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Today, right here on The Roar I am beginning what is a new five-part series, as we countdown the best 50 players in the NRL throughout the course of the 2015 rugby league season.
After much careful thought and the painful consideration of almost 100 players, I have come up with what I believe to be a comprehensive list of the top 50 in the greatest game of all. This list has been selected with a mix of personal opinion and being able to analyse the various statistics that make players what they are and build what they can give to their team week in and week out.
I have also looked at key areas such as consistency within each game the player has played, levels of representative football played throughout 2015 and how their team has gone on the whole throughout the season. That of course means you won’t find more players from wooden spooners the Newcastle Knights than what you would minor premiers the Sydney Roosters.
So, without further ado, let’s begin the countdown!
50: Mitchell Pearce (Sydney Roosters)
The Sydney Roosters have once again taken out the minor premiership in 2015, however Mitchell Pearce, who was made co-captain this year, at key times has gone missing when his team needed experience and guidance. While he has had some very impressive moments, there have been times where he has left Roosters fans sitting around scratching their heads. In short, it has been an inconsistent season for Pearce.
However, when he has been missing from the side the Roosters have looked ordinary and it is for this reason you can’t exclude Pearce from a list like this one. While he has made 19 try assists, most of these have not been in a pressure situation and certainly he cracked in the Origin arena. All in all, not the best of seasons for Pearce.
49: Lachlan Coote (North Queensland Cowboys)
Coote, returning from a season-long injury this season has been absolutely fantastic and is a huge reason as to why the Cowboys are going deep into the finals series. While it can’t be doubted that the key player in Townsville is Johnathan Thurston, Coote has linked beautifully to form a mini variation of the big three, alongside Michael Morgan.
In a smooth running Cowboys attacking outfit he has made an average of 120 metres per game along with 67 tackle busts, 18 line break assists and 16 try assists throughout the season. At times he hasn’t played to his full potential, but returning from injury and in the shadow of Thurston and Morgan this is understandable.
48: Michael Jennings (Sydney Roosters)
Jennings ability at the attacking end, and even more so in long range try scoring efforts is a key part of why the Roosters have taken out the minor premiership this season. His electric speed is not dying and it has been another step up this season for Jennings.
Jennings was also fantastic for the New South Wales Blues this year and gave them some timely runs and breaks when they were under all sorts of pressure. With 83 tackle busts throughout the season along with 14 offloads he has been dangerous nearly every time he has got the ball and as a defensive team you can never turn off against him. He has also been very consistent this season and hardly had an off game.
47: Blake Austin (Canberra Raiders)
Two words can describe Austin – absolute freak. Despite being in a team that has lost more often than not this season and didn’t make the finals, Austin has been a player who could turn a game on its head at any given point in time. It didn’t matter where they were on the field, you could never turn your attention or focus off Austin and this not only made him a dangerous player, but made some of his team mates more dangerous.
His combination throughout the season with the likes of Josh Hodgson, Josh Papalii and Iosia Soliola has been phenomenal. After coming out of nowhere to produce brilliant performances early in the season, he was selected for the Country Origin squad and talked about as a potential bolter for the New South Wales Blues team.
He has scored 14 tries throughout the season, many of them created for himself and had nine try assists to his name, creating countless more chances through his 71 tackle busts.
46: Mitch Rein (St George Illawarra Dragons)
In previous seasons, Rein’s biggest attribute has been his defence and the fact he just doesn’t look like missing a tackle. However, this season his attack has really come on in leaps and bounds. He has been a lot more creative out of dummy half and really looked to get the Dragons attack, which at times has struggled going forward.
He was being talked about as the back up to Robbie Farah for the New South Wales squad, however was eventually overlooked in Game 3. While he only runs for about 40 metres per game and still needs work on the attacking end, he makes his runs count and it has lead to six tries for the season.
The only gripe for Dragons fans is that he doesn’t seem to like playing 80 minutes, however he has still averaged 34.4 tackles per game, showing a phenomenal work rate.
45: Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sutherland Sharks)
Fifita of course has had his season marred by the incident at a junior game, however before that he was absolutely brilliant and close to the best prop in the game. He was hard to stop for any defence and equally as hard to run over the top of for attacking teams.
His impact off the bench in the Origin arena was excellent. He has ran an average 154 metres per game this season along with 71 tackle busts and 33 offloads in just 18 games. He has also scored seven tries, however the fact that he has made 21 errors will not sit well with Cronulla fans.
44: Brett Stewart (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Stewart has again had a strong season. In a Manly side that struggled throughout the early part of the year he was one of the only sparks in the team and when they finally made a late, but ultimately unsuccessful push for the finals, Stewart was close to their best. He plays both sides of the field and his combination with Jamie Lyon is particularly dangerous.
He leads the Sea Eagles for tries with 16, while he has assisted a further 10 and played a role in a bunch more. Add that to 14 line break assists and 32 tackle busts for himself and you begin to get a picture of the season Stewart has had.
43: Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos)
Milford had a very sub-standard start to the season, however since then has done brilliantly to bury the demons and the fans calling for him to be axed from first grade. He has been one of the key reasons the Broncos finished in the top four and along side Ben Hunt has formed an excellent halves combination.
Scoring 12 tries and assisting 16 more, maybe his best stats are 85 tackle busts, 34 offloads and an awesome 21 line break assists. He has however made 40 errors and is only tackling with 80 per cent efficiency meaning there is still a lot to work on for the talented youngster.
42: Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders)
Wow. What a season for Hodgson. His first in the NRL, not many people knew anything about him before the season kicked off, however he has done more than enough to land a spot in this list. Playing at hooker for the Raiders, he has been energetic and seized every opportunity that came his way. He has been incredibly difficult to defend against, particularly when he links up with Blake Austin.
Only playing just over 40 minutes per game, Hodgson has made 12 line break assists, along with 12 try assists to help the Canberra offence in a big way this season. 26 tackle busts out of dummy half is also an awesome stat, however his defence will need work next year. Overall though, an awesome first season in the NRL.
41: Wade Graham (Cronulla Sutherland Sharks)
Graham has been one of the best second rowers in the competition this year and has been on a constant improvement over the last couple of seasons. So much so, he was talked about for the State of Origin arena this year and played in the City versus Country game.
Playing on the left side for the Sharks, it has made it incredibly dangerous and his combination with both Jeff Robson and Jack Bird has been excellent when clicking.
Averaging 124 metres per game, with 68 tackle busts throughout the season, his kicking game has also been pivotal to taking pressure off Robson and Bird.
So Roarers, what do you think? The next part of this series as we unveil the next 10 players on this list will be out tomorrow so be sure to check into The Roar for that one!
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde