At the start of the year, I put together my top 50 players ahead of season 2018. Now, I’m re-writing that list, this time looking back on 2018 to determine who the best players in rugby league are.
There are changes galore and 18 players from that original list have fallen by the wayside with the emergence of some brilliant new talent during the year. Without any further ado, let’s get on with it.
» Part 2 (40-31)
» Part 3 (30-21)
50. Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos)
Rank at start of season: 44
Boyd just scrapes onto the back-end of the list. He didn’t have the most amazing of seasons, but was still solid at the back for Brisbane. Finishing with 13 try assists is nothing to be laughed at.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
49. John Sutton (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Rank at start of season: N/A
Sutton was one crucial part of the Rabbitohs left edge which set tongues wagging and defensive lines scampering all season long.
The veteran second-rower hit what could be considered career-best form at 33 years of age and while the numbers aren’t amazing, watching him week in and week out, you could see the Bunnies’ left edge would have lacked something without him.
48. Luke Brooks (Wests Tigers)
Rank at start of season: N/A
Brooks finished second in the Dally M Medal and while I don’t agree with that, he has to make this list. His start and end to the season were outstanding and his kicking game was a key reason the Tigers were able to challenge for a place in the eight, even if they did fall just short.
47. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
I had considered leaving Thurston off this list altogether. Leading a team to the bottom of the table isn’t a great look, but the man who is sure to one day become an Immortal still had a solid season on an individual level.
He ended it as the competition’s leader for try assists and if there was ever a player to have worked harder than Thurston to try and make things happen, I’m yet to hear of or see him.
Did he play on a year too long? Sure.
Does that mean he was awful all season? Absolutely not.
46. David Klemmer (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rank at start of season: 37
The Bulldogs prop retains his spot. While Canterbury struggled all season long, Klemmer wasn’t at fault. He led from the front, was solid at representative level and there was never a real question of dropping him off the list. He led the Bulldogs by more than 500 running metres.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
45. Wade Graham (Cronulla Sharks)
Rank at start of season: 26
There is no question Graham struggled with injuries throughout the season and that partially explains his drop down the rankings.
His impact was felt on the Sharks heavily during the finals, but he was off his game at certain points this year. Still an important player, but not at the same level as he was leading into 2018.
44. Jamayne Isaako (Brisbane Broncos)
Rank at start of season: N/A
Isaako played every game for the Broncos in his debut season and excelled at everything he did. Whether it was flying high in defence, scoring tries on the edge, making tough metres out of his own end or stepping up to kick clutch goals, Isaako had a sensational year.
I first saw him playing for the New Zealand under-20s side a few years ago and earmarked him for big things. Expect the winger, who can also play fullback, to be much higher on this list next year as he continues to improve out of sight.
43. George Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Rank at start of season: N/A
The Burgess brothers’ play was one of the highlights of the season. George is the first of them to appear on this list on account of an outstanding season, running hard and managing to cut down on his errors.
42. Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders)
Rank at start of season: 24
Hodgson might have spent more than half the season out injured, but he proved exactly what Canberra were missing when he came back.
While he couldn’t inspire the side into the finals, that was through no fault of his own as the Green Machine continued to lose games left, right and centre when they should have won them.
(AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
41. Josh Mansour (Penrith Panthers)
Rank at start of season: 32
Mansour had eight tries from just 15 starts this year. It’s a serious loss for the Panthers when the winger doesn’t play, and for more than his scoring – he is one of the most dominant ball runners in the competition and gets sets off to a good start nine times out of ten.
Check back tomorrow as we run through players 40-31.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Not being deliberately disingenuous and trying to present stats without ifs and buts and exclusions. Stats aren’t subjective. Maybe the way they’re used and applied can be but the numbers themselves aren’t As I’ve said they’re not the be all and end all but if you don’t find some at least partially objective measure to fall back on it’s just a back and forth of “Burgess is better” “No he’s not” “Yes he is” “Rubbish” “You’re rubbish” “Your mum’s rubbish” I’ve pointed out a number of what I think are key areas for props where Klemmer has not only outranked big George but put himself among the top props in the game. My take on what’s important for props is subjective. The numbers aren’t. Of course anyone has the same opportunity to present their case for Burgess. Could be challenging though. Anyway, good discussion. Cheers.
A View From the Top
Roar Pro
I think you’re being disingenuous with your correlation of stats Baz but of course that’s why I think stats are subjective. Of course play the ball speed has little to do with results if you can’t do anything with it - perhaps this is where Burgi benefit from Cook rather than the other way around - chicken or the egg? There’s also intangibles such defenders left on the ground for a slightly slower play the ball vs via the stopwatch a quicker play the ball but everyone including defenders stays on their feet. Average metres per player to me is the most misleading statistic in the competition. How many times did Paul Gallen run 160+m in a ‘herculean’ Origin performance that ended in defeat because the key players 1,6 and 7 didn’t touch the ball enough. Swings and roundabouts though. Splitting hairs in my opinion and no doubt I agree that Klemmer had a career year. I disagree entirely on the notion of stats being objective though.
