With the off-season comes the usual troupes.
Talk of expansion, the divisions talk, player movements and of course post-season rankings.
Today we're here to focus on the rankings. More specifically, the NRL five-eighth rankings from 2023.
Please keep in mind that these rankings are based only on 2023. Both NRL and Origin performances will be taken into account. Not specifically who is the best five-eighth outright.
Before we start, I'm going to take a moment to answer some of the usual questions to appear in the comments to any sort of rankings.
Do I even watch football? Yes, every game.
Are my eyes painted on? No. That would be funny though.
Who am I? Just a fan.
This was by far the more difficult to rank, thus far. It's also the list I'm expecting to cop more grief for in the comments. That's ultimately what it's about though, right?
With that said, below are the top 10 NRL five-eighths based purely and totally on 2023:
Honourable mentions: Jack Wighton
8. Kodi Nikorima
Straight up, I thought Kodi Nikorima had a fantastic season. He played across multiple positions for the Phins but mainly as the number six so he lands here.
Across 21 games in 2023 Nikorima set up 18 tries, had 27 line-break assists, scored four tries, ran for over 90 metres per game and 11 offloads.
Those stats put him well above the Origin players previously listed here.
Nikorima was a real shining light in the Dolphins first season in the NRL.
I wondered where you would put Dylan Brown and Luke Keary.
Personally, I would have moved Keary a bit higher and had Brown somewhere near the bottom of the list. As you said with Kieran Foran, it’s not just the stats – it’s also what the eyes tell you and my eyes didn’t tell me the Parra 5/8 was one of the top 50% of players in that position.