Breaking through: The NRL’s top defence destroyers

The NRL’s best teams all have excellent ball-runners. Players who can break the line at will, bust tackles with ease and find their way to the try line as a result, either directly or indirectly.

Those elusive players who are difficult to tackle. They are so, so important to any champion team.

Zero Tackle have created a measure which allows us to combine both line breaks and tackle busts to determine the NRL’s most damaging player with the football in hand.

To qualify, a player needed either 15 line breaks, or 75 tackle busts across the course of the regular season.

In attempting to come up with an equal points scoring system, we have assigned one point per line break, and 0.4 points per tackle bust.

The thought process here is that tackle busts happen far more regularly than line breaks, and also shouldn’t be given quite as much weight, because there is the idea that a player clean breaking the line has read the player better and isn’t simply relying on brute strength to fight through.

The aim, of course, is to work out the individual player with the most damaging running style in the NRL. The player who is hardest to stop, hardest to read and hardest to contain.

It has been ranked on a points per game basis, which may mean the leader of this category is no surprise, however, some of the names both in, and out, of the top ten, may surprise you.

Let’s get into the countdown, keeping in mind this only takes into account regular-season games and has been ranked on a points per game ratio.

10. Alex Johnston (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

35 line breaks, 48 tackle busts, 54.2 points (2.85 points per game)
Maybe it should be no surprise to see Johnston on this list after a phenomenal 2021. His try-scoring exploits saw him run on multiple hat-tricks and finish at the pointy end of the leaderboard despite missing a number of games throughout the season.

Had he stayed fit for the entire season, he may well have led the competition for line breaks.

His ability to break tackles saw him add to the try-scorer sheet too in what was a phenomenal campaign falling just short of a premiership.

Well and truly deserves his new contract.

9. Reuben Garrick (Manly Sea Eagles)

36 line breaks, 91 tackle busts, 72.4 points (2.90 points per game)
Garrick's 2021 season will be mainly remembered for his unbelievable point-scoring exploits, breaking every record known to the sport at the top level.

But those tries came with plenty of his own ability. 36 line breaks leaves him near enough to the top of the tree at the end of the season, while 91 tackle busts is also a phenomenal effort for a winger who isn't built among the biggest of them.

His running style and tallness make him a tough nut to tackle though, and it shows in the stats.

8. Matthew Ikuvalu (Sydney Roosters)

16 line breaks, 59 tackle busts, 39.6 points (3.05 points per game)
Ikuvalu is a player who didn't play all that many games in 2021, but didn't he make them count?

At the start of the year, his spot was arguably a disputed one in the Roosters' 13. By the end of it, he will be the first-choice winger alongside Daniel Tupou for 2022.

51 tackle busts in just 12 games is a monstrous effort, as is 16 line breaks. He backed it up with plenty of tries and improved every aspect of his game in 2021.

7. Sione Katoa (Cronulla Sharks)

17 line breaks, 57 tackle busts, 39.8 points (3.06 points per game)
The Cronulla winger may not have got involved in too much busting of tackles, but he did regularly find himself running through defensive lines.

Given he only played 12 games however, it still works out at almost five tackle busts per game, which is a strong average.

He ran the ball hard every time he got his hands on it, and has a running style which normally requires more than a one-on-one tackle to bring him back to Earth.

6. Jordan Rapana (Canberra Raiders)

15 line breaks, 138 tackle busts, 70.2 points (3.19 points per game)
Rapana has turned himself into a weapon for the Raiders throughout 2021. Returning to the club, his level of output and whether he was in the best 13 was a question.

But by the end of the season, there was no question. Not even close to a question.

Wing or fullback, Rapana turned up every week and skittled opposition defences, making a staggering 138 tackle busts throughout the season.

5. Latrell Mitchell (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

18 line breaks, 93 tackle busts, 55.2 points (3.25 points per game)
Latrell's season may be remembered for all the wrong reasons following his sickening hit on Joseph Manu which rubbed him out for six weeks, but he played an enormous part in taking South Sydney to the top of the table during the regular-season.

For someone who was formerly touted as a "lazy" fullback by the majority of punters, Mitchell has come on in leaps and bounds over the last 24 or so months.

His 18 line breaks and 93 tackle busts in limited games prove exactly how strong he was, and it didn't seem to matter if he was at fullback for the Rabbitohs or centre for the Blues at State of Origin time.

He is a ball of strength, and that showed time and time again.

4. James Tedesco (Sydney Roosters)

15 line breaks, 136 tackle busts, 69.4 points (3.47 points per game)
Tedesco is one of the most elusive ball-runners in the competition and was recently among the top five in the Dally M race.

