The nrl's most overpaid players

the nrl's most overpaid stars

NRL free agency has opened and agents are working hard to secure bumper pay days for their clients. Ahead of the 2022 season Foxsports.com.au has highlighted the players who have work to do to justify their big pay packet.

Luke Brooks

Brooks has two years left of his contract at Wests Tigers. At the time of his signing the Dally M Halfback of the Year and Tigers’ Player’s Player could easily demand this sum. But since then he has played 172 games with none of them being in finals.

Chad townsend

Townsend reportedly signed a $2.4 million three-year deal with the Cowboys. He suffered a shoulder injury which saw him feature in only five games for the Warriors. The 30-year-old is a premiership-winner with the Sharks in 2016 but has since been average at best.

David Fifita

A bowling ball in attack but can go missing at times in defence. The 21-year-old has been sitting on the bench for most of his 22 games only coming off for eight of them. But the question stands, should a club ever be paying over $1 million for a player coming off the bench?

Matt lodge

Lodge's salary is well over what the average prop should be on—considering he averages less metres per game, post contact metres per game and has the second highest number of penalties conceded. He will have to prove his worth in 2022 to justify that type of money.

Moses mbye

Mbye joined the Tigers as a handy player, while also bringing leadership qualities. But his versatility ended up being a burden as he struggled to nail down a position. He also publicly admitted he wasn’t living up to the salary he was earning at the Tigers.

DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK

The 26-year-old struggled to secure a place at fullback at the Bulldogs and again this year at the Warriors, which puts a spotlight on his huge $850,000 salary. It’s a poor piece of business when compared to the salary of Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad , at $330,000.

Valentine Holmes

Holmes signed a huge six-year contract with the Cowboys after returning from the NFL. He played at fullback for most of 2021 but also filled in on the wing and at centre. He didn’t have a huge impact and has been underwhelming since inking that deal.

Wade graham

The 31-year-old signed a three-year extension in 2019 and was earmarked as the Sharks’ next skipper. He has been riddled with injuries since his re-signing, with a recurring knee injury and concussions sidelining him for much of last season.

nick cotric

He played 14 games last season before a toe injury ruled him out for the remaining games. He was underwhelming compared to the form we saw him hit at the Raiders, making his $600k salary look a little silly up against new Bulldogs recruit, Josh Addo-Carr’s reported $500k.

corey allan

Allan was signed during the Bulldogs first rebuild and proved to be disappointing. He hardly played at fullback, and looked uninspiring. His salary doesn't reflect his performance in a lacklustre Bulldogs backline.

Words: Staff writers Producer: Stefan Centofanti In partnership with Learn more