Jones rated among the unlucky greats

Kiwis great Stacey Jones is neckand-neck with Parramatta legend Nathan Hindmarsh in a poll to find the greatest rugby league player never to win a grand final.

Jones and Hindmarsh had each garnered 21 per cent of more than 4500 votes cast yesterday in a NRL.com poll of the 10 unluckiest greats.

The NRL.com citation stated Jones was a ‘‘Kiwi legend, who was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2019, gave his all for the Warriors during an illustrious career which coincided with their first year of the competition in 1995’’.

‘‘He was the catalyst for their run to the grand final in 2002 but after putting up a good fight, they were swamped by the star-studded Sydney Roosters in the second half.’’

Jones – grandson of 1960s Kiwis prop Maunga Emery – played 238 games for the Warriors between

1995 and 2005 before leaving for two seasons in France with the Catalans Dragons.

The scrumhalf, dubbed ‘The Little General’, returned to the Warriors as a kicking coach in 2008, but pulled on the playing uniform again for 23 games in 2009.

Jones, who played 48 tests for the Kiwis, is now an assistant coach with the Warriors.

NRL.com said of Hindmarsh: ‘‘Poor old Hindy cops a lot of jokes about his inability to celebrate grand final success despite Parramatta going close on several occasions during his 330-game career from 1998-2012.

‘‘The workaholic second-rower represented NSW in 17 Origins and Australia in 23 tests but suffered grand final defeats with the Eels in 2001 to Newcastle and 2009 to Melbourne, which was made worse when the Storm were later found to have breached the salary cop and were stripped of the title.’’

The NRL.com poll also fea

tured Wayne (Junior) Pearce and Ben Elias from the Balmain Tigers’ 1980s squad, Cronulla Sharks stalwart Andrew Ettingshausen, feisty former Australian test scrumhalf Tommy Raudonikis, 1950s scrumhalf Keith Holman

(Western Suburbs), Balmain back Keith Barnes (1955-68) and Rugby League Immortal Frank Burge, an imposing forward for Glebe and St George from 1911 to 1927.

Simon Mannering, who rivals

Jones as the Warriors’ best player, and former Kiwis captain Mark Graham both failed to make the list, with NRL.com saying there were ‘‘so many candidates that it could not find room for everyone in the top 10.

Parramatta stalwart Nathan Hindmarsh never won a grand final in 17 seasons with the Eels.

STUFF/GETTY IMAGES Stacey Jones on the burst for the Warriors in his playing prime, a career which earned him a place in the NRL Hall of Fame. Below, like Jones, Andrew Ettingshausen was among the many notable players who failed to win an NRL title.