NRL Team of the Year: Rookies, rising stars and the GOAT
The Dally M Awards are on our doorstep and for the first time a 13-man team of the year will be named — so to get in the mood we’ve selected our own side. Check out who made the cut!
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With the Dally M Awards on our doorstep, it’s time to talk about the NRL team of the year.
For the first time in the game’s history a full 13-man side will be announced at Monday night’s Dally M Awards ceremony.
Ahead of the gala event, Nick Campton and Fox Sports Lab’s Aaron Wallace have used a combination of our Player Stats Index and robust discussion to select their team of the year.
FULLBACK: James Tedesco (Roosters)
It was a hot field, but Tedesco was once again the best fullback in the game, if not the best player in the world. The Roosters might not have been the force of previous years but Tedesco still shone in all aspects of the game. Led the league in run metres (3798), tackle busts (127) and linebreak assists (29 being a career high), as well as scoring 11 tries, assisting 15 and having a major contribution to 11 more.
Honourable mentions: Ryan Papenhuyzen (Storm), Clint Gutherson (Eels)
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WING: David Nofoaluma (Wests Tigers)
Could not have done more in his efforts to drag Wests Tigers to the finals. Mixed hard work with flash finishes and was desperately unlucky not to win Origin selection after the best season of his career. At the close of the regular season he finished with third most tries (17 — a career-high), second most tackle busts (112) and equal-fifth most linebreaks (19 — equal career high)
WING: Josh Addo-Carr (Storm)
Still the fastest thing on two legs but has taken his game to the next level — can bob up anywhere on the field and is dangerous every time he touches the ball. No wonder the Storm are keen to keep him after he led the club through to the end of the regular season in tries (15) and linebreaks (18) and had broken the second-most tackles (64).
Honourable mentions: Josh Mansour (Panthers), Alex Johnston (Rabbitohs), Daniel Tupou (Roosters)
CENTRE: Stephen Crichton (Panthers)
Started the year as a bench utility and ends it as one of the best up-and-coming players in the game. Crichton has found a home on Penrith’s left edge and fast became one of the Panthers’ best attacking weapons. Scored in eight straight games in the middle of the year to finish the regular season with 15 tries and 14 linebreaks.
CENTRE: Zac Lomax (Dragons)
The Dragons didn’t have much to show for 2020 but it marked Zac Lomax’s entrance as one of the game’s elite centres. Once he settled in at right centre, the points wouldn’t stop coming — he scored almost half of the Dragons points in 2020 (178 of 378), including 13 tries, with 10 of those against top 8 sides.
Honourable mentions: Josh Morris (Roosters), Campbell Graham (Rabbitohs)
FIVE-EIGHTH: Cody Walker (Rabbitohs)
For the first half of the year, Walker was solid. For the second half of the year he’s been the best player in the competition, hitting a white-hot vein of form that propelled South Sydney from also-rans to premiership contenders. Has a career-high 23 try assists (equal-most in NRL) and he requires just one linebreak to reach another career high (19).
Honourable mentions: Jack Wighton (raiders), Jarome Luai (Panthers), Shaun Johnson (Sharks)
HALFBACK: Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
Has long been a boy wonder but 2020 was the season he delivered on the promise. The main playmaker for the best team in the competition and one of the most dominant teams of modern times. Notched 21 try assists and 19 secondary assists in the regular season — both almost double his previous season best tallies. He also booted four 40/20s and forced 25 drop outs — leading the 2020 season in both categories.
Honourable mentions: Adam Reynolds (Rabbitohs), Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)
FRONT ROW: Josh Papalii (Raiders)
After another excellent season from the big Raider, there can be little more doubt he’s the best prop in rugby league. His work with the ball was as good as ever — averaging 53 minutes and a career-high 15.3 runs and 138 metres in 2020 — and he remained Canberra’s heartbeat. No play summed up his will to win more than his ankle tap on Gold Coast’s Jamal Fogarty in Round 15.
FRONT ROW: Junior Paulo (Eels)
There’s plenty of big units in the NRL but few have skills like Paulo. The Parramatta prop was as deft as he was dynamic in the middle of the field as he put together his best season in first grade. Led the NRL in offloads (54) as well as having career-high run metres (136 per game), busting 43 tackles and having a hand in 13 linebreaks.
Honourable mentions: David Klemmer (Knights), James Fisher-Harris (Panthers), Tom Burgess (Rabbitohs)
HOOKER: Cameron Smith (Storm)
Smith is still the best hooker in the game and still one of the best players, full stop. The Melbourne skipper has kept pulling the strings for the Storm with the deft touch of a master playmaker. Despite turning 37 halfway through 2020, he led Storm with 17 try assists in the regular season — his best regular season return.
Honourable mentions: Damien Cook (Rabbitohs), Api Koroisau (Panthers)
SECOND ROW: Viliame Kikau (Panthers)
Kikau’s combination of size, agility, skill and footwork is almost unfair. He’s the most dangerous forward in the competition and his work on Penrith’s left edge helped propel them to the minor premiership. Kikau has notched 12 linebreaks and 54 tackle busts in 2020 — the most of any forward. He finished strongly, with six linebreaks 23 tackle busts in the final four games.
SECOND ROW: Ryan Matterson (Eels)
Came into the season under enormous pressure after his split with the Tigers, but he has played the football to back it up. Although not as spectacular as Kikau, Matterson is solid as a rock, with some handy skills to back it up. He finished the season with the third-most offloads in the NRL (36) as well as career-high tackle busts (37) and linebreak assists (5).
Honourable mentions: Jadyn Su’A (Rabbitohs), Bayley Sironen (Rabbitohs), Tyson Frizell (Dragons), Ray Faitala-Mariner (Bulldogs)
LOCK: Isaah Yeo (Panthers)
An unsung hero in the middle of the field for the Panthers. Yeo has always been tough and consistent but he took things to another level in 2020 and is one of the rocks on which Penrith built their remarkable season. The hard-nosed lock finished the year with career-high linebreaks (7) and the second-most tackles of any Panther (725).
Honourable mentions: Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys), Nathan Brown (Eels)
