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
7. Thomas Burgess
The Bunnies couldn't deliver a positive send-off for the last of the Burgess brothers, but Tom put in an almighty shift in 2024.
His 93 run metres per game are heavily skewed by some short stints later in the season as Souths pivoted. He was much, much more important than that stat indicates.
His Round six effort against the Sharks, in an easily beaten side, saw him trample all in front of him en route to 160+ metres and a try.
It's hard to imagine a Souths side without a Burgess running out in 2025.
