Bulldozing Kiwi centre Valynce Te Whare was the talk of the NRL’s Magic Round following a sensational debut in the Dolphins’ amazing 36-16 upset of Cronulla.
The burly 22-year-old, who was lured to rugby league only last year from provincial rugby union in New Zealand, was a late call-up for the injured Brenko Lee and helped inspire the boilover with two powerhouse tries, five tackle-breaks and 91 running metres opposite Siosifa Talakai.
Te Whare’s premiership introduction was the most memorable of recent times, but the instant cult hero’s performance was merely the latest in the pantheon of attention-grabbing first-grade debuts.
Viv Farnsworth (1910)
Part of the second wave of rugby union defectors that was so vital to rugby league’s early survival, Viv Farnsworth made a stunning entry into the ‘professional’ code in 1910.
The centre scored four tries in Newtown’s 31-6 opening-round thrashing of Annandale, while his older brother, former Wallaby Bill, also scored on debut in the victory.
After featuring in the Bluebags’ maiden premiership triumph that season, the brothers toured together with the 1911-12 Kangaroos to create an Australian rugby league first.
Harold Horder (1911)
Just 17 when he debuted for South Sydney late in the 1911 season, Horder instantly mapped out his path to greatness with one of the most famous tries from rugby league’s pioneering period.
As folklore has it, Horder beat every Glebe player in a 90-metre run to the tryline – anointing himself as the likely to successor to Dally Messenger as the fledgling code’s next superstar in the process.
Horder went on to score an incredible 152 tries in just 136 games for Souths and Norths.
Don Manson (1937)
South Sydney winger Don Manson set a phenomenal mark for a player on first-grade debut by crossing for five tries in a 63-0 pasting of University in 1937.
Manson’s swag of tries equalled the Rabbitohs’ club record for tries in a match and has never been matched by a player in their maiden premiership outing.
He went on to represent NSW and top the Sydney competition’s tryscoring table in 1938 but ultimately played just 24 first-grade games.
Tony Nash (1942)
Winger Tony Nash progressed through the grades at Canterbury-Bankstown and produced one of the all-time great debuts, scoring four tries as the Berries held off a South Sydney fight-back to win 26-18 at the SCG.
Nash represented City Firsts less than six weeks later but a broken ankle ruled him out of Canterbury’s charge to the 1942 premiership and brought his first-grade career to an end after just seven games.
Johnny King (1960)
Gilgandra product King was barely 18 when thrust into the mighty St George Dragons line-up late in the 1960 season.
With recent Kangaroo tourist Johnny Riley making way for King to debut, the brilliant winger scored three tries on debut in the four-time premiers’ 54-10 thrashing of Newtown.
Just four games later, King scored two tries in the Saints’ grand final win over Easts – the first of six straight deciders he would find the tryline in during the club’s never-before, never-again dynasty.
The 15-Test veteran retired in 1971 with a St George record 143 tries to his credit.
Rick Chisholm (1980)
Stepping in for halfback Steve Martin, who was away on Australia’s tour of New Zealand, Chisholm played a leading hand in understrength Manly’s 14-13 eclipse of Newtown at Henson Park.
Aside from a fine debut in general play, the blonde-haired 21-year-old kicked two crucial goals and landed a decisive 66th-minute field goal, which proved the difference against the fast-finishing Jets.
But Chisholm is chiefly remembered for his second game, when he scored all of the Sea Eagles’ points in a 17-14 win over Cronulla.
He ultimately played just 33 games in the top flight but came off the bench in Manly’s 1983 grand final loss to Parramatta.
Peter Phillips (1987)
Teenaged utility Phillips couldn’t have wished for a sweeter introduction to the big time when he took his place on fresh reserves bench for lowly Illawarra’s first-up assignment against heavyweights South Sydney.
The diminutive 18-year-old came on for injured captain and halfback Perry Haddock after halftime, and scored a dazzling individual try 12 minutes into his debut.
He then sealed a 25-2 boilover – the Steelers’ first-ever Round 1 victory – by backing up Alan McIndoe to score his second four-pointer.
The versatile Phillips played 70 first-grade games for Illawarra, Balmain and St George from 1987-95.
