A whole host of stars have littered Super League sides since the competition enjoyed its inaugural year back in 1996, but, every once in a while, there emerges a type of player who, having played consistently and consistently well at the highest level, rightly earns the title of 'legend'. With all five possessing an enviable work ethic, a commitment to the game that cannot be matched, and skill and talent that cannot be taught, the players listed here have all earned a rightful place as five of the best and most durable to have ever graced Super League.
Sean O'Loughlin
Now aged 35, Sean O'Loughlin made his debut for Wigan Warriors - aged just 19 - all the way back in 2002 in just the seventh Super League competition since its inauguration in 1996. Since then, the skilful loose forward has made just over 400 appearances for Wigan and accumulated over 350 points, becoming a key figure in the Warriors' success from 2010 onwards. As captain of Wigan, O'Loughlin has guided the club to three Super League titles, two League Leaders' Shields, two Challenge Cups and a World Club Challenge victory.
Having earned a reputation as a hard-hitting, physical figure, O'Loughlin earned his first representative call-up as early as 2004 for that year's Tri-Nations against New Zealand.
Over the course of his career so far, the loose forward has appeared 11 times for Great Britain and 23 times for England, scoring five tries as an England player. And, despite being plagued by injury in recent years, O'Loughlin still makes a great difference at both club and national level when he is on the field. He truly is one of Wigan's greatest ever Super League players.
Kevin Sinfield
Although born in Oldham, Sinfield made his name in Yorkshire with Leeds Rhinos. From 1997 - when he debuted - to the end of the 2015 season - when he retired - Sinfield made his mark on Super League quite like no other player. With 521 appearances clocked up for the Rhinos and nearly 4,000 points amassed, Sinfield holds a number of places within Leeds' and Rugby League's hall of fame.
He is the all-time leading points scorer for the club and Super League with 3,967 and, with a combined total of 4,231 points at a club and representative level, he is the third highest points scorer in British Rugby League history behind Neil Fox and Jim Sullivan. The history does not end there either as Sinfield is Super League's record appearance holder with 454, whilst in 2008, he set a club record for scoring in 63 consecutive matches as well as a Super League record for scoring in 52 successive games. And, he is the only captain to lead his team to three back-to-back Super League titles.
England came calling in 2000 and Sinfield debuted in national colours in that year's World Cup. For England and Great Britain, he earned 40 caps, notching up nearly 250 points in the process.
With a tremendous goal-kicking ability and a kicking game that few else could rival, Sinfield became a stalwart for the national side.
The goal-kicking loose forward is not just a Leeds great, but a Rugby League great. In 2014, Sinfield was appointed as a Member of the British Empire (MBE) on the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours and became the first Rugby League player to be nominated for the Sports' Personality of the Year Award in 2015, where he came second to tennis star Andy Murray.
Sinfield's trophy cabinet is also something to behold; as captain of the Rhinos, Sinfield steered the club to an unprecedented seven Super League titles, three League Leaders' Shields, two Challenge Cups and three World Club Challenge victories.
As an individual, Sinfield also earned one Lance Todd Trophy (given for the Man of the Match in the Challenge Cup Final), two Harry Sunderland Trophies (given to the Man of the Match in the Super League Grand Final) and one Golden Boot (awarded to the best in the world). An absolutely remarkable career ended in 2015 with Sinfield guiding Leeds to a treble-winning season for the first time in their history. An outstanding and mature character, Sinfield was a true professional to the very end. It will take someone very special to leave a mark on Super League quite like Kevin did.
Danny McGuire
Yet another Leeds player who played a huge role in the club's dominance throughout the 00s is Danny McGuire.
McGuire first made his debut for the Rhinos in 2001, again at the age of 19. From that moment on, McGuire did not look back and made the stand-off role his own for the next 16 seasons at the club. From 2001 to 2017 - when he left to join Hull KR - the wily halfback registered 426 appearances for the Rhinos, scoring over 1000 points for the club, including 268 tries. His first England cap came in 2003; for both England and Great Britain, McGuire has made 22 appearances, scoring 38 points.
