Dally Messenger declared him the best player he ever saw. Jimmy Craig, a Balmain utility back, represented Australia, NSW and Queensland as a centre, halfback, five-eighth, fullback and even hooker over a 16-year career where he played every position on the field except front row.

None of today’s players could display such versatility. Not only was Craig a human scrabble blank on the field, he was invariably the most valuable. Pony Halloway, a Balmain teammate and later coach and winner of 11 premierships, claimed that in every game he saw Craig play, he was the best, irrespective of his position on the field.

While Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga, the 2023 Dally M player of the year, is a gifted fullback and five-eighth and could fill in briefly in the back row, it is unlikely Dally’s fellow Immortal and ex-Knight Andrew ‘Joey’ Johns would be awarding him three Dally M points in every game, especially those played out of position.

Which raises a paradox in the modern game.

As the code’s administrators introduce rules which reward versatility, coaches encourage specialisation.

Scrums are no longer a contest, meaning NRL coaches are not required to spend an hour each training session on specialised front-row skills. Raking for the ball is illegal. (Rabbitoh George Piggins, an expert at retrieving the Steeden in a lazy play-the-ball, while also winning scrums, would now be used only Brandon Smith-like, burrowing through the forward line from dummy-half).

Jacks of all trades … Jimmy Craig and Kalyn Ponga.Credit: Illustration: Nathan Perri

The NRL’s replacement rule also encourages versatility. With only four players allowed on the bench, most coaches include only one back. Ideally, he is a player who can fill a multitude of backline positions. Cronulla’s versatile Nicho Hynes, the 2022 Dally M winner, has played fullback, centre (where he made a critical error at Origin level), half, five-eighth and in the middle of the field.

Yet today’s players are coached from an early age to specialise. Dividing the field into left and right hemispheres is partly responsible, with some right-side centres incapable of playing on the left. Forwards are divided into middle and edge, where the edge, or wider running ones, are further subdivided into right or left. An NRL training session is Kabuki theatre, the same polished routines over and over.