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
1. Tyran Wishart
If Connor Watson isn't the game's best utility, the Storm superstar certainly is.
NRL stats have him listed as having officially played halfback, five-eighth and hooker, as well as listed as an interchange player, but he also played fullback, wing, centre and in the middle at times.
26 appearances saw a return of 12 tries, four try assists, 13 offloads, 80 run metres per game, six forced dropouts, a tackle percentage of almost 92% and he even chipped in with 14 goals.
Wishart is the best interchange player in the comp because he can literally do it all. The Storm will want to re-sign him quickly, with the Dragons ready to offer him big time.
