NRL rosters are now so evenly matched, and deep, that games are often won by the team with the more impactful bench.
Injuries effected every club in 2024, as is unfortunately the way each and every year, and again we saw plenty of games won by utility players in a next man up role.
Today we celebrate those players.
This is going to be the hardest list to rank as each player below plays a different role.
Just some housekeeping, for a player to qualify they must have been used off the bench more often than not, or used in multiple roles.
Example: Connor Tracey is often referred to as a utility but played almost of all his games this season at fullback. He is therefore not considered.
Blaize Talagi, Lehi Hopoate and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck also don't qualify as they were all first choice backline players at some stage.
If you're looking for Terrell May, he was named in the top ten props so I have left him off this list.
Below are the top 10 utilities and/or bench specialists from the 2024 season:
Honourable Mention: Naufahu Whyte
10. Griffin Neame
The Cowboys big man really came into his own in 2024. So much so that he signed a one year extension to his contract, with many seasons to come.
In his 26 appearances for the Cowboys, 18 came from the bench. His starts were good but his true monster games came from the bench.
Those 26 games saw him average almost 110 run metres and tackle at almost 92%. His 178 run metres and a try against the Dragons in Round Three being the highlight of the year.
At only 23 year's of age, the future is super bright for the three time capped Kiwi rep.
