The likes of Shaun Johnson and Addin Fonua-Blake are receiving plenty of plaudits and praise for the Warriors, but there’s one spine player who is staking a claim for the best dummy-half in the NRL.
Warriors hooker Wayde Egan has been tremendous for his side this season while mostly flying under the radar.
The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio believes Egan is a genuine chance to win the Dally M Hooker of the Year.
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“On the surface well he’s flying under the radar, but if you drill down and actually consider all the different dummy-halves in the comp and where they are at, I would make a case that he is going the best in the comp,” Riccio said on NRL 360.
“His control, and we talk about Shaun Johnson, it all happens from Wayde Egan at dummy-half.
“You think about Harry Grant, he’s always having a good season but it’s not a barnstormer, Damien Cook is in and out.”
Egan’s opposite number in the Warriors’ semi final win over the Knights last week, Newcastle’s Phoenix Crossland, was glowing in his praise for the 26-year-old in the lead up to the game.
“Wayde Egan’s been outstanding,” Crossland said.
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“I’ve been trying to watch a bit of him this year. I think he’s probably been the best hooker in the game this year. So, I’m trying to get a little bit off him this year.”
Egan is having far and away his best season in the NRL, with a career-high six tries fitting reward for his composure and aggression close to the line.
The 26-year-old has been with the Warriors since 2020, playing 79 games. A Lithgow, New South Wales local, Egan started his career with Penrith before heading across the ditch.
Egan’s terrific play earned him a contract extension with the Warriors through to the end of the 2025 season.
“I think he’s a standout Wayde Egan. I think he’s been the most consistent hooker of the season,” veteran journalist Paul Crawley said.
It comes after former NRL player Bryan Fletcher last month compared Egan to the legendary Cameron Smith.
“They (the forward pack) don’t get enough credit, Wayde Egan doesn’t get enough credit,” Fletcher said on SEN 1170 in August.
“I want to ask Cameron Smith if (Egan) reminds him of himself, I’ve never seen a player play as close to Cameron (with) the way he engages the markers.
“He’s not quite there yet but he’s phenomenal, it’s that timing, that knack of just getting the ball out at the right time knowing which short side to go to and he seems very calm.”
Warriors assistant coach Justin Morgan – who coached Smith at the Storm for some time – has also compared the NZ ‘revelation’ with the legendary hooker.
In July, Morgan told SEN: “He reminds me a lot of Cameron Smith with his demeanour, I was fortunate enough to coach Cameron at the Storm for a few years, and one of his characteristics was that he was just calm, he doesn’t raise his voice too often, and he was able to just deliver, so Wayde does remind me a lot of him.
“He’s (Egan) modelled a lot of his game on Cameron, especially his defence.”
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