Rugby Leading Half-Backs

When a rugby league player shows fine pace, bravery, astonishing vision, inventiveness and motivation, there is only one position to play him at half-back.

A rugby league half-back is the heartbeat of the side, driving his team forward in offence whilst also putting in a huge defensive performance when needed.

Because everyone knows that hurting a half-back means hurting the opposition's chances of winning, they are targeted time and time again and have to bounce back.

There is no-one better at that than Rob Burrows. Burrows, who plays for Leeds Rhinos and England, is only 1.65m tall and weights just 65kg a truly tiny man to be playing professional rugby league, but that is what makes him the best in the business.

Burrows slips through the smallest of gaps, runs through the legs of the opposition, keeps coming back for more when he has been smashed and has an array of attacking options that defy belief.

He can launch the ball huge distances with his hands and feet, finds tiny chinks in the opposition's defence and is unselfish and creative in equal measure.

Burrow's leading fellow half-back is either Scott Prince at the Gold Coast Titans or Johnathan Thurston at the North Queensland Cowboys.

The NRL duo can open the opposition up seemingly at will and have both proved themselves to be fine captains, leading their teams forward by example.