In the running: Is marathon man Edwards finally on track to crack Origin?

Dylan Edwards is the NRL’s ultimate running man; nothing can stop him.

Nothing, except maybe his mum.

The NRL’s ultimate metre eater averages a whopping 228m a game for the Panthers, according to Champion Data. But he somehow still looks the freshest man on the field after every match.

You’ve got to go back a while, but there was one occasion he ran out of juice and struggled to finish a rugby league game.

He was about 14 or 15, and his mother, Kerry, had reminded him countless times to have his boots and playing gear ready for a game the following morning.

Edwards was living in Dorrigo, a bush town on the NSW north coast, up the mountain from beautiful Bellingen.

Mr Perpetual Motion Dylan Edwards.

Come game day, Edwards realised he had left his kit bag at a friend’s place. His mum was furious. Rather than drive her son to collect his belongings, Kerry wanted to teach him a lesson. So she made him run. It was a 12km round trip.

“I remember that day, but I don’t know if it was 12km – it would have been closer to a 10km round trip,” Edwards recalls with a smile.

“My mate only lived down the road, but living down the road is a little further than you think when you live in the country.

“Mum wasn’t happy, and you’re right, that would have been the only game I’ve struggled to finish. I cramped up pretty early.”

It tells you a bit about Edwards’ fitness and will to win that it took a 10km run to wear him down. He hasn’t stopped moving since.

Just for interest, keep an eye on him against the Warriors on Sunday afternoon and when he drinks some pickle juice. He has to have it at the same time every game.

Edwards is the tearaway Dally M Medal leader (he was six points clear of Nicho Hynes heading into Magic Round) and is now spoken about in every NSW team selection debate.

Edwards will remind 50,000 Queenslanders packed into Suncorp Stadium on the final day of Magic Round why the Blues will lose little or nothing should they choose him over skipper James Tedesco.

Just don’t expect Edwards to toot his own horn. It’s not his go.

Remember the night he won the Clive Churchill Medal in Penrith’s 28-12 win over Parramatta in the 2022 decider; how he started talking in cliches at the press conference, and teammate Nathan Cleary rolled his eyes and pretended to fall asleep?

“Am I boring? Definitely,” Edwards happily admits. “I’m a homebody.”

To prove it, what about a few of these zingers from this interview.

Are you in career-best form, Dylan?

“It’s hard to say … time will tell.”

You’re running more. Why is that?

“That’s a byproduct of how we play our footy. We’re trying to play field position and possession. I’m lucky. It’s my job.”

Can you play Origin this year?

“It’s every kid’s dream to represent their state, and I’m no different.”

Some good judges believe Nathan Cleary getting injured will hurt your own Origin chances, given the club combination. Is that fair?

“I’m more worried about Nath than I am my own chances of an Origin jersey.”

Right, OK.

However, Edwards has plenty of people hoping he can realise his Origin dream. He has certainly brought a lot of joy to the locals back home.

When this masthead rang the Dorrigo RSL during the week, hoping to track down people who had been part of his upbringing, there was a fantastic response.

One of the first numbers we were given was for Maurie Hulbert, who used to coach the Bellingen Valley-Dorrigo Magpies, and handed a teenage Edwards his first-grade debut.

The Magpies were towelled up most weeks in the group 2 competition, and Edwards quickly learnt about resilience, and the importance of cherishing every victory.

“A lot of the blokes we had were not first-graders, but these days, if you go into a pub or see someone down the street, these guys will talk about how they once played with Dylan,” Hulbert says.

“You have to love it. That’s what country footy is about. They’re all so proud of what he has done. They would always stick up for him on the field, even if we were beaten 80-0.”

Dylan Edwards scores for Australia in October.

Greg Darby, another coach and family friend, said Edwards was a natural at every sport and someone who needed to be told or shown something only once. He recalled Edwards being a crazy Parramatta fan. His favourite player was Nathan Hindmarsh, a back-rower who was never as fast as Edwards, but someone who also had an unbelievable engine and could run all day.

“I’m a mad Roosters fan – I always wanted Dylan to go to the Roosters, but typical Dylan, he would say, ‘I’m not pretty enough, and I don’t like coffee’,” Darby says.

For the record, Edwards does like coffee.

There was also former local high school PE teacher Wayne Burley, who spoke about Edwards being a representative cricketer, a handy leg-spinner and someone who “never dropped a ball” in the field.

The list goes on, but there’s not enough space.

The other thing Edwards is renowned for is toughness. Blues coach Michael Maguire likes players who are tough.

Edwards has already proven his courage. Most people know he played the 2021 grand final with a fractured foot. Few would be aware Edwards tore the plantar fascia in that foot against Wests Tigers in round 13. He somehow survived the rest of the season on painkillers and with highly modified orthotics in his boots.

Maguire spoke glowingly about Edwards to Blues greats at a recent get-together in the city.

Former NSW and Balmain fullback Garry Jack – another tough-as-nails running machine – would love to see Edwards given the nod.

“Dylan Edwards, in my opinion, is the form fullback of the competition,” Jack says. “The last couple of years, he’s had to bide his time because of Teddy [Tedesco]. But he’s in career-best form right now.

“And Madge [Maguire] has to pick blokes on form. Don’t worry about CVs or the incumbents, just pick the best blokes, then make someone captain.

“Teddy has been captain the last few years. But we haven’t won the last two series. Queensland pick blokes on form.

“Dylan is tough, he does more run metres than any other fullback, he’s quick. He also catches everything. He deserves his spot.”

Greg Alexander has worked closely with Tedesco and Edwards at state and club level, and said they were similar in terms of workloads.

“Nobody has been as consistent as Dylan has been the last four years. And he seems to be getting better,” Alexander says. “His form has been irresistible. You can’t ignore his form. Dylan is in our best three players every week at Penrith.

“I really do think he’s playing better this year than he has, and that’s saying something based on what he has done. He’s at the right age, has experience, knows the game, and what to do and when.”

Pressed on who would play fullback come June 5, Alexander said: “Teddy’s form has been good this year, which will make it harder for Dylan to crack it.”

Runaway Dally M leader. Kangaroos representative. Three-time premiership winner. Clive Churchill Medal winner. NSW Blues player? Time will tell. At least he’s in the running.

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