“Will and determination, that is what Dylan has got”.
These are the two ingredients that make Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards so great according to NRL legend Cooper Cronk.
The 26-year-old is having a career-best season and is churning out “mind-blowing” numbers week in, week out according to teammate Liam Martin.
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Edwards leads the running metres leaderboard, and has carried the ball a staggering 469 times, 33 more than his nearest rival.
Penrith’s No.1 has been so impressive his teammates picked for the NSW Origin team said he wouldn’t be out of place in a Blues jersey.
Now speaking to foxsports.com.au, gun lock Isaah Yeo has doubled down, stating “he wouldn’t be out of place in a Kangaroos jersey”.
While many couldn’t have predicted Edwards’ stunning rise, his teammates aren’t surprised and Cronk believes one moment triggered a mindset shift for the Albury native.
Here, foxsports.com.au breaks down Edwards’ stunning season and how he became the Panthers secret weapon.
A ‘BREAKOUT GAME’
Edwards was spotted in a moon boot in the days leading up to the 2021 grand final and speculation was rife surrounding his fitness.
Panthers trainer Hayden Knowles said the fullback couldn’t walk for three weeks during the finals series.
Despite nursing a fractured foot Edwards declared himself fit for the contest, and in turn delivered one of the great grand final performances to beat the Rabbitohs.
Edwards recorded 231 running metres from 24 carries and two tackle breaks as his side won 14-12.
Cronk, who played in nine grand finals, believes Edwards performance while carrying a serious injury was a light bulb moment for the fullback — instilling the belief he can be one of the best.
“I think last year’s grand final as a bit of a breakout game for him, he had that broken foot, he was really injured,” Cronk said to foxsports.com.au.
“And he was probably the second best player on the field, so I think once you are a young player and you do something like that on the big stage, it really gives you the confidence to continue and improve.
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“I think that how shown, he has been super consistent this year, I definitely think off the back off the grand final he thought ‘you know what, I can go to another level’ and he has done that.”
His Panthers teammates clearly see his confidence has grown and gun utility Scott Sorensen believes he has gone to “another level” in 2022.
“But he has just gone above and beyond this year and I really do 100 per cent feel like he has taken his game to another level,” Sorensen said to foxsports.com.au.
“But if you ask him he will be extremely humble, that is just the type of person he is which is an absolute credit to him.
“He is such an asset to our team… It is all credit to him for wanting to be better, wanting to improve and obviously he has done that by a country mile.”
Mitch Kenny never had any doubts about Edwards could produce on the big stage.
“I always think he had it in him, but I’d imagine having that experience of going, I can be one of the best players on the field in an NRL grand final, on a broken foot, imagine what I can do when I am healthy,” Kenny said.
“Thankfully for him and for everyone here he has been healthy.”
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‘FREAK OF AN ATHLETE’
The hallmark of Edwards’ game is his fitness.
It has been widely publicised the fullback consistently wins pre-season fitness tests, and his ”mind-blowing” engine still stuns his teammates.
In the preliminary final against the Rabbitohs, Edwards ran for 246 metres from 25 carries, breaking a staggering 13 tackles and recording a linebreak.
“This year, you just see what he is doing, it is just mind-blowing what he does week in week out, no matter how sore his body is,” Martin said.
“He just always performs, he is such an integral part of our outfit.”
“On both sides of the ball, he is a freak of an athlete, his aerobic capacity to do what he does is unbelievable,” Kenny said.
Barnstorming winger Brian To’o solved the mystery as to how Edwards was able to get through so much work each week.
“He is a massive part of our team, I heard he is half Samoan as well so that is probably where some of his good skills comes from,” To’o said.
“Dylan is one of my favourite players as well and he is always one of those people that knows what to do and always puts himself out there to help the boys.”
Cronk believes Edwards knows his strengths and plays to them to maximise his performance every time he steps on the field.
“Don’t try and be someone that you are not, I think Edwards is someone who is very confident with his skills,” Cronk said.
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“As long as he brings what he does every week, good defence, the numbers and carries, then you can develop the skill and finesse on top of that.
“If you have will and determination, you can teach any skill on top of that, will and determination, I think that is what Dylan has got.”
Fox League’s Gorden Tallis also said he believes Penrith wouldn’t swap Edwards for any other fullback in the competition — despite the number of superstars the NRL boasts.
“With all the superstars they have in there team, he wins the player of the year award,” Tallis said.
“He is the hardest trainer, he missed out on a team and he drove back home and he hasn’t been beaten in a fitness test.
“It shows, hard work, he is not the biggest guy, there is Tom Trbojevic, there is James Tedesco, all these superstars, but I don’t think Penrith would swap him.
“The best players in any game are the fittest, you cannot continually find yourself in positions out of sheer luck,” Fox League’s Corey Parker added.
“You can’t do that if you are not the fittest and you have to have elite fitness levels.”
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‘THE STUFF PEOPLE MISS’
While rugby league fans see his bustling runs and impressive line breaks, it is the little things spotted with the eagle eye that makes Edwards’ season so great.
Cronk pointed out one aspect of his game, and explained the hard work he puts in to afford Nathan Cleary free space to deliver the best kick possible.
“He has just got a workrate, he is obviously super fit, but the other thing too, if you watch with an eagle eye, he tends to carry on the fourth or fifth play,” Cronk said.
“Coming out of his own end when Cleary is about to kick, he likes to use his footwork, get in from dummy-half, quick play-the-ball to allow Cleary to kick on the front foot.
Another major aspect of his game is his importance on the defensive end.
The fullback is responsible for communicating with the defensive line in front of him and according to his teammates, Edwards’ talk is second to none.
“Everyone talks about his statistics and his running metres, which are just out of this world, but to add in his communication on the field, his urgency, his resilience and toughness, he has gone to another level,” Sorensen said.
“That is the stuff people do miss, his communication, he really is our safety net at the back there, and he is incredible.”
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Kenny echoed Sorensen’s opinion, explaining he can’t wait to see his No.1 do it all over again on Sunday.
“Then you throw in all the detail he is doing, organising our defensive line and popping up in different places in attack, he has had a great year and I’d love nothing more to see him do it again this weekend,” Kenny said.
“He deserves all the recognition he has got this year, but that isn’t why he does it, he is the sort of guy the only praise he cares about is sort of from within this club, but he is really setting it alight this year.”
The Panthers skipper paid Edwards the ultimate compliment and called for Mal Meninga to put him on the plane.
Incumbent fullback James Tedesco has the No.1 jersey all locked up, but the replacement spot is still up for grabs after Maroons gun Kalyn Ponga withdrew from the tournament.
“He wouldn’t be out of place in a Kangaroos jersey, look he has been our best player by a landslide I imagine and we have been fortunate enough to be there or there abouts as the top team over the last couple of years,” Yeo said.
“He has been so consistent for us it has probably taken this year to get recognised from the outside, but from the inner circle he has just been outstanding and a real key to this run over the last few years.”
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