Leeds Rhinos’ quartet among the ten toughest players in Super League history

It takes a special type of character to step onto a rugby league field. The days when taking out an opponent with a sly elbow to the jaw was an accepted tactic may be in the past, but Super League is a collision sport, played by tough people.

That doesn’t necessarily mean being willing to get involved in a stand-up fight, it’s also about never taking a backwards step and handling whatever’s thrown at you. Here – in no particular order – we look at 10 of the toughest to have played in the competition.

The ten hardest players in Super League history

Karl Harrison

The front-rower has two spells with Hull FC either side of a stint at Halifax. Physically imposing, Harrison’s career began at Bramley and Featherstone Rovers in the early 1980s – a more brutal era in the sport’s history – and he never shirked a challenge. After his playing days, he showed similar qualities as a coach at Batley Bulldogs and Halifax.

Paul Sculthorpe

The St Helens legend was crowned ‘hardest man in rugby league’ after beating Lee Radford in a charity boxing bout 11 years ago. Skilful and fast, the two-time Man of Steel wasn’t afraid to get stuck into anyone on the pitch and, in true Terminator fashion, kept going no matter what.

Barrie McDermott

Perhaps the ultimate Super League enforcer. McDermott was a cult figure at Leeds Rhinos, famous for being suspended 14 times during his playing career and because of a highly-publicised feud with Bradford Bulls rival Stuart Fielden.

Adrian Morley

The second-rower turned prop played for Leeds, Bradford, Warrington Wolves and Salford Red Devils in Super League and walked the walk by spending six seasons in the southern hemisphere NRL with Sydney Roosters. Notoriously, he was sent off 12 seconds into an Ashes Test in 2003 following a high shot on Robbie Kearns.

Rob Burrow

Pound for pound, probably the toughest to have played in the competition. At 5ft 5, the Rhinos scrum-half was the shortest player of his generation, but never took a backwards step and wasn’t scared to mix it with the big guys, as Hull FC’s Epalahame Luaki – 6ft and more than 17 stone – found out during a famous set to in 2010. Burrow, who died this year, proved his genuine toughness when he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019 – with the Rob Burrow Centre for MND being built for 2025.

Andy Farrell

A famous image of the Wigan Warriors skipper playing on with tape strapping a broken nose typified one of the greats of the Super League era. Farrell, now coach of Ireland’s national rugby union side, was a born leader and incredibly durable.

Brendon Tuuta

Whether he was playing in the halves or pack, the aggressive New Zealander terrorised Super League opponents during spells with Castleford Tigers and Warrington in the 1990s. He was known as the ‘Baby-faced Assassin’ after taking the game to Australia, not always within the rules, on his Test debut.

Steele Retchless

An apt name for an indestructible Australian back-rower who starred for some good London Broncos sides in the 1990s. He set a then-world record with 66 tackles in a Super League game against Bradford in 1998.

Ryan McGoldrick

The Aussie was the type of character who could start a fight in an empty room. He went toe to toe with anyone who got in his way during an eight-year Super League career with Castleford, Hull FC and Salford.

Jamie Peacock

If you needed someone to win a game of rugby league to save your life, peak Jamie Peacock would be a good choice. A serial winner with both Bradford and Leeds, he dragged both teams out of some deep holes, not particularly through his rugby skills, but because of an indefatigable will to win. He also wasn’t afraid of a stand-up fight, if the need arose.