Super League Team of the Decade: Scrum Half

We continue our search for the best Super League Team of the last decade. Here, we look at the scrum halves.

This is in no particular order.

Scott Dureau (Catalans Dragons)

Dureau came over the South of France in 2011, after four seasons with Newcastle Knights in the NRL.

He made the Super League Dream Team in his first season at the club, after recording 12 tries, 97 goals and 5 drop goals.

His stats got even better a year later. He remained on 12 tries, but scored 131 goals. He even collected individual honours in 2012 as he claimed the Albert Goldthorpe Medal.

Sadly, he would miss most of the 2013 and 2014 seasons as he underwent surgery to remove a benign tumour behind his eye.

He spent the latter part of 2014 back in the NRL with Sydney Roosters on loan, but came back after failing to make an appearance.

His final season saw him kick 98 goals for the Dragons. He retired after being released after the 2015 season.

However, since his retirement, he revealed he is fighting cancer once more, as he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2018, which had spread to his liver.

After initially being told he had 18 months to live, he has now been told the cancer on his liver is operable and is undergoing treatment.

We would like to wish Scott all the best with his fight.

Matty Smith (St Helens, Salford Red Devils and Wigan Warriors)

Smith came through at his hometown club St Helens in 2006, but ended up having a few loan spells out at Widnes Vikings, Celtic Crusaders and Salford Red Devils before he was recalled for the 2010 Super League playoffs.

Smith was required to play after an injury to first choice halfback Kyle Eastmund. He ended up helping the side get to the Grand Final, but they ultimately lost against Wigan.

Soon after, he signed for Salford permanently, and helped them back to the Super League ahead of the 2012 season.

He then played half a season in the Super League with the Reds, before signing for Wigan.

Smith took the number seven shirt at the Warriors following the departure of Tommy Leuluai, and took his chance. He put in a Lance Todd trophy winning performance as Wigan won the Challenge Cup with victory over Hull FC.

He would later play as Wigan beat Warrington to claim a League and Cup double in 2013. Smith also made the Super League Dream Team that year.

After the departure of Pat Richards, he would also take on the responsibility of goal kicker. His best game came in the playoffs, as he finished with a personal points haul of 21 during their win against Huddersfield.

He went on to have more success, as he helped the Warriors claim victory over Warrington once more to win the 2016 Super League Grand Final.

This would be his last game for Wigan, as he went back to St Helens ahead of the 2017 season.

However, his time there was plagued with injury frustration. He broke his leg during a friendly against Widnes and ended up missing the first few months of the season.

During this time, Danny Richardson started to cement his place in the side. However, there were times they turned to Smith for his game management skills.

He ended a frustrating second spell at the Saints by signing for Catalans Dragons ahead of the 2019 season.

After a stop/start season for him, he ended the season at Warrington, helping them for the final few games of the season.

Luke Gale (Harlequins, Bradford Bulls and Castleford Tigers)

Gale graduated from Leeds Rhinos academy,  but made his name at Doncaster. He broke their record for points in a season and was named the National League Two’s Young Player of the Year.

He signed for Harlequins (formerly London Broncos) and spent three years there, before joining Bradford Bulls.

However, in his third season at the club, the Bulls were relegated and were crumbling under mounting debts and Gale left the club.

He then joined Castleford Tigers and made a good impact straight away as he scored over 200 points and won the Albert Goldthorpe Medal. He ended up winning it three years in a row.

Gale was then made acting captain of the club in 2016, after an injury to Michael Shenton. His performances went up another level, as he scored close to 300 points.

The next year saw Cas go up another level and claim the League Leaders Shield. Gale won the Man of Steel for his performances. Most notably, he scored a late penalty and drop goal to beat St Helens, just days after an emergency operation for appendicitis.

Injury plagued his 2018 season, as he missed six months of the season with various injuries.

He went on to miss the whole of 2019 with as torn Achilles.

Gale will be hoping to put his injuries behind him as he starts a new chapter back at Leeds.

Jackson Hastings (Salford Red Devils)

Hastings came to England halfway through the 2018 season, as he had a well-publicised falling out with Daly Cherry-Evans and Trent Barrett at Manly.

He joined a Salford side who were fighting relegation in the Super League.

After helping them to survival, he went with his new side to plan for the new season, keen to avoid a repeat of that relegation battle.

After a few inconsistencies, Salford went on a run of eight straight wins to finish in the playoff places. Hastings played in every game.

For his performances, Hastings was given the Man of Steel award, and ended up scoring two tries in the playoffs as Salford reached Old Trafford for the first time.

They ultimately lost against St Helens, but the Red Devils certainly won the hearts of the rugby league community.

Meanwhile, Hastings will start the new decade at a new club, as he joins Wigan for the new season.

Marc Sneyd (Salford Red Devils, Castleford Tigers and Hull FC)

Sneyd came through the Salford academy ranks, but didn’t see a lot of game time. He eventually joined Castleford Tigers for the 2014 season on loan just a year after his most successful season.

He ended up playing a crucial part as the Tigers reached the Challenge Cup Final, and also went within just one game of the League Leaders Shield, scoring over 200 points in the league.

Sneyd then left Salford permanently as he went to Hull FC ahead of the 2015 season.

After a disrupted start, he soon found hid feet and helped Hull to back-to-back Challenge Cup titles. As well as that, Sneyd also won the Lance Todd Trophy in both finals and became only the second player ever to do so.

2019 has been his best season in the Black and White, as he has managed to stay injury-free. He scored over 100 goals, but Hull were hit and miss and ended up missing out on the playoffs.

Going forward, he signed a contract to remain at the club until 2022.