eric’s knee injuries and the fact that when Semi went to Union he was legitimately classed as the greatest Rugby player in the world, in both codes!
Hayne maybe the greatest individual talent we have seen but I suspect that Semi was at least his equal.
Final point Neville Glover was the next best with daylight 4th. People do not realise how good a winger he was. He was rated a certainty to score “that try” but I was there directly behind him and the task was only a certainty if Nifty caught it because he had so much ability to get round a player. i.e. I would have backed him to score the try, because he was that good, anyone else it was no certainty.
Well said Poppa. As someone who saw a lot of Nifty, I put him in my top 3.
Sorry gents, mea culpa here, I probably showed my age by having Burt ahead of Nifty. A little bit of the reason was that Burty did it for 13 years. That said, happy to defer to the wisdom of those who have been watching the club far longer than i have!
Moran should if gone himself. I’m sure he would of scored
I agree that Moran probably scores himself. If you rewatch it , Moran is almost at the tryline when he passes it to Neville under pressure. He was just being a good centre passing to his winger but if he goes for the line I think je scores. Honourable mentions from me for Jim Porter, Owen Stephens (Irvine was too early for this blog)
Moran was about to get absolutely smashed by Steve Norton who was right on him as he caught the ball.
It’s why in my opinion Morgan’s pass did not his Nev on the chest.
Norton then did amazingly well to go further across and put pressure on Glover
Spot on with all 3 wingers in my estimation. Imagine both Grothe Snr and Semi together along with Hayne in the 1981-6 teams and how they would have gone. Unbeatable in my mind. Good selections so far 10/10.
Can’t argue with those choices although I’d like to think that Jimmy Porter was amongst your considerations. He was a fine winger.
He does sneak into the 50 years Trapped. Excellent call.
Top 2 is spot on. I like Fergo also and would put him in the top 8 wingers. Honourable mention to Mick Delroy for playing an entire gf concussed.
Also Danny Crncovic was also a fan fav and should get a mention. fb/winger. Was a try scoring genius coming through the grades. His feet were that quick, they seemed invisible to the naked eye lol 😆 🤣
I would have loved to have included Danny Crnkovich in this list. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him play in those early 90s teams. That jitterbug step of his was exceptional.
Fabulous reminder of the wonderful wingers who have worn the blue and gold. What a great history our club has. It makes me swell with pride to be a supporter of this club.
No arguments as to the top three: I for one can’t split Semi and Eric. Like Burt was an outstanding goal kicker and did an outstanding job coaching one of our junior teams; I would have liked to see him continue as a part of our coaching team
Eric and Semi had a lot of similarities as players. We were blessed as fans to watch them both play for our club. Very difficult to split.
The Guru by the length of the straight. Scored crucial tries in semis and gf to win us titles. And my old mate Arch Brown ,before the seventies but didn’t he get the Cumberland faithful on their feet.
Prometheus, I’m old enough to remember Arch Brown being an Eel but not old enough to remember him as a player.
Arch was good and an expert at the 50 metre cross field dash. Could also miss a goal from in front of the posts.
You have to remember that Semi played in some extremely ordinary teams whereas Guru did not. Scored tries that mere mortals couldn’t, like beating the entire Souths team with one of his extraordinary efforts.
Ahhh, the Guru. Spotted him early in an Under 23 game v North Sydneyat Cumberland. I don’t usually feel sorry for blokes in the opposition in normal run of play, but that day his opposing winger looked like an Under 10 player. Grothe both ran around him or through him for most of the game and he went on to show it wasn’t any fluke at all levels. Interestingly, same game Neil Hunt showed his brilliant stepping which unfortunately got restricted by bad knee injuries. And yes, Semi was a gun who just kept on surprising with his ability.
I recall Rex Mossop calling a Parra game.
He said he’d watch a lower grade match and the Parra winger would play for Australia.
He was referring to Guru.
I said the same to my Dad after watching him in third grade/under 23s or whatever it was when he was first graded. He was that extraordinary.
A little bit of background, it was u23’s in a major semifinal against St George at the SCG, the year we played Manly in the elimination final. I think Parra were in all 3 grades that day.
Grothe must have just come through the juniors because he was in a reserves list as long as your arm in that u/23 game. No one had heard of him before (the unwashed anyway).
That year there had been nothing between our u/23s and St George, everyone knew that game would go to its death down to the line.
Sure, enough at half time it was something like 3 all with not a struck match between them.
Second half starts and we didn’t even notice this bloke that came onto the left wing for Parra.
The halftime resumption came on and I swear it was only two minutes into it and this left-wing guy goes down the sideline knocking blokes over like 9 pins and then sprinting the last 50 metres for the try.
We all went to our programmes trying to figure who this guy was, some guy called Grothe….. shit where did we get this guy…..everyone shruggs shoulders, by the way we were in the “Old Bob Stand” on halfway opposite side of the field but the right side to see this “left winger”
Bugger me dead only another 5 minutes passed, and this bloke does it again, it was like watching a replay!
At this point the St George guys did not know what hit them and Parra started to run riot! BUT with the game well and truly won, Eric Grothe, we started our own chant, now got the ball on his 25 and went the length for his 3rd try and all in one half!…… shit who is this guy?..Terry Fearnley kept him u/23’s for the best part of the next season and it was just a case of give the ball to Eric, he was so fast he could run around before the cover defence came across, he literally could run from one side of the field (wing) to the other wing and lap them.
Of course in those days he had 2 legs, most of his senior football he played on one leg!
Final story, Brett Kenny who everyone knows is no “slouch” tells the story of being in a practice match at Cumberland and taking an intercept 25 out from the scoreline……Eric gave him 5 metres start, and Kenny says he picked him up before he got to within 10 metres of the line.
