With the South Sydney Rabbitohs season coming to an end, we take a look at the individual performances of Michael Maguire’s players in our 2016 Player Reviews. Today we look at centre, Aaron Gray.
Playing his second season in the top-grade, Aaron Gray solidified his position in Michael Maguire’s top 17 in 2016, proving to be an important cog in the Rabbitohs backline throughout the year.
Featuring in 21 games on the wing and in the centres, Gray displayed his attacking prowess on a number of occasions throughout the season, starting the season with a hat-trick against the Newcastle Knights in Round 2.
The Mascot Jets junior continued to display his try-scoring ability in the representative round, scoring four tries for the NSW City in their annual fixture against NSW Country.
In addition to his season tally of 9 tries, Gray also contributed 10 line breaks, 52 tackle breaks and an average of 104 metres with ball in hand in 2016.
Shifting from the wing into the centres after injury plagued the Rabbitohs outside backs, Gray established a strong relationship with Joe Burgess on the left-edge, reigniting his side’s previously struggling attack.
Gray’s defensive efforts also played an important role for the Rabbitohs, with the young-gun completing 37 one on one tackles – the most of anyone in the South Sydney backline – and tackling at 86.8% effectiveness.
