The Storm will go down as one of the great teams of any era with their victory in this year’s grand final.

But it wasn’t just about the Storm. Every club delivered spectacular on-field moments that will be remembered for years to come from Mitchell Pearce’s Anzac Day winning field goal to Alex Johnston’s spectacular five try effort for the Rabbitohs against Penrith.

And as always, season 2017 delivered on the controversy front. From coaches being sacked to players jumping clubs mid-season to the boozy Blues storm that raged after another crushing series defeat to Queensland.

But without further ado, here are my top 50 moments of NRL season 2017 and there was a clear stand-out as number one.

1 to 10

1 In a beautiful gesture, Knights halfback Trent Hodkinson takes terminally ill schoolgirl Hannah Rye to her formal just weeks before she passed away from Ewing sarcoma cancer.

2 Melbourne Storm become the undisputed champions of the NRL with a crushing 34-6 victory over the Cowboys to draw comparisons with the greatest premiership sides in history.

3 Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith breaks Darren Lockyer’s all-time record of 355 games in a victory over Parramatta in the first week of the finals at AAMI Park.

4 Canberra Raiders forward Sia Soliola knocks Storm superstar Billy Slater unconscious with a vicious late tackle. He is later suspended for five weeks by the NRL judiciary.

5 Laurie Daley sacked as Origin coach after winning one series in five attempts. A boozy culture is revealed as Blake Ferguson and Josh Dugan spend a day on the drink at the Lennox Heads Hotel.

6 The NSW Blues blow the State of Origin series after winning game one. Jarryd Hayne only had to pass to an unmarked Brett Morris in game two at ANZ Stadium to win the series.

7 In the season’s biggest choke, the Dragons lose round 26 to the Bulldogs after leading 20-14. It cost them a position in the semi-finals and opens the door for the Cowboys’ charge to the grand final.

8 Having missed his previous 18 field goal attempts, Mitchell Pearce bangs one over on Anzac Day in golden point against St George Illawarra. It wins the Peter Frilingos ‘Headline Moment of the Year.’

9 South Sydney Rabbitohs, Maroons and Kangaroos champion Greg Inglis reveals he’s suffering from depression after being struck down with a season-ending knee injury.

10 After five years as chairman of the Independent Commission John Grant quits, forced out by the clubs after an 18-month dispute over their new funding deals from the $2 billion TV deal.

11 to 20

11 Just a few months after agreeing to a new $2 million deal at the Bulldogs, coach Des Hasler is sacked after missing the semi-finals for the first time in his six years at Belmore.

12 Cronulla chairman Damian Keogh forced to step down after being charged with drug possession. In the same week the Roosters also sack veteran winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall for cocaine possession.

13 In a bombshell Sunday Telegraph interview, Wests Tigers star Tim Simona admits to gambling on games, using cocaine and ripping off a charity. He is suspended indefinitely by the NRL.

14 Kiwi Test stars Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor caught up in drug bust after the Test match in Canberra. Both are fined and suspended by their club and sacked from the Kiwis World Cup team.

15 Mal Meninga sacks Josh Papalii from the Kangaroos squad over a drink driving offence in the days leading up to the Test match against New Zealand. Andrew Fifita gets a call up as his replacement.

16 The Wests Tigers sensationally sack coach Jason Taylor after just three rounds. The poor coach reads about it on The Daily Telegraph website prior to the announcement. Ivan Cleary replaces him.

17 After a season-long feud with superstar star Jarryd Hayne, the Titans cut coach Neil Henry from the final year of his contract. It was cheaper than getting rid of Hayne.

18 Fijian wingers light up NRL — Suliasi Vunivalu grabs 23 tries to equal his own club record (and most ever by a player in first two seasons (46) and Semi Radradra scores two 4-try hauls for the Eels.

19 Ben Barba quits NRL after being suspended for 12 weeks for using cocaine on Mad Monday. He signs to play French rugby union but lasts only a month before joining the English Super League.

20 Coaches Shane Flanagan and Trent Barrett fined a combined $50,000 for referee abuse after the Sharks and Sea Eagles bombed out in week one of the finals. Todd Greenberg tells the pair to “grow up.”

21 - 30

21 Melbourne Storm take out the major gongs at the Dally M awards with Cameron Smith named player-of-the-year. Craig Bellamy wins Coach of the Year and Billy Slater is named the top fullback.

22 Billy Slater makes an outstanding return from shoulder surgery after 374 days out injured for Melbourne Storm. He wins Dally M Fullback of the Year and then the Clive Churchill Medal for the second time.

