Entry 7. 8th November
Six players have been nominated for this year's Golden Boot and a seventh wildcard could enter the fray.
Each of the nominations have merits, obvious strengths, and are fine players in their own right. Over the next couple of days I'll give my take on them. Here are the first three.
Paul Gallen
The New South Wales and Cronulla Sharks forward is as tough as teak and has missed more than his fair share of games due to disciplinary issues but now at the age of 29 is approaching his zenith.
He debuted back in 2001 for Cronulla, and so far the Sharks have been his only professional club. After making his mark on the first team, Gallen suffered a bulging disc in his lower back during the 2006 pre-season which resulted in surgery and a super quick recovery time of just nine weeks. That season also saw Gallen debut for the NSW Origin team and he also earned selection to the Prime Minister's X111 squad that played Papua New Guinea and won 28-8 in Port Moresby.
During that close season he signed a four year deal with Cronulla and went on to appear in the 2008 Centenary Test for Australia against New Zealand. He has now played 14 test matches for his country and finally appears to be settling down from the controversial character that seemed to regularly flout the rules.
Gallen has made 180 appearances for the Sharks, scoring 40 tries and during a pheonomenal 2010 season, the workaholic made 795 tackes in 23 games, ran for 4056 metres and took the ball to defences 505 times.
James Graham
Scouser Graham is the only England player in with a shout of winning the Golden Boot and the 25 year old St Helens prop continues to win praise for his no-nonsense approach to the game.
He debuted for St Helens in 2003 and went on to win consecutive Challenge Cups with Saints in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
After winning the RL Man-of-Steel in 2008 and a place in the world thirteen, he continued his form into 2009, again winning selection to the world thirteen. James had another successful year in 2010, save for a loss of cool against Wigan in the Grand Final. He appeared 32 times for Saints and scored a respectable seven tries - not bad for a prop forward!
After leading the 2004 GB Academy side to a series victory against Australia, it was almost inevitable that Graham would take on a leadership role at some point in his career. That came during the recent Four Nations tournament when de to injuries to Jamie Peacock and then Adrian Morley, he was asked to skipper the side.
By the end of the 2010 domestic season Graham was closing in on 200 appearances for St Helens where he has also scored 46 tries.
With his contract up at the end of next season, he could well find himself in demand amongst the NRL clubs and following in the footsteps of England team-mate Sam Burgess.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall
6'5 giant Kenny-Dowall has earned rave reviews this past season, really claiming a spot for both his club, Sydney Roosters and the Kiwi National team.
Shaun first left his New Zealand home for Sydney in 2004 and worked his way through the junior grades at the Roosters before making his debut at the start of the 2007 season against South Sydney.
His first try hat-trick came three months later in a 64-30 rout of the North Queensland Cowboys and he claimed his first four-try haul against the Brisbane Broncos. This was the first time a Sydney Roosters player had done so for 35 years.
He finished the 2010 season with a Grand Final appearance against St George, but the Dragons won 32-8 to take the crown. Nevertheless with over 3500 running metres to his name and some mighty impressive stats which include 21 tries in 28 games, there is no doubting that Kenny-Dowall has emerged from simply a player of immense promise to one of undoubted talent.
His current club tally stands at 85 appearances, 58 tries and 3 goals, and the scary prospect is that Kenny-Dowall is just 22. I wonder how those stats will read at 32?
Kenny-Dowall's representative career began with the 2006 and 2007 Junior Kiwis and he toured with the All Gold's New Zealand 2007 squad and played against a "Northern Union select" at Warrington, he then made his full test bow against France. After missing out on selection to the Kiwi's 2008 World Cup Squad, he played for the Maori as they took on an Indigenous Dreamteam in a curtain-raiser to the World Cup Final.
During the current Four Nations he has become a mainstay in the centres and scored tries against both England and Australia.
Tomorrow I'll give my thoughts on the other nominations for the Golden Boot.
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