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The Grand Final’s done and dusted, Penrith have retained the trophy once again, mad Monday dress-up clothes are back in the closets and our focus is now on both the silly season and our team’s prospects, if any, for next year.
But before we move on, here’s a quick A to Z guide to remind you of what you saw in the 2023 NRL season.
Alex Twal: One of the lowlights of the season for me was seeing Wests Tigers’ Alex Twal break his try scoring duck after 115 games in the top grade. Alex, you had the chance to set a mark that would never be beaten, and you let me down.
Wests Tigers’ try scoring machine Alex Twal. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Brisbane Broncos: What a great season for the Broncos, finishing second on the ladder on the same points as the Panthers, leading the way early in the season, and going down by just two points in the decider. They played so well this year that it’s easy to forget that they finished with the wooden spoon in 2020 and were third last the following season. Coach Kevvie has done a great job in getting his young squad to believe in themselves, and they’ll surely be in strong contention once again next year.
Cleary’s Clive: Penrith gun and captain Nathan Cleary became only the third player, alongside Billy Slater and Bradley Clyde, to win a second Clive Churchill Medal, excluding the retrospective recipients. His last 15 minutes in the Grand Final had to be seen to be believed as he dragged his team off the carpet to take their third consecutive title.
Dolphins: Despite all the pessimism surrounding their admission to the competition, Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins showed how to get things done and they soon became everyone’s second favorite team, unless of course if you’re a Broncos supporter. An outstanding first season.
Eels: Another year, another empty trophy cabinet as the Eels slipped from grand-finalists last year to tenth. Are there any Eels fans left who can remember their last premiership back in 1986?
Fittler Gone: Finally, after coaching NSW to 3 series losses in the last 4 years, Brad Fittler managed to read the room and realise that no matter how many high profile “assistants” he surrounds himself with, he’s no longer the man for the NSW Origin coach’s job.
Outgoing NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Greatest Grand Final of All: I can’t recall enjoying a game of rugby league as much as this year’s decider. It had everything you could want – drama, brilliant individual performances, some fearsome clashes, and the comeback from a seemingly certain defeat. What a game!
Hooked: After two and a half years proving what we already knew – that he couldn’t coach an NRL team – Anthony Griffin was mercifully punted by the Dragons. It’s only after hearing his sonorous commentary on Fox that I fully understand why he couldn’t motivate a single player at the Dragons.
Independent doctor: After a flurry of HIAs, stand downs, etc… a cynical person could conclude that the NRL’s latest innovation to reduce head injury trauma has now fallen by the wayside.
Justin Holbrook: Despite doing some good things with the Titans in his few years there, Holbrook was unceremoniously punted midway through the season. Somehow, with the Titans, it always conveniently seems to be the coach’s fault.
Paul Kent: So, it turns out that Karma is real after all.
League: The greatest game of all. Why would you waste your time either watching or playing anything else. Bring on season 2024.
Money, Money, Money: Remember the days when DCE landed “that” contract to become the highest paid player in the game? Well, these days, with the continual growth in the salary cap, a million-dollar contract is becoming the norm rather than the exception for the game’s elite players. There are around 14 players reportedly on more than $1m for next season, and you can expect that number to grow before the season kicks off.
Shaun Johnson of the New Zealand Warriors. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
New Zealand Warriors: It was a brave and impressive effort from Webster’s Warriors this year, and they surprised everyone except themselves to get within one game of the grand-final. I wonder if they can remain as competitive next year?
O’Brien Survives: With his Newcastle Knights finishing near the bottom of the table last season, and seemingly heading the same way at round 17 this year, Adam O’Brien looked to be a dead man walking until Kalyn Ponga inspired his side to win their next 9 games to finish in 5th place and keep O’Brien in a job until at least the end of next season.
Ponga by a Point: The NRL’s highest paid player, Kalyn Ponga, just shades every punter’s favorite in Shaun Johnson to become the third Newcastle Knight to win the Dally M.
QLD Win Origin: Yet again. Somehow, I think it will be a case of “rinse and repeat” while ever Channel 9 flunkies are coaching the Blues. I’m looking at you Paul Gallen!
Reyno-vation Rescue: Souths fans will be red and green with envy as they watched former skipper and favorite son Adam Reynolds take the Broncos from 14th to within just two points from a premiership within two years while Souths slowly slide down the table. Silly Solly! I guess the good news for Souths is that they’ll have Jack Wighton joining them for the next four years.
Storm Abating? Melbourne has been a powerhouse almost since the club’s inception, but some serious cracks are now appearing in their armour and 2023 might be their last at the top of the table for some time. They were soundly beaten by both Brisbane and Penrith in this year’s finals, coach and talisman Craig Bellamy is probably heading into his last year with the clipboard, and key players in Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and, to a lesser extent, Harry Grant have come back to the field.
Penrith celebrate winning the 2023 NRL Premiership. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Threepeat: Every era seems to produce a dominant team and it’s the Panthers all the way in the 2020’s, as they’ve played every Grand Final in the last four years, won three of them, and will start as hot favourites to do it again next year.
Union Fail: After receiving constant jibes in recent times about the standard of last year’s RLWC from our rugby union cousins, it was somehow heartwarming to see the Wallabies obliterated in the pool round of the RLWC in France, not to mention those exciting, elite contests involving Namibia, Romania, Chile, and Upper Cumbukta West.
Vale: Sadly, some rugby league greats left us this year, including John “Chow” Hayes, John McDonald, John Sattler, Lionel Morgan, Kyle Turner and Kyle White. May they rest in peace.
Wests Back-to-Back: It takes a total lack of foresight, club management, talent, coaching ability and player commitment to pick up a wooden spoon, so two in a row is really something. My money’s on the Tigers for the threepeat in 2024.
Reece Walsh. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
X Factor: Every now and then a player bursts onto the scene and takes the game to another level, and this year that player was Brisbane’s Reece Walsh. Walsh was almost unstoppable for most of the season and even in the Grand Final when he didn’t have his best game, he produced a couple of magic moments that almost got his team home.
You Just Can’t Beat The Hoodoo: Both Cronulla and Canberra were brutally reminded of the “50 points conceded” hoodoo when they swiftly disappeared from the finals, losing their elimination matches by just one point and two points respectively. Teams conceding 50 points next year shouldn’t bother turning up for the finals.
eZra Mam: OMG, has any player other than Nathan Cleary in the very same half of football, ever taken a Grand Final by the scruff of the neck like Mam did early in the second half? Three blistering tries – what a performance! The Broncos, and the Maroons, have a real talent here, and if I’m Cameron Munster, I’m looking over both shoulders.
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