Yes, he was that good and that quick, he had all the skills and yes, we are talking about arguably the greatest winger the game has seen.
Nobody to this day knows how quick Eric could have been, professional sprint coaches could not believe how quick he was, and he never trained for speed, it was all natural.
1977 if it was all three grades.
I was there that day with my schoolmates from Fairfield Pats when we drew with St George in the firsts.
That U23 side had about 10 ex Fairfield players in it.
Another great article Chris. In my opinion once again spot on with the rankings.
Thanks Archie!
Does anyone remember Owen Stevens he had the perfect sleight of hand for a winger. From the Seventies – he confused Paul Sait in game against Souths and he was so angry he threatened the sideline photographer.
As for the three nominations – it is hard to past them. Semi and Eric – if Semi had stayed he would have left Eric in his wake. Eric was all power but Semi was more than that. He could score them from anywhere. It was an Eels tragedy we lost him because of lies. Losing Hayne and Semi at the same time crucified the Eels. Good report with some great flashback memories. Glover – I might have been near Poppa that day and watched in despair when he spilled the ball. It was almost unforgiving especially against that hated team. The thing is Lazy Moran could have scored the try himself but he passed it. Them the breaks.
Glover got a bad rap for dropping that pass on the GF against Manly
It hit him high, shoulder high and was slightly behind him. It would have been an outstanding effort to hold it. It’s remembered simply because of the situation it happened in.
I agree that Owen Stevens was excellent, remarkable acceleration. He had leg injuries that restricted his appearances.
Yes, Owen was a favourite player for me too. His four tries against Souths being a standout in his brief time at Parra.
I was at that game where he scored 4 tries. I think we still lost the game.
Those four tries Owen scored against Souths was on debut. He previously played Rugby for both NZ and Australia and had blistering speed. Could step off both feet quickfire. Starred during our end of season run in 1975. Always one of my favourite players. Once saw him run 40 metres outpacing all the Easts backs and Ron Coote in pusuit.
Agree, Guru was the best ever, with Semi not far behind. Nifty & Jimmy Porter were great as well
I’m liking the references to Jimmy Porter. He was great at competing for John Peard’s bombs. And what a blast from the past with the Pomponio name. The lower grade crowd pleaser of Cumberland Oval.
Goulio, you made the same impression as Guru when you were coming through the grades. Cruelled by injury but yiu were a star in the making mate. Thanks for the memories
I remember guilio being a crowd favourite at Cumberland oval in the lower grades
Asked how fast Eric was, Jack Gibson said something along the line ofthat he’d never seen him flat out, he only runs as fast as he has to
I watched every home game for years and what sticks in my mind is the opposition left winger racing up the sideline looking for all money that he’d score only to be smashed by the Guru about 5 metres out.
Eric running the diagonal, being longer and still getting there.
He was fast, big and strong and the best winger I have ever seen.
Semi comes close but I’d never drop him to accommodate any other winger.
Darryl, some of Eric’s chase and tackles were as memorable as his tries. Before we interviewed him I asked him about his tackle on Ron Coote during a reserve grade game when he was climbing the ranks. I thought he might not remember it but he instantly gave me the back story to that day. I won’t go over his anecdote here, but it was interesting that one of my strongest memories was a Reggie’s game and he could provide such detail behind it.
What a great list and no arguments from me with the rankings.
I never saw the Guru play live but I remember him well from watching the games on TV. That try against the Bulldogs was something else.
But I did see Burty, Guru Jr, Semi and Maika play. I don’t have a stand out try for Burt that comes to mind (though im sure someone will jog my memory) but I was there when Guru Jr scored in the second half of the 2009 GF and how did the crowd roar. Despite the result it is still a great memory.
Parra stadium in 2014 against Manly. Manly 12-0 and then Sandow is disallowed a try. I swear the whole stadium turned their ire at the call on the Manly team. The crowd helped turn the game. The atmosphere was incredible. Then Semi takes the ball from a bomb just a few metres out from the Para try line and the proceeds to run around, through and away from the Manly team for a 93 metre try. The crowd in raptures.
As for Maika, the game against the Storm in 2021 at Parramatta. The rain was torrential (the drive to the stadium was something else) yet with the scores locked at 12 all in the 76th minute Maika leaps high over Jennings from a Moses kick to win the game. And I am sad to hear that Maika has done his ACL in a pre-season game in England. It is a cruel injury.
I agree with the top 2 rankings but I would have to place Nifty as number 3 due to his explosive power and the difficulty it was to tackle him – as Harry Bath explained in an interview after a Parra game in which Nifty ran riot “he’s all flailing arms and legs” which was in reference to his unusual running style. As for the Guru, not enough has been said about his cover defence. I remember him bringing down a runaway Colin Scott in the ‘81 Origin match at Lang Park, just before the try line….and Chris Close “whacking” him to release Scott so they could score. That and many other transgressions, not in the spirit of the game continues to fuel my hate for anything maroon.
Always convinced that Moran would have definitely have scored in the GF in 1976 if he had tucked the ball under his arm and crashed over. I was at the SCG that day standing on a milk crate.Nifty could have been spared 50 years of shame.
He was a great player anyway and we only list because of scrum penalties.
Boy we’ve had some terrific wingers but Guru is the king by a mile.
I hope we can look back in a few years and remember JAC as one of greatest wingers.
Fantastic series of articles Chris. Thank you.
If you need a reminder of Guru’s cover defence, watch Vossy’s Awesome’80’s on Fox /Kayo Bulldogs and Eels episode. He features the 85 semi final V Panthers and there’s 2 cracking examples