With the off-seasis on 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 bench specialists and their rankings from 2023.
Please keep in mind that these rankings are based only on 2023.
To qualify, a player must have played off the bench on a majority of appearances. They also cannot appear anywhere else in the rankings. i.e. Cam McInnes ranked in the top locks and thus won't be seen here.
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.
With that said, below are the top ten NRL bench specialists based purely and totally on 2023:
Honourable mentions: Wiremu Greig, Bronson Garlick, Emre Guler
6. Keenan Palasia
Palasia was so good last season but given the Broncos late fade out, his efforts were largely lost to time.
Not so his 2023 campaign. He was brilliant coming off the bench and made sure that the Broncos didn't fall apart in the middle when their superstars were on the bench.
His 20 games in 2023, 12 from the bench (it counts) saw him average 105 run metres, tackle at over 93% and pop seven offloads.
With Tom Flegler moving north in 2024, watch for Palasia's role to grow.
Interesting, Dan
I’d have liked to see when each of these guys comes off contract.
I could look it up, but I’m just lazy !