Class number nines can make such a huge different to a team's fortunes.
Cameron Smith, for over a decade, pulled the strings for the Storm. Despite Melbourne losing millions of dollars of talent, they never really dipped thanks mainly to Smith's genius.
2024 saw a host of class hookers emerge. It did make ranking them very tough.
Please remember that these rankings are compiled using 2024's form only. This isn't necessarily a list of the best hookers, per se.
Below are the top 10 hookers from 2024:
2. Reece Robson
Truthfully, it almost came down to a coin toss as to who finished first and who finished second here. For a time, I had Robson at number one.
His 23 games for the Cowboys saw him cross three times, assist six tries, lay on seven line-break assists, produce 13 offloads, run for over 65 metres per game and make 919 tackles at almost 94%. His performances for the Blues were just as good.
I'd argue his performance way out did his stats, as impressive as they may be.
Robson has, undoubtedly, emerged as the number one hooker for the Blues moving forward. An incredible season, although I feel even better things are ahead.
