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After revealing players 50-31 over the last two days in The Roar’s NRL top 50 player countdown, today in Part 3 we reveal players 30-21 on the list.
30: Brett Morris (Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs)
Morris had a pair of transitions to make this season. From the St George Illawarra Dragons to the Canterbury Bulldogs, and from the wing to fullback. It has almost been a perfect transition for Morris and he has had a great season.
Although at times, particularly when Trent Hodkinson hasn’t been on the field, he has been underused by the Bulldogs. Morris has averaged 131 metres per game this season from just 11.6 runs per game. He has also made 15 offloads, 15 line-breaks and scored nine tries.
29. Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos)
Gillett has been a very consistent player this year for the Broncos playing in the back row and has been a big part of his side finishing second on the ladder. He has been strong both with and without the ball and has played a hand in plenty of tries without even touching the ball by running decoys and the like.
While he hasn’t done a heap with the ball he has made every run count, particularly in the back half of the season when he really picked up his game. In defence he has averaged 34.5 tackles per game in a team that relies on its defence to win games.
28: Robbie Farah (Wests Tigers)
Ah, Robbie Farah. Where do you start with the Wests Tigers hooker? Off-field issues have ruined the back half of his season for Farah, however for the most part he was the ever reliable player. Creative out of dummy half, rock solid on the defensive end and when it came to the State of Origin arena things could have been a lot worse for the Blues without him there.
While he might not be on this list next season, he certainly deserves to be this year. Making 10 metres per run across the season, along with 14 offloads, two line-breaks and 19 tackle busts from just 80 runs shows he was really making the most of his opportunities. As always he was solid on the defensive end making 34.8 tackles per game with an efficiency of 94 per cent.
27: Simon Mannering (New Zealand Warriors)
Simon Mannering has been his usual self this year. Very reliable for the Warriors at both ends of the park and a fearless leader, you have to wonder if the quiet achiever of the NRL will ever slow down. While he is never over the top with anything, he does his job for his team week in, week out and Warriors fans undoubtedly admire him for it.
Mannering’s biggest point of difference this season has been his offloading. He sits second in the competition with 47 and he hasn’t missed a game all season, playing an average of 77 minutes and continuing to show just how reliable he is. Mannering has only made nine errors in that time and has averaged 42.2 tackles per game. He also happens to be the Warriors’ second most efficient tackler.
However, it’s not just the stats sheet that Mannering fills up. He has played a hand in plenty of tries this year, even though he didn’t have the final assist role.
26: Bryce Cartwright (Penrith Panthers)
In a very poor Panthers outfit this season, Cartwright was a shining light. He always gave 100 per cent and looked dangerous most times he touched the ball. He also held his end up in defence and was certainly one of the Panthers’ best.
Averaging 110 metres per game is one thing, however for a forward to have four try assists, seven line-breaks, eight line-break assists, 43 tackle busts and a staggering 53 offloads throughout the season shows how dangerous Cartwright was. This made him the league leader in offloads and you get the feeling he has plenty of improvement left in him for future years.
25: Josh McGuire (Brisbane Broncos)
McGuire might have been injured for a large part of the season but he was one of the in-form props in the competition when fit. His form was so good that he was selected for the Queensland State of Origin side off the bench.
Across just 13 games for the Broncos this season he made almost 30 tackles per game with a 92 per cent efficiency, while he also made 125 metres per game. While he didn’t fill up the stat sheet in terms of offloads or line-breaks he has managed to make every one of his runs a strong one.
24: Marika Koroibete (Melbourne Storm)
Koroibete has really come into his own this year for the Storm, becoming one of the most damaging attacking wingers in the comp. If he gets on a roll he is nearly impossible to stop and has shown that time and time again throughout the 2015 season.
Making an average of 156 metres per game across 14.1 runs with 73 tackle busts shows how much of a danger he has been on the wing. He also sits fifth in the league for line-breaks with 19 a game. While his defence has lacked at times this year, it hasn’t shown all that much for the Storm who managed to record a top four finish. Koroibete is undoubtedly one of the most exciting wingers the NRL has to offer.
23: Michael Lichaa (Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs)
Michael Lichaa burst onto the scene as the hooker for the Canterbury Bulldogs after his contract fiasco and pre-season move from the Cronulla Sharks. He has lived up to the hype and anticipation at the Bulldogs, being a big part of the reason that they were able to make the top eight.
Lichaa has been consistent, reliable, good in defence and has been creative out of dummy half adding plenty of spark to the Bulldogs’ attack.
On average he has made an offload every four runs, scored a couple of tries and an average of of 38.2 tackles per game with a 92 per cent efficiency. Adding to that he has only made six errors for the whole season.
22: Valentine Holmes (Cronulla Sutherland Sharks)
Holmes is another player who burst onto the scene this year. The outside back for the Sharks has played a mixture of wing and fullback throughout the season, proving his versatility. Beyond that he has pulled off some of the best individual plays witnessed this season and earlier in the season was brilliant in a struggling team.
He has also proved his awesome field goal and goalkicking ability. Scoring 11 tries, many of them individual efforts, he has also ran for an average of 114 metres per game from an average of 10.6 runs. Throughout those runs he has made 19 line-breaks and 64 tackle busts.
21: Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys)
The Cowboys and Queensland Maroons enforcer and forward pack leader once again had an exceptional season. He is the never-say-die sort of forward that is always up for another run or tackle to try and win the battle for his team’s forward pack.
Throughout the season he has ran for an average of 122 metres, making close to 10 metres per run, which for a prop is a very good number. He gets across the advantage line a majority of the time. Scott is also never prepared to die in a tackle, having made 17 offloads across the season. He has also made around 25 tackles per game with a high efficiency rating.
That concludes the third part of this NRL top 50 player countdown series on The Roar. Be sure to check in tomorrow as we head into the top 20 players in the game.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde