Melbourne Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu set a record last weekend.
He has now scored more tries in his first two seasons of first grade than any other player in the history of the competition, stretching all the way back to 1908.
Vunivalu was equal with some pretty elite players before he smashed the record. He has now scored forty tries in forty first-grade matches. How does he stack up against the four other players he was level with before the Stormโs win against the Cowboys?
REG GASNIER
The Prince of Centres. Reg Gasnier scored an incredible 127 tries in 125 first grade games for St George between 1959 and 1967.
Gasnier played 39 test and World Cup matches for Australia and was captain-coach of the Kangaroos on their 1967 tour of Great Britain and France. Gasnier succumbed to injury on the tour, which forced him into retirement.
Gasnier won six premierships with the Dragons.
LARRY COROWA
Balmain winger Larry Corowa grabbed headlines by scoring five tries for Monaro in a tour match against Great Britain in 1977.
He joined the Tigers the following year and was selected in the Australian squad for the end of season Kangaroo Tour. Corowa played close to 100 first grade games for the Tigers before returning to bush footy in 1983. In 1991, Corowa made an amazing return to first grade at the Gold Coast under the coaching of Wally Lewis.
Corowa has a strong involvement with Aboriginal Rugby League.
ALEX JOHNSTON
South Sydney winger Alex Johnston made his first-grade debut in 2014 and was the highest try scorer in the competition in his rookie year.
Johnston won a premiership with the Rabbitohs in 2014, and the following year made his debut for Australia.
In 2017, Johnston scored five tries in a match against Penrith.
RON ROBERTS
St George winger Ron Roberts became an Australian hero when he scored the try that secured the Ashes for the Kangaroos in 1950.
The try scored on a muddy Sydney Cricket Ground, secured the Ashes for Australia for the first time since 1920.
Roberts played over fifty first-grade games for the Dragons, including the victorious 1949 Grand Final against Souths, in which he scored two tries.
Matthew Geddes has written 35 books on rugby league, cricket, tennis, wrestling and a number of other sports. More information can be found at www.parallelpartnersbooks.com.au
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