Ranking every full-back in the Super League play-offs with Wigan Warriors and Warrington men vying for first

The Super League play-offs begin tonight when Salford host Leigh and we’ve examined how each team’s full-backs stack up.

Full-back is one of the most important roles in a team’s success with the position often being the last line of defence but one of the first in attack but only the elite can balance both defence and offence perfectly.

With tonight marking the start of the Super League play-offs as Salford Red Devils host Leigh Leopards, it means Ryan Brierley will face off against Matt Moylan before tomorrow’s clash between Warrington Wolves and St Helens sees Matt Dufty and Jack Welsby do battle.

Just last week, Dufty was named to the Super League Dream Team as the starting full-back but where will he rank in this list of the six full-backs left in the play-offs?

We’ve looked at each player’s stats and used the eye test to rank them six through one.

Super League full-backs ranked

6: Matt Moylan (Leigh Leopards)

Coming in at sixth, but by no means being a bad full-back, is Leigh’s Matt Moylan. The Australian has swapped the number six role for the number one this year with that early-season position switch coming courtesy of injuries but also tactics.

The move to full-back unlocked far more from Moylan offensively but it’s his defence, particularly of late, that has seen him ranked number six. Moylan was peppered with the high ball by Hull KR who scored two of their four tries off kicks that Moylan failed to diffuse when the teams met in Round 26.

It had prompted questions to Adrian Lam about whether Gaz O’Brien would revert to full-back and Moylan back into the halves but Lam remained steadfast and Moylan proved him right with a strong performance against St Helens last week. He’ll hope for the same tonight.

5: Ryan Brierley (Salford Red Devils)

Brierley is the other full-back in tonight’s game and he’s had far less of the limelight this year due to the incredible campaign that Marc Sneyd has had. Despite that, Brierley has still been very good in 2024 with the Scotland international bagging ten tries and seven assists in his 21 games.

Five of those try contributions have come in his last two matches and after a rest last week, along with the rest of the starting squad, Brierley will be raring to go tonight against the Leopards in front of a record crowd at the Salford Community Stadium. One of the facets that goes underlooked for Brierley is his brilliant defensive output with very few full-backs being better in a one on one situation.

4: Niall Evalds (Hull KR)

Evalds is perhaps unlucky to find himself fourth in this ranking and it was a coin toss between himself and another for third place but the lack of true X factor leaves him in fourth. That’s not to say that Evalds cannot take a game by the scruff of the neck but more so a comment on the fact that Hull KR have players such as Mikey Lewis, Tyrone May and even Peta Hiku who do that.

Instead, Evalds is asked to be incredibly reliable defensively and provide an outlet from the back as opposed to running the show and he’s done that magnificently in his first year at Craven Park. Early in the season, he looked like a possible signing of the season contender and whilst his second half of the year has been quieter, he’s still impressed.

The former Castleford Tigers man has just eight tries but a whopping 20 assists, however 15 of those came in an eight-game period earlier in the season. Injuries have hampered him in recent weeks but he looks primed for the play-offs now.

3: Jack Welsby (St Helens)

Welsby hasn’t lived up to his usual standards, potentially as a result of St Helens as a team failing to do so, but he’s still quietly gone about a very strong season. A tally of 12 tries and 15 assists is not to be sniffed at with Welsby actually finishing the regular season as Saints’ joint-top try-scorer in Super League.

One of the reasons why he is ranked ahead of Evalds is due to his gamebreaking ability and the fact that St Helens are so reliant upon him. If Jack Welsby plays well then St Helens play well and the Red Vee will be far more exiting and dangerous next season when he and Tristan Sailor are firing in Lee Briers’ attack.

2: Matt Dufty (Warrington Wolves)

Hear us out. He might be the Dream Team full-back and he is certainly devastating but Dufty comes in at number two on the ranking of Super League full-backs in the play-0ffs and that’s in part due to his defensive frailties.

There is no doubt that the Warrington man is the best attacking full-back in Super League and his 2024 season will go down as one of the best-ever by a full-back statistically, despite the fact he has missed a series of games through injury. 17 tries and 19 assists in just 22 games is incredible but his tally of 4,234 metres is the most incredible figure. That is almost 200 metres per game.

Despite those obscene numbers, his defence can sometimes go awry and that’s seen him beaten to the top spot by the most well-rounded full-back in Super League.

1: Jai Field (Wigan Warriors)

It is Wigan’s Jai Field who takes that crown as the best and most well-rounded full-back in Super League. Like Dufty, Field has missed time this season but his recent return to the team has seen Wigan return to top form.

He has also returned with another gear seemingly with Field looking electric of late, showing signs of the 2022 campaign in which he was unfortunate to miss out on the Man of Steel award. His combination with Bevan French helps form the best and most devastating duo in Super League and goes a long way to determining his ranking as the number one number one.

What makes Field earn top spot here is his defensive prowess. He’s clearly the best defensive full-back in the league and that was best exemplified in the World Club Challenge when he showed his credentials against a Penrith backfield featuring Brian To’o and Taylan May with Field making a try-saving tackle on the latter.

*Stats from Super League website*