bones
Bones Knows
Glenn Jackson
SMH
Most would say it is difficult to put a figure on a player's value. But in the case of Manly's Brett Stewart, you can - the Sea Eagles have been an 18-point better side since his return.
The remarkable statistic, which shows Stewart's worth, drew high praise from Manly Immortal Bob Fulton - the player the fullback surpassed in the club's all-time try-scoring list on Sunday - who described Stewart as a ''really special player''.
It has become quite easy to see why. While he was sidelined with a back injury, the Sea Eagles won one from five, and averaged 15.2 points a game during that period. Since his return against Sydney Roosters in round 16, they have averaged 33.5 points a game - culminating in Stewart's one try and three try-assists against Gold Coast at Brookvale Oval. The side has averaged more than 18 points a game more since his return than they did without him.
Advertisement
Not only does he score them - his try on Sunday gave him 130 tries from 171 appearances (as well as 69 tries from 74 appearances at Brookvale Oval) - he can set them up too. His three assists took him to 76 in that category over his career too.
''Everyone looks at his try-scoring, but his strike rate at throwing the last pass for a try is phenomenal,'' Fulton said on Monday. ''When he was out for five weeks, they won one game, they drew one, and they lost three. They won one out of five.
''He has so much influence on that side. Obviously you have players like Daly Cherry-Evans, Jamie Lyon, Kieran Foran and his brother Glenn. But Brett's the trigger. He drags everyone along with him. He's a really special player. He's already one of the greats of the club, in my opinion, given what he's done.''
Over Stewart's career, Manly's ability to win drops markedly when the fullback is not playing. The club has had a 66 per cent winning record (113 wins from 171 matches) with Stewart in the side, but that figure is 42 per cent without him (37 from 89).
This season, they have won nine from 12 with him (75 per cent) and one from five (20 per cent) without him, even with so much talent elsewhere in the squad.
Fulton stopped short of saying the Sea Eagles could not win the premiership without Stewart, but did admit: ''Given the stats, it would be very difficult.''
Now Stewart sits only behind Steve Menzies in the list of Manly's all-time greatest try-scorers. But Menzies scored his 151 tries over 280 matches. Stewart's real success is in his strike rate.
The 28-year-old has the best try-scoring strike rate of any current player (to have scored more than 100 tries), and in fact is the best in that department since St George Illawarra's Nathan Blacklock, who scored 121 tries in 142 matches (for a strike rate of 85.2 per cent).
He sits in 13th place on the all-time list of try-scoring strike rates, below legends of the code including Harold Horder, Reg Gasnier, Ken Irvine, Eddie Lumsden and Steve Renouf. ''Brett is a player I would pay to watch any day,'' Fulton said. ''I love watching him play.''
SMH
Most would say it is difficult to put a figure on a player's value. But in the case of Manly's Brett Stewart, you can - the Sea Eagles have been an 18-point better side since his return.
The remarkable statistic, which shows Stewart's worth, drew high praise from Manly Immortal Bob Fulton - the player the fullback surpassed in the club's all-time try-scoring list on Sunday - who described Stewart as a ''really special player''.
It has become quite easy to see why. While he was sidelined with a back injury, the Sea Eagles won one from five, and averaged 15.2 points a game during that period. Since his return against Sydney Roosters in round 16, they have averaged 33.5 points a game - culminating in Stewart's one try and three try-assists against Gold Coast at Brookvale Oval. The side has averaged more than 18 points a game more since his return than they did without him.
Advertisement
Not only does he score them - his try on Sunday gave him 130 tries from 171 appearances (as well as 69 tries from 74 appearances at Brookvale Oval) - he can set them up too. His three assists took him to 76 in that category over his career too.
''Everyone looks at his try-scoring, but his strike rate at throwing the last pass for a try is phenomenal,'' Fulton said on Monday. ''When he was out for five weeks, they won one game, they drew one, and they lost three. They won one out of five.
''He has so much influence on that side. Obviously you have players like Daly Cherry-Evans, Jamie Lyon, Kieran Foran and his brother Glenn. But Brett's the trigger. He drags everyone along with him. He's a really special player. He's already one of the greats of the club, in my opinion, given what he's done.''
Over Stewart's career, Manly's ability to win drops markedly when the fullback is not playing. The club has had a 66 per cent winning record (113 wins from 171 matches) with Stewart in the side, but that figure is 42 per cent without him (37 from 89).
This season, they have won nine from 12 with him (75 per cent) and one from five (20 per cent) without him, even with so much talent elsewhere in the squad.
Fulton stopped short of saying the Sea Eagles could not win the premiership without Stewart, but did admit: ''Given the stats, it would be very difficult.''
Now Stewart sits only behind Steve Menzies in the list of Manly's all-time greatest try-scorers. But Menzies scored his 151 tries over 280 matches. Stewart's real success is in his strike rate.
The 28-year-old has the best try-scoring strike rate of any current player (to have scored more than 100 tries), and in fact is the best in that department since St George Illawarra's Nathan Blacklock, who scored 121 tries in 142 matches (for a strike rate of 85.2 per cent).
He sits in 13th place on the all-time list of try-scoring strike rates, below legends of the code including Harold Horder, Reg Gasnier, Ken Irvine, Eddie Lumsden and Steve Renouf. ''Brett is a player I would pay to watch any day,'' Fulton said. ''I love watching him play.''
