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
2. Dylan Walker
I'm not a huge fan of this obsession of having to pick a utility player on the bench. That said, if you had to, Dylan Walker is the blueprint.
He played in the forwards across the large majority of his games in 2023 but was also able to cover in the halves or at centre.
In his 24 games, 22 of which came via the bench, he scored three tries, had four try assists, ran for almost 95 metres per game and tackled at just under 91%.
Walker's talents off the bench ensured the Warriors lost nothing when he came on and also saw him break some games open. A very good shift in 2023.
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 !