JT names top five halfbacks he's ever seen

Potential Immortal Johnathan Thurston has named the top five halfbacks he's seen, headed by Andrew Johns.

Thurston named Newcastle icon Johns, Broncos legend Allan Langer, Raiders champion Ricky Stuart, Warriors general Stacey Jones and Storm-Roosters great Cooper Cronk as his top five for Wide World of Sports. They are not placed in order.

Johns is already an Immortal, while Langer, Stuart and Cronk all won several premierships on top of myriad individual and representative honours.

Jones is a slight outlier; a wonderful player who perhaps earned more recognition among fellow players than from the general public. He led the Warriors to the 2002 grand final and was a mainstay of the New Zealand Test team, without racking up personal accolades like his peers.

"Obviously I didn't get the chance to watch Sterlo play in the 80s, or Tommy Raudonikis. I know a few people hold those two blokes in high regard on the football field," Thurston said on Story Time.

"The blokes that I've gone with are people that I've watches through the 90s and the 2000s. It's a fair list there."

Thurston himself was named the greatest player of the NRL era in a recent fan poll on Wide World of Sports, pipping Johns and hooker Cameron Smith.

Both Smith and Thurston are hotly tipped to join Johns in the Immortals club in coming years. Both must first be inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame, which requires a five-year cooling off period after a player's retirement.

ANDREW JOHNS

RECORD: 249 games (80 tries), 23 Origins (4 tries), 23 Tests (9 tries); 2x premiership (1997 ARL, 2001), Clive Churchill Medal (2001), 3x Dally M Medal 1998, 1999, 2002), 4x Dally M Halfback of the Year (1995, 1998, 19999, 2002), Dally M Representative Player of the Year (2005), 2x Golden Boot Award (1999, 2001), Immortal (2012).

ALLAN LANGER

RECORD: 259 games (100 tries), 34 Origins (10 tries), 24 Tests (5 tries); 4x premierships (1992, 1993, 1997 Super League, 1998), Clive Churchill Medal (1992), Dally M Medal (1996), Rothmans Medal (1992), 3x Dally M Halfback of the Year (1988, 1994, 1996), 2x Dally M Representative Player of the Year (1991, 1998).

RICKY STUART

RECORD: 243 games (41 tries), 14 Origins (3 tries), 9 Tests (1 try); 3x premiership (1989, 1990, 1994), Clive Churchill Medal (1990), Dally M Medal (1993), Rothmans Medal (1993), 2x Dally M Halfback of the Year (1990, 1993).

STACEY JONES

RECORD: 261 games (77 tries), 46 Tests (16 tries); Golden Boot Award (2002).

COOPER CRONK

RECORD: 372 games (101 tries), 22 Origins (3 tries), 38 Tests (16 tries); 4x premiership (2012, 2017, 2018, 2019), Clive Churchill Medal (2012), 2x Dally M Medal (2013, 2016), 5x Dally M Halfback of the Year (2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016), Golden Boot Award (2016).

from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/johnathan-thurston-top-five-halfbacks-johns-langer-stuart-jones-cronk/85727045-f72d-43b5-a1cc-08be0526654e