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2016 has been a huge season for the NRL with plenty of controversial moments, brilliant plays and downright brain explosions.
We all have our own trigger points that we focus on throughout the season.
In addition to subjectively assessing the performances of players, coaches and officials, I am lover of stats and facts, which I have included for your enjoyment.
Worst signings/resignings
There have been some terrible signings in 2016. Kieran Foran is an obvious choice due to his off-field dramas, Martin Taupau has proved to be perhaps the most disappointing marquee signing in recent memory and Jarryd Hayne has hardly set the world alight as a lack of match fitness has been brutally exposed.
Daly Cherry-Evans is a clear standout for worst re-signing. The ten million dollar-man has played more like a budget fix from the Reject Shop.
Worst releases
There are a number of clubs that will be ruing their decision to offload certain players.
Joseph Tapine has been incredible for the Raiders this season and the Knights struggles are well documented. Even though Tapine had signed on for the Raiders from 2017 onwards, Nathan Brown’s decision to grant Tapine a release one year early was a poor one in a side that struggled for go forward and spark.
Parramatta’s financial woes have been well reported and it forced them to shed a number of players in order to become salary compliant. Deciding to release Nathan Peats however, was a poor decision. Peats is already one of the best hookers in the game and will only get better given his age.
Best NRL rookies
2016 will be perhaps remembered primarily for the incredible amount of talent that emerged. There are so many youngsters eligible to claim Dally M Rookie of the Year honours. Nathan Cleary, Leilani Latu, Ashley Taylor, Agnatius Paasi, Bevan French, Latrell Mitchell, Connor Watson, Mitchell Barnett, Jacob and Daniel Safiti, Tom Opacic, Suliasi Vunivalu, Coen Hess and the lightning Josh Addo-Carr have all enjoyed stellar seasons and could claim the award.
Referees
Nothing short of dreadful. There’s not a single positive thing I can mention about any referee. Tony Archer in his role as refs boss has unfortunately been the worst of the lot. His stance to back the bunker even when they are clearly in the wrong has been infuriating.
Coaches
As with every season, there are winners and losers.
Several coaches have endured failure seasons. Nathan Brown appears to only have one goal – releasing as many players as possible. As mentioned his decision to release Joseph Tapine was extremely poor.
Jason Taylor has underachieved wherever he has been, he lacks the necessary skill set to be a true leader.
Trent Barrett has endured a baptism of fire in his rookie season – results next season will dictate his career.
Paul McGregor is sadly out of his depth, his handling of his playmakers this season and his rigid structures have exposed this.
Andrew McFadden is perhaps the biggest failure of the lot. A team brimming with talent should be a certainty come finals time. Instead, in an attempt to maintain control of the group he dropped players such as Konrad Hurrell and Tui Lolohea whilst the club meandered to a disappointing 10th.
There have also been some excellent coaching performances. Brad Arthur has done a wonderful job in difficult circumstances, while Neil Henry managed to build an incredible team spirit with the Titans.
Best and worst players positionally
Darius Boyd has been the standout fullback due to his consistency and quality defending. Latrell Mitchell is an exciting talent but sadly his positional sense was awful, he was the poorest fullback of 2016.
Josh Mansour must surely claim the Dally M Winger of the Year award due to his tireless work rate. Brendan Elliot could certainly learn from Mansour and perhaps that would be best done in the NSW Cup.
At centre, the hot and cold Joey Leilua gets my nod. When he is on, he is untouchable. Dylan Walker, on the other hand, should never be touched by a representative outfit again. He is the most overrated centre in the competition.
In the halves, Corey Norman had a brilliant season until his ego got the better of him, whilst I can’t split Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk at halfback, who have again been miles above their competition with the sheer control they exhibit over a game.
Compare Cronk and Thurston to the likes of Thomas Leuluai and Luke Brooks who look lost without the assistance of Shaun Johnson and James Tedesco respectively.
In the forwards, Jason Taumalolo has been the best lock by a mile and will finish his career as one of the greats if he continues this form. Plenty of locks had disappointing seasons in 2016, but it’s hard to go past Sam Burgess in that regard. His big money signing caused all sorts of problems for Souths depth and he simply hasn’t performed well enough to warrant his contract at this point in time.
Kevin Proctor was the pick of the second rowers, with minimal errors, he put his body on the line week in week out. Conversely, Martin Taupau decided against ever placing his body in the firing line.
Big Matty Scott continues to dominate opposition props as if he snuck into a third-grade rugby game (I’m looking at you Junior Paulo) whereas Andrew Fifita continues to show an alarming lack of respect for the game and the general public.
At hooker Cameron Smith enjoyed yet another superb season, just shading the Raiders Josh Hodgson. Mitch Rein is without a club in 2017 for good reason. He is simply too small and provides no spark.
Season stats leaders
Statistics paint a vivid picture in rugby league and it’s no surprise that teams contesting the 2016 finals series have dominated statistically.
The Raiders unsurprisingly scored the most tries in 2016, an average of 4.9 per game (0.8 more than their nearest rivals), equating to a competition high of 28.7 points per game.
The Storm made a habit of being clear winners in matches throughout the season, claiming victory by the highest average margin per match (10.9), and providing the most resistance in defence conceding a season-best average of just 12.6 points per game on the back of their quality ‘hit and stick’ with a season-best missed tackle percentage of 6.20.
Given the Storm’s resemblance of a rugby league machine, it’s little surprise they finished with the highest completion rate (81.4%) averaging just 8.1 errors per match.
The Bulldogs made the most runs per game of any team (179), but it was North Queensland who ate up the metres, averaging 1615 per match.
The Warriors topped the line breaks count in 2016, averaging 4.9 per match. That stat must only intensify the frustration Warriors fans have given the clubs inability to take their chances.
On the back of Bryce Cartwright’s brilliance, the Panthers averaged more offloads than any other team per game (13.6) with the Storm unsurprisingly topping average kicking metres (531.8).
The Broncos were the referees’ darlings (big shock right?), averaging just 5.3 penalties per match.
It’s been another terrific season of the NRL and while some teams will spend the next six months rebuilding, eight teams are in with a shot at claiming the ultimate prize.
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