The comments of Hull KR head coach Chris Chester caused a bit of a storm on social media yesterday after he claimed to have the ‘best halfbacks’ in the competition.
Inevitably, a number of fans from opposing teams contested his views, suggesting there are better combinations in Super League.
@leagueexpress nice that he cares about Roberts and Gale ?
— callum land (@CallumLand) December 17, 2015
So of course, at TotalRL HQ we decided to investigate and take a look at some of the other halfback pairings across the competition.
We’ve kept the areas of analysis narrow, focusing on direct involvements in tries and the kicking game of the deadly duos. Of course, our methodology is by no means perfect, but these findings gives us a basic look at the strengths and weaknesses of all the pairings.
Castleford Tigers – Luke Gale & Ben Roberts – Joint 3rd
Combined appearances: 53
Assists: 38 – 0.71 per game (3rd)
Tries: 20 – 0.37 per game (5th)
Attacking kicks: 181 – 3.41 per game (4th)
Fourty-twenties: 3 – 0.05 per game (=3rd)
Huddersfield Giants – Danny Brough & Jamie Ellis – 2nd
Combined appearances: 57
Assists: 40 – 0.7 per game (4th)
Tries: 16 – 0.28 per game (6th)
Attacking kicks: 258 – 4.52 per game (2nd)
Fourty-twenties: 8 – 0.14 per game (1st)
Hull FC – Marc Sneyd & Leon Pryce – Joint 7th
Combined appearances: 48
Assists: 23 – 0.48 per game (8th)
Tries: 19 – 0.39 per game (4th)
Attacking kicks 209 – 4.35 per game (3rd)
Fourty-twenties: 0 – 0 per game (=7th)
Hull KR – Terry Campese & Albert Kelly – 1st
Combined appearances: 35
Assists: 22 – 0.62 per game (6th)
Tries: 17 – 0.48 per game (2nd)
Attacking kicks: 159 – 4.54 per game (1st)
Fourty-twenties: 2 – 0.05 per game (=3rd)
Leeds Rhinos – Danny McGuire and Liam Sutcliffe – 5th
Combined appearances: 44
Assists: 34 – 0.77 per game (2nd)
Tries: 19 – 0.43 per game (3rd)
Attacking kicks: 133 – 3.02 per game (6th)
Fourty-twenties: 0 – 0 per game (=7th)
St Helens – Travis Burns & Luke Walsh – 6th
Combined appearances: 42
Assists: 28 – 0.66 per game (5th)
Tries: 11 – 0.26 per game (7th)
Attacking kicks: 111 – 2.64 per game (8th)
Fourty-twenties: 3 – 0.07 per game (2nd)
Widnes Vikings – Kevin Brown & Joe Mellor – Joint 3rd
Combined appearances: 48
Assists: 39 – 0.81 per game (1st)
Tries: 28 – 0.58 per game (1st)
Attacking kicks: 141 – 2.93 per game (7th)
Fourty-twenties: 1 – 0.02 per game (6th)
Wigan Warriors – George Williams & Matty Smith – Joint 7th
Combined appearances: 58
Assists: 35 – 0.6 per game (7th)
Tries: 11 – 0.18 per game (8th)
Attacking kicks: 188 – 3.24 per game (5th)
Fourty-twenties: 3 – 0.05 per game (=3rd)
So on these findings, Hull KR do indeed have the best halfback pairing in the competition! It’s hard to come to a definitive answer by looking at so few stats, but KR fans will no doubt enjoy our results all the same.