Jim Dymock (1991)
Debuting in first grade at a new club as an 18-year-old would be a daunting assignment for any novice five-eighth, so imagine Western Suburbs recruit Dymock’s nerve levels when he prepared to line up against arguably the greatest No.6 of all time.
Wally Lewis was making his first appearance for the Gold Coast Seagulls, but the South Sydney junior stole the show with a two-try, man-of-the-match performance in a 20-14 win for Warren Ryan’s Magpies.
A gifted ball-player, Dymock went on to win a premiership and a Churchill Medal with the Bulldogs, represent NSW and Australia, and claim his third Dally M Lock of the Year award after joining Parramatta.
Stacey Jones (1995)
The fledgling Warriors watched their future dart, probe and chip-kick all over Shark Park in one of the most memorable starting debuts of the 1990s. Stacey Jones made a tryscoring cameo off the bench against Parramatta, but really put his class and confidence on show against high-flying Cronulla.
Troubling the Sharks all afternoon with his instinctive running game and deft boot, Jones – who only turned 19 a week earlier – stepped up to kick a deadlock-breaking 77th-minute field goal before a late Hitro Okesene try sealed a 23-18 victory.
Jones carved out a legacy as the Warriors’ greatest-ever player over the next decade.
Amos Roberts (2000)
Indigenous speedster Amos Roberts broadcast his intentions in the NRL with his initial first grade performance, scoring a try and nine goals to tally 22 points – a premiership record for a player on debut (Andrew Johns scored 23 in his maiden start but had played three games off the bench prior.)
Roberts was outstanding on the wing in St George Illawarra’s 54-0 demolition of the Warriors in 2000 and progressed to become one of the decade’s most exciting outside backs.
Scoring 106 tries in nine years of NRL football, Roberts finished his professional career at Wigan.
Billy Slater (2003)
Former trackwork jockey Slater’s raw talent was apparent from his very first game in the top flight. Melbourne trailed Cronulla 22-0 in Round 1 at Shark Park, but the 19-year-old winger’s scorching solo try sparked one of the all-time great comebacks.
The Storm – who also featured Cameron Smith in the No.9 jumper for the first time – rallied to win 36-32, kicking off the Craig Bellamy era in spectacular style. Slater gradually settled into the fullback role, scoring 19 tries in his rookie year before carving out a legacy as one of best of all time.
Sonny Bill Williams (2004)
SBW became one of the game’s most recognisable acronyms in 2004 in the wake of an explosive Round 1 NRL debut.
The Bulldogs unleashed the tall, fast and powerful Williams against Parramatta, with the 18-year-old Kiwi scoring a try and featuring heavily in several others with damaging runs and dazzling ball skills.
The Bulldogs powered to a 48-14 victory on the back of their rookie’s display.
Williams, although injury-prone, won a premiership with the club in his maiden season and was amongst the competition’s foremost game-breakers until an acrimonious split with the Bulldogs in 2008.
Chris Lawrence (2006)
One of only a handful of 17-year-old NRL debutants in the past 20 years, St Gregory’s Campbelltown schoolboy Lawrence stole the show as Wests Tigers pulled off a major upset late in 2006 against Brisbane.
The powerfully-built outside back scorched 50 metres for the opening try as a depleted Tigers line-up beat the eventual premiers 20-6 at Suncorp Stadium.
Lawrence went on to play 253 games for the Tigers and represented Australia in six Tests in 2010-11.
Jordan Atkins (2008)
In the opening round of 2008, late-blooming Gold Coast winger Jordan Atkins became the first player in 66 years to score four tries on first-grade debut.
The 24-year-old’s haul, which included a spectacular aerial effort, propelled the Titans to a 36-18 defeat of the North Queensland Cowboys to christen the club’s new home, Skilled Stadium.
Atkins’ effort was the best since Tony Nash crossed four times on debut for Canterbury in 1942.
A succession of injuries restricted Atkins to just 28 games in three seasons with the Titans and he departed the holiday strip for Parramatta in 2011, where he played just 12 games, but he retains permanent rugby league curiosity status for his remarkable introduction to the elite level.
Chris Sandow (2008)
South Sydney won just one of their first 11 games in 2008, prompting coach Jason Taylor to hand the No.7 duties to Sandow.
The teenager made an immediate impression as the Rabbitohs overcame a 14-point deficit to roll the Warriors 35-28 at Mt Smart Stadium.