23 Yet another coaching casualty — this time it’s Michael Maguire’s turn at the South Sydney Rabbitohs just three years after winning the premiership. His deputy Anthony Seibold takes over.

24 Alex McKinnon launches a multimillion-dollar legal case against NRL to cover the expenses of living out of a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

25 The Panthers dump skipper Matt Moylan, Waqa Blake and Peter Hiku for breaking curfew after a Storm game in Melbourne. Moylan is also stood down towards the end of season for health issues.

26 The NRL backs Matt Callander’s idea to dedicate Round 11 to Beanie for Brain Cancer. It is a massive fundraising success in raising almost $2 million for The Mark Hughes Foundation.

27 The Wests Tigers, despite signing highly regarded Ivan Cleary as head coach, are in turmoil as five-eighth Mitchell Moses, prop Aaron Woods and fullback James Tedesco all quit.

28 Champion Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo signs a 10-year contract with the Cowboys worth $10 million. His barnstorming form throughout the year confirms his rating as the world’s best forward.

29 Nathan Cleary, 19, becomes youngest player to score 200 points in a season. The Panthers star also became the premiership’s youngest leading point scorer since Harold Holder in 1913.

30 Kirisome Auva’a scores the fastest try in NRL history in 13 seconds for the Parramatta Eels against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium in Round 25.

31 to 40

31 NSW and Sharks front-rower Andrew Fifita is compared to Arthur Beetson after a barnstorming performance in Origin I at Suncorp as the Blues win 28-4. He struggles in the next two games.

32 In a performance that reminded me of immortal Wally Lewis, Matt Moylan engineered two tries in the last few minutes to beat the Canberra Raiders in Bathurst from an impossible position.

33 After years of ownership uncertainty under fallen mining tycoon Nathan Tinkler and the NRL, the thriving Wests Group in Newcastle step in to buy the Knights to secure their future.

34 Johnathan Thurston lands a magnificent conversion with a busted shoulder to win Origin II at ANZ Stadium in what turned out to be his last game for the Maroons and for the season.

35 Sea Eagles winger Akuila Uate awarded a try against the Knights after spilling the ball. Jared Maxwell was sacked as video reviewer for advising ref Ashley Klein to award try without checking.

36 The NRL forced to apply for a $30 million bank loan to make the first instalments in the new $13 million funding agreement with the 16 clubs.

37 Champion Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Cronk reveals he’s quitting Melbourne Storm to move to Sydney to be with his fiancee Tara Rushton.

38 After spending 12 months in jail for a vicious assault, Russell Packer not only resurrects his NRL career at St George Illawarra but graduates with a university degree.

39 Broncos halfback Ben Hunt becomes one of the highest paid players in rugby league history by signing a $6 million five-year deal with the St George Illawarra Dragons.

40 Michael Morgan produces three extraordinary performances for the North Queensland Cowboys in finals victories over the Sharks, Eels and the Roosters to lift his side into the grand final.

41 to 50

41 St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor sacks Blues Origin fullback Josh Dugan for missing the team bus before the crucial clash with the Penrith Panthers.

42 The Wests Tigers announce old champion Benji Marshall will return home on a one-year deal after a successful 12-month stint with the Brisbane Broncos.

43 Winger Alex Johnston equals South Sydney’s all-time record with a slashing five-try performance in a 42-14 demolition of the Penrith Panthers at ANZ Stadium.

44 In a highly emotional exit, Canterbury Bulldogs fan favourite Josh Reynolds gets chaired off Belmore Sports Ground after a thrilling victory over the Newcastle Knights.

45 The rugby league world is shocked and saddened by the news that Parramatta Eels legend Brett Kenny has been struck down with cancer.

46 The end of a long and proud era as City play Country for the final time in Mudgee in May. City win 20-10. The NRL vows to take more premiership game to the bush next year.

47 Kieran Foran finally cleared by the NRL to return to football with the New Zealand Warriors. Late in the season he announces he will return home to Sydney in a big money deal at the Bulldogs.

48 The Broncos and Cowboys fight out another golden point classic. Johnathan Thurston lands the field goal to give the Cowboys victory in a round two thriller.

49 Former Parramatta Eels CEO Scott Seward is charged with fraud as part of the probe into the club’s salary cap scandal. He receives a good behaviour bond.

50 And finally …. my favourite game of the season. Despite having five players sin-binned in the second half, the Macintyre Warriors beat the Narwan Eels in a spectacular Group 19 grand final.