Now it is season over for the Canberra Raiders, we will be reviewing all 30 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade in 2023. So far, we have looked at the season of Sebastian Kris, Jordan Rapana, Albert Hopoate, Nick Cotric, James Schiller, Matt Timoko, Jarrod Croker, Harley Smith-Shields, Jack Wighton, Matt Frawley, Jamal Fogarty, Joseph Tapine, Josh Papalii, Emre Guler, Pasami Saulo, Ata Mariota, Zac Woolford and Tom Starling.
Hooker Danny Levi, stands at 177 cms and weighs in at 90 kgs. A similar player to Tom Starling, but a bigger player than Tom Starling. Born in New Zealand, he came through the ranks of the Newcastle Knights. He was captain of the Knights' Under 20s team and a Junior Kiwi in 2014. Made his NRL debut with the Knights in 2015. Went on to play 85 first grade games over five years in the Hunter.
He's been something of a journeyman. He was released early by the Knights to join the Manly Sea Eagles in 2020 (20 games), before heading to Brisbane in 2021. He initially signed to play in the Queensland Cup with the Norths Devils, but he was picked up by the Brisbane Broncos in late April (nine games).
At the end of 2021, he signed a two year deal with the Huddersfield Giants. He played 30 games with the English club, including the 2022 Challenge Cup final loss to the Wigan Warriors. It was the first appearance for the Giants in the final since 2009 - and Levi was a factor in getting them there. He was released early by Huddersfield - without acrimony - so he could return to the Anitpodes for family reasons.
News broke in October last year that Levi had signed a two year deal with the Green Machine, but it wasn't confirmed officially until early in January - just as he was reporting for training in Canberra. It was reportedly a deal worth just $150,000 a season.
Levi's signing made sense, given that up and coming hooker Adrian Trevilyan has been ruled out for a large part of the 2023 season after surgery for ACL and shoulder injuries. In addition, Ricky Stuart loves creating competition among the players for spots.
"He has really hit the ground running. He is fit and healthy and he has bought right into the place. Danny is going to get an opportunity in our first trial," Stuart said, during pre-season preparations.
"What he has done is created a very healthy competition. Zac [Woolford] and Tommy [Starling] have done a great job for us the last couple of years and that competition is very healthy for a very important position in the team."
It was a surprise to many, however, that he won the No. 9 jersey in Round 1. In my view, it was clear from the trials that the team functioned best when Zac Woolford was on the field. But, for whatever reasons, Woolford started the season in NSW Cup. Sadly, two minutes into the Round 3 clash with the Sharks, Danny Levi broke his jaw. That sidelined him for two months. He returned in the Round 12 loss to the Sea Eagles - coming in for Woolford, who was sidelined due to concussion. Woolford came straight back into the team the next week, while Levi took over at dummy half in NSW Cup.
Levi played 10 games in "reggies" over the second half of the season. Incredibly, he suffered his second broken jaw in green after only eight minutes of the Round 20 match against the Sea Eagles. Out for the year was the prognosis, but he made a surprise come back in the final round of the regular season - the Round 26 win over the Bears. He played some good footy in Cup, scoring two tries and posting four try assists, eight offloads, 82 running metres per game and a 92 tackle efficiency rate.
For his NRL games, I rated him an average of 4/10, with limited minutes in the match against the Sharks affecting that average. His season rating reflects the low number of NRL matches he played. His statistics are difficult to interpret, given his low number of appearances. His average running metres were well down the charts of NRL hookers, while average try assists and line break assists were not too far away from the top 10 players. His tackle efficiency rate was outside the top 20 hookers - and he ranked 13th at the club in that department.
Danny Levi attracted some interest from Super League clubs prior to breaking his jaw for a second time. Despite that setback the Raiders extended his contract by one year - to the end of 2025 - in early August. The extensions for both Danny Levi and Tom Starling surprised me a little. They are very similar players, and neither are regular first grade starters, in my view. Zac Woolford has some limitations to his game, while Adrian Trevilyan has had a horror run with injuries. Both are off contract at the end of 2024, and it is understandable why the club might adopt a "wait and see" approach for them both. But tying up both Starling and Levi puzzled me.
In any case, it is clear that the coaches rate Levi. He's just been selected for the Kiwis by New Zealand coach, and Raiders assistant, Michael Maguire. Few predicted that selection, given Levi hasn't played for New Zealand since 2017. He played for Samoa in last year's World Cup.
"We've had a few ruled out in the nine position with operations this year and it gives Danny an opportunity to get back into the Kiwis," Maguire said.
"He's obviously experienced and he's experienced at the international level so that was the appeal. I know that Danny will do a job for his players."
The Raiders have plenty of question marks over their line up in the spine in 2024. They have one senior half left in the top squad, following the departure of Jack Wighton, Matt Frawley and Brad Schneider. It looks like the Raiders will turn to youth to fill the No. 1 and No. 6 jerseys. There are four senior players on the books who can fill the No. 9, but it is probably a position that the Raiders would like to strengthen. There are some very good hookers in the Green Machine's junior ranks. But they won't be ready for the NRL for some time. Adrian Trevilyan is a young hooker with great promise, but his injury history is a concern. Who will step up at hooker next season? Time will tell whether Danny Levi will be able to force his way into the top 17.
How did you rate Danny Levi's 2023? Do you agree with our rating? Tell us below.
Danny Levi's 2023: 2.5/10
2023 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 4
Average minutes: 31
Points: 0
Tries: 0
Try assists: 1
Try contributions: 0
Total try involvements: 1
Total kicks: 1
Kick metres: 2
Forced line drop outs: 0
Kick errors: 0
Total runs: 8
Dummy half runs: 7
All run metres: 76
Average metres per carry: 9
Average metres per game: 19
Tackle breaks: 0
Offloads: 0
Line breaks: 0
Line break assists: 0
Tackles: 71
Average tackles per game: 17
1 on 1 tackles: 4
Missed tackles: 6
Average missed tackles per game: 1.5
Ineffective tackles: 3
Tackle efficiency: 88 per cent
Try causes: 0
Line break causes: 1
Errors: 1
Penalties conceded: 2