Like Sinfield, McGuire holds a number of records as a Leeds and Super League player. He was the first player to score 200 Super League tries and currently the highest try-scorer in the competition's history - a feat which he earned in 2012 after surpassing former teammate Keith Senior.
As Sinfield did, McGuire has also won three League Leaders' Shields, two Challenge Cups as well as three World Club Challenge victories. And, like former teammates Sinfield and Rob Burrow, is one of only three men to earn the Harry Sunderland Trophy in two Grand Finals (2015 and 2017). Yet, McGuire goes one further than Sinfield with a total of eight Super League titles after steering the Rhinos to a 24-6 victory over Castleford Tigers in 2017.
Following Leeds' record eighth title-winning year in 2017, McGuire announced he had signed for newly-promoted Hull KR. Still going at the age of 35, McGuire is far from finished and could well make more history in the next few years.
James Roby
Roby is the youngest of the five at the age of 32 and, if his recent performances for his club St Helens and country in this year's World Cup are anything to go by, he has many years ahead of him.
Like Sinfield and O'Loughlin, Roby is a one-club man, having played out all his career so far at St Helen's. Since 2004, the dynamic hooker has made nearly 400 appearances for Saints, scoring 97 tries. Within the space of his first three seasons as a Saints' player, Roby was called up to the national side, which, was then Great Britain. After earning seven Great Britain caps between 2006 and 2007, England was once more resurrected, and, to date, he has notched up 30 appearances for the home nation, impressing greatly in the past month at the 2017 World Cup.
Though not as decorated as much as Sinfield and McGuire, Roby has still won three Challenge Cups, five League Leaders' Shields, two Super League titles and one World Club Challenge victory with the Saints.
Individually, Roby has also been awarded the most prestigious accolade for a single Super League player - the Man of Steel - which he won in 2007. And, in 2014, he also received the Harry Sunderland Trophy after guiding St Helens to a 14-6 Grand Final victory over local rivals Wigan.
2017 showed that Roby is still an incredibly classy hooker; his running game is second to none in Super League and he was a major factor in Saints' mid-season revival to finish fourth at the end of the Super 8s. Coach Justin Holbrook will be looking for much of the same in 2018 and, like every season since 2004, Roby will not disappoint.
Andy Lynch
Andy Lynch's Super League career spans a remarkable three decades, having made his debut back in 1999 and retiring just this year.
As a 19-year-old Lynch began his career at Castleford Tigers - his boyhood club - and went on to make nearly 150 appearances before moving to Bradford Bulls at the end of the 2004 season after the Tigers suffered a heartbreaking relegation from the top flight. Whilst at Castleford, Lynch was selected for England and earned five caps between 2004 and 2005 and also one for Great Britain in 2007.
Over the course of seven seasons, Lynch made 204 appearances in a Bulls' jersey, scoring 46 tries which are by no means feat for a prop forward. By 2012 he was on Humberside after Hull FC bought him for a "six-figure fee" with Lynch given the captaincy for the 2012 season. At Hull, he made nearly 60 appearances, scoring three tries until it was time to return home in 2014 to the club where it all had began - Castleford.
Lynch played an impressive 92 games once more for the Tigers, scoring twice, before calling it a day at the end of the 2017 season.
Although Lynch's trophy cabinet could be classed as 'almost bare' as opposed to the four mentioned above, he has still won one Super League title, one World Club Challenge and one League Leaders' Shield - the latter in a fairytale ending with boyhood club Castleford in 2017. Lynch is a Super League legend simply because he is one of the toughest and most respected competitors to have played the competition, he is the perfect role model for younger kids - he is the first to turn up to training and the last to leave as his teammates report - and he played in one of the most physical positions on the field - prop. To still keep going until the age of 37 as a prop forward is astounding; Lynch rightfully earns his place on this list.
