With the Storm bringing down the curtain on the 2017 NRL, I look back at who I thought were the ten most influential players in the game in 2017.
These may not necessarily be the best ten players but the ones that their club or state could not have done without in 2017.
1. Cameron Smith (Storm)
At 34 years of age the future Immortal shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, in the two biggest games of the rugby league calendar – the Origin decider and the grand final – he was the most influential player on the field by lengths.
Put simply, he owned these games by stepping up his running game and dictating the pace of the game from dummy half. I have chosen Smith at Number 1 this season as he is the game’s greatest winner – a runaway winner in the Dally M Medal, he should have also claimed the Clive Churchill Medal, and now boasts four Premierships (discounting the two that were stripped) and ten Origin Series’ wins.
Looking at Cameron Smith’s stats sheet doesn’t do him justice. He is like having a Coach on the field and is perhaps the most influential player of the past 20 years.
2. Billy Slater (Storm)
I felt at the start of the season that Billy Slater would be one of the stars of 2017, and indeed this year he played like he was making up for lost time. Slater’s omission from Origin 1 was one of the most baffling selections I have ever witnessed.
I rate Slater as high as second in the most influential players in the game in 2017 as his play, and his leadership, helped turn the tide of the Origin series, while be got back to his best quickly at the Storm after a rusty first month after nearly two full years out.
While perhaps he is not quite as dynamic as in his prime, Slater still managed 21 games, if you include the finals, with 11 tries and 17 line breaks and try assists. He capped it off with a try and a try assist in the decider.
3. Cooper Cronk (Storm)
I can’t leave Cooper Cronk out given he played starring roles from halfback in a come-from-behind Origin Series’ victory, and a dominant grand final triumph, for the Storm. Cronk handled his exit from the Storm with class and dignity early in the season and remained as focused, driven and excellent as ever as the season rolled on.
I actually thought his first five or six weeks in 2017 were scratchy and thought age might have caught up with him, as some of his kicking and passing was a fraction late and clunky as he copped plenty of pressure.
Cronk in 22 games for the Storm, had 16 try assists, six line breaks and six tries. I have placed Cronk at number three giving the Melbourne Storm ‘Big 3’ the Trifecta in 2017. Overall as he helps control the tempo of the game from halfback and his kicking game, short and long, was as pinpoint and as calculated as ever.
4. Michael Morgan (Cowboys)
With Johnathan Thurston managing just seven games, I would have laughed in anyone’s face if they told me Morgan would lead the Cowboys on his back to a grand final berth in 2017.
I think everyone knew Michael Morgan was a good playmaker, however I don’t think many thought he could own a team the way he did the Cowboys’ offence in 2017.
With 11 tries and 11 line breaks, Morgan was always a dangerous runner of the football in 2017, averaging over 75 run metres per game. However, it was facilitating which really caught the eye, setting up 22 tries with both a varied passing game and extremely effective short kicking game.
Make no mistake, Morgan is the Cowboys’ next million dollar man and, for mine, was the fourth most influential player in rugby league in 2017. He will have a huge claim to be Queensland’s next starting halfback when Cooper Cronk calls it a day.
5. Luke Keary (Roosters)
I pronounced Luke Keary as the signing of the summer in February, and he certainly lived up to the hype for the Roosters at five-eighth in 2017.
The Roosters had finished 15th in 2016 and had struggled to replace the gaping hole left by James Maloney. However, Keary and Pearce hit it off straight away, with Keary being the perfect partner for the organiser and halfback in Pearce.
I have placed Keary at Number five overall as, I believe, without him the Roosters would have been nowhere near the preliminary final berth they gained in 2017. Keary’s numbers are fantastic in 2017, with 16 try assists, 14 line breaks, eight tries and averaging over 70 run metres per game.
Really, it was unforgivable for the Rabbitohs to allow a player of such influence to slip quietly across town to their fiercest rivals.
6. Jason Taumololo (Cowboys)
The wrecking ball, the incredible hulk, whatever you want to call him, Jason Taumololo confirmed his standing as the most damaging and influential forward in the game in 2017. Taumololo averaged a barely believable 205 yards per game in 2017, and his post contact metres remain the best in the NRL.
Taumololo averaged around 70 minutes a game this year, showing he is becoming close to an 80-minute player. The scary thing is I still think he can evolve his game as a player capable of developing a better off loading game and getting more tries in the opposition red zone.
Without Matt Scott, and with a host of injuries in 2017, Taumololo was for me the sixth most influential player in the game this year.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)
Despite being snubbed by Queensland, Daly Cherry-Evans was fantastic for the Sea Eagles in 2017. Not only did he lead the club from the front as captain, and get them to a surprising fifth spot up from 13th in 2016, but his form at halfback returned to its very best after a couple of quiet seasons.
With 19 try assists, Cherry-Evans’ passing game was dynamic this year, and he also kicked three game-winning field goals, meaning he was outstanding in clutch situations. When Cooper Cronk does retire, Cherry-Evans will be knocking down the representative door if he can replicate his 2017 form in the early part of next season.
Cherry-Evans richly deserves his place in the Top ten most Influential players in the game, and will be looking to go one or two better with a young and fast Sea Eagles’ team in 2018.
8. Paul Vaughan (Dragons)
Vaughan was seen more as a bench player in Canberra, however he really was outstanding starting in the front row for the Dragons and was desperately unlucky to miss out on an Origin jersey.
Vaughan averaged over 140 running metres a game, which is impressive for a prop, however it was the quality of his runs that made him so influential for mine. He managed a very impressive eight tries for a prop, proving a shock weapon close to the goal-line. Vaughan’s size and prince helped elevated a Dragons’ side from one of the two wooden spooners to within an inch of a finals’ spot.
(AAP Image/David Rowland)
I have chosen Vaughan as the eighth most influential player in the game in 2017 as I believe he really elevated a Dragons’ pack that had been a timid and undersised pack for the past few years in general.
9. Gareth Widdop (Dragons)
I think this was Gareth Widdop’s best season in the NRL, as he really rejuvenated his career after a disappointing 2016 season. What impressed me so much about Widdop was not necessarily his numbers in attack, but his body language and aggression in defence. Widdop was far demonstrative this year as he really owned the captaincy and inspired his team for large portions of the season.
Widdop went up from four line breaks in 2016 to 11 in 2017, and also increased his try assists from 13 to 18. I have placed him just below his Dragons teammate Vaughan as the ninth most influential player in rugby league in 2017 as the Dragons exceeded all expectations, despite their late season fade.
10. Mitchell Moses (Eels)
Moses mid-season move to the Eels gave them the missing piece of the puzzle for a side that relied too much on Corey Norman earlier in the season. His combination with Corey Norman helped propel the Eels to some big wins late in the season. What impressed me about Moses was his confidence to come into a side, halfway through the year, and demand the football and play his natural game.
Moses will be looking to improve on the 11 try assists and six line breaks he produced as he enters his first full season with the Eels next season. Moses in perhaps the most controversial inclusion in my Top 10. It hurts he a bit to include him in the Top 10, as a Tigers’ fan, however my reasoning is clear.
The Eels were a fringe Top 8 team when he joined and they ended up making the Top four and the finals, for the first time since 2009. While I didn’t think he was necessarily their best player every week he made the Eels are more formidable and more rounded side.
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