All pace, power and personality, the NRL has been blessed with some brilliant Fijian wingers.
From Nadruku to Sivo and Vunivalu, these renowned crowd pleasers have had the ability to turn games with a barnstorming run or stop a rival dead in their tracks with a rib-rattling tackle.
And the man who has come out on top after 19,000 votes were counted in NRL.com's poll is Parramatta's Semi Radradra, whose strike rate of 82 tries in 94 matches ensured his status as a cult hero among Eels fans and a favourite of other supporters who just loved watching a giant winger in full cry.
Another Eels favourite, Jarryd Hayne, whose run through the 2009 final series had to be seen to belived, polled 26 per cent of the vote to come in second.
NRL.com recently launched the search for the Simply The Best players from 1990 to now to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the iconic Tina Turner promotional campaign, which was again featured in this year's advertisement for the Telstra Premiership, and is calling on the fans to have their say on a range of topics on the modern era.
In keeping with the Simply The Best theme of previous top 10s, this list includes Fijian wingers who have strutted their stuff between 1990 and 2020.
Best Fijian flyer of the modern era
(in alphabetical order)
Waqa Blake
Still only 25, Blake has already proven to be an explosive attacking centre across seven NRL seasons with the Panthers and Eels. In 2017 Blake earned a spot in the Auckland Nines Team of the Tournament and made his Test debut with Fiji.
Jarryd Hayne
A two-time Dally M Player of the Year and three-time Brad Fittler Medal winner as NSW's best Origin player, Jarryd Hayne was a revelation for the Parramatta Eels in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
One of the most dangerous ball-runners of the modern era, Hayne played 10 internationals for Fiji and 11 for Australia, starring at fullback at club level and on the wing, at fullback or centre in rep games.
Marika Koroibete
Koroibete played a handful of games across three seasons at the Wests Tigers before exploding onto the scene as a try-scoring weapon for the Melbourne Storm, and was the minor premiers' No.1 metre-eater in 2016 before making a switch to rugby union.
Noa Nadruku
Two-time Dally M Winger of the Year Nadruku was a key part of the Canberra Raiders' legendary team of the early-to-mid 1990s. Nudruku scored 22 tries in 21 games in his rookie season in 1993, scored a try in the Raiders' grand final win a year later and finished his career with 90 tries from 131 matches.
Wes Naiqama
A powerhouse runner of the ball, Naiqama was a key figure in the Dragons' charge to a preliminary final in 2005 and then spent two more years in the Red V before five seasons at Penrith and one at Newcastle.
He captained Fiji at the 2008 World Cup as the Bati went on an emotional ride all the way to the semi-finals and served his country with distinction at the 2013 tournament as they again made it to the last four.
Semi Radradra
Few clubs in the modern era have missed a winger as much as Parramatta missed Radradra when he left the club for French rugby at the end of 2017, with the Eels sorely missing his impact both starting sets and finishing backline moves and slumping from fourth to last on the ladder. Radradra was basically unstoppable when given room to move, scoring 82 tries in 94 NRL matches.
Maika Sivo
Parramatta's post-Radradra woes lasted just a season with Sivo arriving with a bang in 2019, scoring 22 tries in 25 matches to help propel the Eels back into the NRL's top five.
Lote Tuqiri
Tuqiri played four Tests for Fiji, nine for Australia and six Origin matches for Queensland across his two stints in rugby league, first as an explosive winger for the Broncos from 1999-2002 and then as an elder statesman with the Wests Tigers and South Sydney from 2010-2014.
Akuila Uate
A three-time Dally M Winger of the Year and the top try-scorer in Newcastle Knights history, Uate played 15 Tests for Fiji and five for Australia and scored 129 tries across 200 matches in an 11-year NRL career.
Suliasi Vunivalu
Vunivalu paired with Koroibete at the Storm in 2016 and has carried on his countryman's try-scoring prowess since then, crossing 81 times in 106 matches for the perennial competition heavyweights.