The Barry
Roar Guru
All run metres for 2018 1. Rabbitohs 2. Roosters 3. Sharks 4. Dragons 5. Panthers Points scored for 2018 1. Rabbitohs 2. Roosters 3. Storm 4. Dragons 5. Broncos Ladder position 1. Roosters 2. Storm 3. Rabbitohs 4. Sharks 5. Panthers
The Barry
Roar Guru
That’s an interesting point. I’d agree about post contact metres but there is a correlation between metres gained and team success. There’s not a lot of data around about play the ball speeds and not necessarily a strong correlation between average play the ball speeds and team success. The teams with the highest average play the ball speed for 2018 we’re 1. Panthers 3.47s - 5th 2. Warriors 3.51s - 8th 3. Dragons 3.52s - 7th 3. Bulldogs 3.52s - 12th 5. Broncos 3.53s - 6th After that is a group that includes the Roosters, Storm and Souths but none of the top five play the ball teams made it past week two of the finals. So there’s plenty of flaws in this in response to what you’ve written about the Burgii. Klemmer and Sam dominated George and Tom across the board statistically. Klemmer and Sam’s stays for the season are quite comparable. If your opinion is that George and Tom are better players than Klemmer because they play the ball quicker...well that’s fine, but I disagree - there’s so much more to footy than that.
Fraser
Roar Rookie
I completely disagree. The real problem is that when defences shut down his running game, casual fans like to think he had a poor game. That's not necessarily the truth - it means Souths as a team had a poor game as the forward pack weren't dominating the middle to give Cook the space to run. Even without the dummy half scoot Cook still has a magnificent passing game off the ground and tackles all day.
A View From the Top
Roar Pro
Metres gained, post contact metres etc are almost irrelevant statistics. I think NSW learned that this year by moving away from Woods. For a prop all that matters is play the ball speed, and the twins were consistently among the best in the competition all year, I anticipate Damian Cook’s appearance on this list owes a lot to it. If there was a stat for leaving defenders on the ground during the play the ball I think both Tom and George would come out on top of that one as well. So while stats are an ‘objective’ method of discussing players performance they are ‘subjective’ in their importance like everything else. In saying that Klem still my first front rower picked for Australia at a time when I’m struggling to decide who I’d pick 2nd.
Scott Pryde
Expert
I have Cook up very, very high in this list. He had an outstanding season for mine - I think there will be some surprises in the top ten, so don't say I didn't warn you!
Scott Pryde
Expert
Nope, no need to apologise, that's fair. You have well and truly proven me wrong here.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Fair point...I still rate his season as a top 10 overall. There’s very few players who are outstanding from game 1 to game 30.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Sorry Scott - couldn’t help myself. I’ll spare you the full comparison of Klemmer v George Burgess however. Klemmer is in the top 10 middle third players (props and locks) in the following stats for 2018 Runs (ranked 2nd) Run metres (1) Possessions (2) Metres per run (10) Runs over 8 metres (1) First pass hit ups (2) Line engagements (6) General play passes (2) He also ranked 11th for offloads, try assists and tackle efficiency...well ahead of George. Burgess ranked third for metres per run and fourth for one on one tackles. Klemmer missed fewer tackles, made less errors and conceded fewer penalties. I know stats are only part of the picture but Klemmer’s numbers put him in the top couple of props in the game. George’s numbers other than one or two stats are middle of the road. There’s not such a non numerical difference in ‘eye test’ that puts George Burgess even in the same league as Klemmer.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
You say tired, I'm going to say teams worked out how to defend him. As a dummy half he is a one trick pony.
Matt H
Roar Guru
On Cook, what you say is true, but in a top players list you have to look at his whole season and not discount the poor finish because he was tired. So was everyone.
Scott Pryde
Expert
I genuinely think Sutton had a career-best season. That's the problem with these lists... No one is ever going to agree on the same order of 50 players! Really interesting to look back over the top 50 from the start of the year though...
Paul
Roar Guru
agree and the coaching being an issue in Townsville Emcie. Also interested to see what happens with Michael Morgan, now JT's gone. I know he was injured for a fair chunk of the season, but I still thought he could have taken over the side and I suspect JT did too, which might have contributed to some of the Cowboys underwhelming performances.
Paul
Roar Guru
That makes sense Scott. I wonder if Parra had a similar hangover from last year, where they waited for others to win games till it was way too late
BA Sports
Roar Guru
I know it may be partly recentcy bias but personally I would have to have Manu in over Mansour. Manour came back pretty well, but Manu grew into a top quality centre and after missing the Melbourne game in Rd 16 was one of the Roosters best week in week out. The impact he had with try assists and LB assists puts him ahead of Mansour for me.
Nat
Roar Guru
Interesting start to the list Scott. Good to see Sutton and Brooks get a start as they both had good seasons, probably as good I've seen from Sutton in a long while. Blokes like Klemmer, Graham and JT, I thought may be a little higher so I'll be interested to see who made the cut. It's cudos for Isaako to make the list in yr1 and in the same breathe as Mansour.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
If you’re only addressing NRL games I can’t help but feel you’ve been too harsh on Klemmer and Brooks..the latter had his best year ever and set quite a few PB’s..just missed the Dally M,half of the year,club player of the year and players player of the year within his club,gee I felt he should have been in the PNG team ahead of Clifford and a far better overall year than Daily and even Shaun Johnson..
Scott Pryde
Expert
So, without giving too much away, there are some players you listed there Matt who aren't on the list. As Baz says below, too early for Lewis, but I'm not going to give anything more than that away for now. Maloney and Cook - let's discuss them when we get to them in the coming days.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Fair enough. It would have been interesting to see how they went had he not announced his retirement until partway through the year, rather then the practically two seasons we had to get used to the idea. Next year will be interesting, they wont really have any excuses and i have a sneaking feeling that coaching was a big contributor to their results this season