Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield reveals his top 50 NRL players for 2024

Phil Rothfield’s Top 50 NRL players for 2024 is littered with the game’s highest paid players, but four million-dollar men from the Rich 100 failed to make the cut. See the full Top 50 and have your say.

Phil Rothfield’s top-50 NRL players for 2024.

It’s not hard to work out why Melbourne and Penrith have made it through to the grand final – they have 16 of the top 50 players in the NRL.

This list is about the best players this year – not reputations.

Champions such as Jahrome Hughes, Nathan Cleary and Kalyn Ponga finished in the top three.

Hughes brilliantly delivered week in, week out to be a red-hot favourite for the Dally M award.

Cleary may have played only 12 games but we saw yet again on Saturday night the extraordinary influence he has on the biggest games.

He’s as good as Andrew Johns or Johnathan Thurston. The chief playmaker in five straight grand finals.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE BUZZ’S TOP 50 AND VOTE IN OUR INTERACTIVE

And then there’s Ponga – a superstar and the most gifted game-breaking athlete you’ll ever see.

But not all the NRL’s million-dollar men from the Rich 100 delivered the form to justify their huge salaries – and missed out on the Top 50.

We’re talking about South Sydney’s Latrell Mitchell, the Sharks’ Nicho Hynes, the Titans’ David Fifita and, through no fault of his own, Gold Coast’s ACL victim Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

They simply don’t deserve to be here.

Others such as Storm superstar Cameron Munster would normally be a lot higher than No.27, but he missed such a large chunk of the competition and took time to find his best form.

The most exciting aspect is seeing so many young players make the Top 50 for the first time.

Wests Tigers teenager Lachlan Galvin consistently stood out in the worst team in the NRL.

Or the Melbourne Storm boys Jack Howarth and Tyran Wishart.

Pulling together a Top 50 will always create arguments.

We had some input and advice from colleagues Brent Read, Michael Carayannis and Dave Riccio.