Making Tedesco's season so impressive was the output staying consistent despite the mass injury crisis all around him and the fact he virtually ended up as an extra kicking option by the end of the season.

That couldn't take anything away from his running game though, and there are few players you'd want running around for your team ahead of the New South Wales State of Origin fullback.

While 136 tackle busts is a staggering number, he also came up with an unreal amount of line breaks, proving he is still one of the best support players in the game.

3. Brian To’o (Penrith Panthers)

20 line breaks, 116 tackle busts, 66.4 points (3.69 points per game)
To'o has been excellent for the Panthers. I've made the argument numerous times that he is their most important player, and these are the stats to prove it.

He also featured in our post-contact metres analysis from a few weeks ago, but his ball-running is simply so important to the Panthers.

There is no single player in the competition who consistently gets sets off to as good of a start as To'o does at the Panthers. A genuinely incredible talent who, when injured, made a noticeable different to the eventual premiers' performance.

2. David Fifita (Gold Coast Titans)

22 line breaks, 150 tackle busts, 82.0 points (3.90 points per game)
Before I sat down to compile this list, Fifita was actually my favourite to come out on top.

If it had of been decided based on total points, rather than average points per game, he would have been at the top of the pile too.

His 150 tackle busts is something to behold - a number we may never see again. He had a wrecking ball season on the edge and at times looked absolutely unstoppable.

His 22 line breaks showed how well he was reading the game too, and at a young age, you’d only expect to see more improvement in the years to come from Fifita.

1. Tom Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles)

30 line breaks, 105 tackle busts, 72 points (4.80 points per game)
Was it ever going to be anyone else at the top of the tree?

Trbojevic had a ridiculous season with the ball in hand. His almost four try involvements per game would have been enough to tell you that.

His 30 line breaks and 105 tackle busts from just 15 games cemented the idea that he was a deserving winner of the Dally M Medal despite missing nine regular-season games.

He couldn’t drag his team over the line in the preliminary finals, but that shouldn’t take away from what was an exceptional season for the game’s best player.

The full list

Player Name	Club	Line breaks	Tackle busts	Points	Games	Points/game
Tom Trbojevic	Sea Eagles	30	105	72	15	4.80
David Fifita	Titans	22	150	82	21	3.90
Brian To'o	Panthers	20	116	66.4	18	3.69
James Tedesco	Roosters	15	136	69.4	20	3.47
Latrell Mitchell	Rabbitohs	18	93	55.2	17	3.25
Jordan Rapana	Raiders	15	138	70.2	22	3.19
Sione Katoa	Sharks	17	57	39.8	13	3.06
Matt Ikuvalu	Roosters	16	59	39.6	13	3.05
Reuben Garrick	Sea Eagles	36	91	72.4	25	2.90
Alex Johnston	Rabbitohs	35	48	54.2	19	2.85
Jesse Ramien	Sharks	7	101	47.4	17	2.79
Corey Thompson	Titans	16	78	47.2	17	2.78
Josh Addo-Carr	Storm	28	74	57.6	21	2.74
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	Warriors	11	81	43.4	17	2.55
Maika Sivo	Eels	19	81	51.4	21	2.45
Mikaele Ravalawa	Dragons	17	55	39	16	2.44
Dane Gagai	Rabbitohs	14	79	45.6	20	2.28
Kyle Feldt	Cowboys	15	74	44.6	20	2.23
Isaiah Papali'i	Eels	7	106	49.4	23	2.15
Joseph Manu	Roosters	12	92	48.8	23	2.12
Matt Burton	Panthers	24	56	46.4	22	2.11
Dylan Edwards	Panthers	5	84	38.6	19	2.03
Clinton Gutherson	Eels	14	81	46.4	23	2.02
Jahrome Hughes	Storm	19	61	43.4	22	1.97
Justin Olam	Storm	11	80	43	22	1.95
David Nofoaluma	Tigers	10	89	45.6	24	1.90
Nicho Hynes	Storm	15	67	41.8	22	1.90
Viliame Kikau	Panthers	12	79	43.6	23	1.90
Connor Tracey	Sharks	16	69	43.6	24	1.82
Jack Bird	Dragons	5	83	38.2	22	1.74
William Kennedy	Sharks	15	62	39.8	24	1.66
Daniel Tupou	Roosters	17	53	38.2	24	1.59
Connor Watson	Knights	3	75	33	24	1.38
Jason Saab	Sea Eagles	16	33	29.2	24	1.22
Charlie Staines	Panthers	15	20	23	20	1.15