Sandow kicked two goals from as many attempts then clinched the result with a last-minute field goal, capping an outstanding all-round performance.
The gifted playmaker missed just one game for Souths to the end of 2011, but his subsequent form at Parramatta was considerably more erratic.
Kevin Locke (2009)
After just one win in their previous eight games, Warriors coach Ivan Cleary made a raft of changes for his side’s Round 12 clash with Wests Tigers – most notably dropping out-of-form recruit Denan Kemp for Locke.
The 20-year-old scored the only try of the first half, converted Wade McKinnon’s four-pointer early in the second stanza and sealed a 14-0 shut-out with a late try.
Locke made such an impression in 12 NRL outings that he was named the Warriors’ 2009 Supporters Player of the Year.
Corey Norman (2010)
Life without AFL-bound superstar Karmichael Hunt seemed considerably less scary for Broncos fans after Corey Norman’s five-star debut at fullback in a Round 1 derby win over the Cowboys.
The 19-year-old Beenleigh junior scooped three Dally M points in the 30-24 victory, laying on three tries and producing three try-savers at the other end.
Norman lasted just five games in the No.1, however, predominantly utilised in the halves before linking with Parramatta in 2014.
Dean Whare (2010)
Young Kiwi centre Dean Whare was promoted to Manly’s first-grade side to make his debut against North Queensland in the place of injured compatriot Steve Matai in round 12 of the 2010 season.
The 20-year-old scored the first three tries of the match inside 25 minutes with his first three touches of the ball in the NRL, before setting up the Sea Eagles’ fourth for winger Michael Robertson.
Manly held off a fast-finishing home side to win 24-22, capping a truly memorable debut for Whare.
Dylan Farrell (2010)
Nineteen-year-old centre Dylan Farrell’s NRL introduction was memorable enough inside the regulation 80 minutes, scoring a brilliant try in each half as South Sydney clawed back from 28-12 down to send a late-season encounter with Wests Tigers into extra-time.
The thriller appeared destined for a draw, until Rabbitohs fullback Rhys Wesser made a break on the last play of golden point.
Farrell backed up to take an offload from Shaune Corrigan and dive over in the corner, completing an unforgettable hat-trick with an after-the-siren match-winner.
Luke Brooks (2013)
Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter caused a stir in late-2013 by shunting out-of-sorts captain and longtime linchpin Benji Marshall to centre to accommodate 18-year-old halfback Brooks for an SCG clash with St George Illawarra.
Brooks responded with an NRL debut that drew comparisons with Andrew Johns, laying on two tries and dummying his way over for the match-sealer in a 34-18 Tigers upset – the ailing club’s only victory in last nine rounds of the season.
Kerrod Holland (2016)
Called up to replaced injured centre Josh Morris, ‘Dutchy’ Holland kicked arguably the greatest debut goal in premiership history as Canterbury pipped Penrith in an early-season nail-biter.
The 23-year-old from Singleton stepped up to land an after-the-siren conversion from out wide after Moses Mbye’s last-gasp try levelled the scores at 16-all.
Holland has proven a versatile performer – as well as a dead-eye goalkicker – in 46 NRL games for the Bulldogs.
Bevan French (2016)
Tingha product Bevan French had already helped Parramatta into a position to edge out Newcastle in a seesawing Round 12 clash, zipping over for a vital second-half try on debut as the Eels overturned an eight-point deficit to lead 20-18.
But the 20-year-old flyer saved the match for the blue-and-golds with a freakish 79th-minute defensive play, getting his leg under the ball as Knights centre Nathan Ross seemed certain to score.
French finished 2016 with a phenomenal 19 tries in just 13 rookie-season appearances.
Charlie Staines (2020)
The ‘Forbes Ferrari’ was called up for Penrith’s Round 9 clash with Cronulla in 2020 when Brian To’o was ruled out – and the 19-year-old capitalised on the opportunity with a spectacular four-try haul along with a brilliant assist in a 56-24 win.
Staines received just one more chance in 2020 with the eventual grand finalists – bagging another two tries – and struggled to cement an NRL spot in subsequent seasons, but he left the Panthers in triumph after scoring a try in their 2022 grand final victory on his way to Wests Tigers.