It is very, very difficult to win a competition without a truly elite five-eighth. We certainly saw the cream rise to the top comes the finals.
That seems like an obvious statement, but getting the spine right in modern Rugby League is paramount.
In 2022, we saw a series of world-class five-eight performances. While I believe there is a clear number one in the position, grading the next nine was very, very difficult.
Here are the Top ten five-eighths from 2022. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean they are the best in the position, with performances in 2022 the only factor.
For a player to qualify, he must have played more games in the six than in any other position this season.
The Dragons youngster, despite his side's struggles, outplayed some big names in his position in 2022. Fair to say this kid has a bright future.
Six tries, 13 try assists, six forced drop outs, 12 line break assists, 59 metres run per game, 52 metres kicking per game and an 80% tackle efficiency is more than an honest shift.
Amone's stats are fairly impressive in an often well beaten side. Despite being only 20 he has all but guaranteed his position in the long term thanks to his 2022 return.
In the Dragons set up, Amone plays a very second hand to Ben Hunt. I expect this will eventually change as he continues to show his talents.
Wighton, much like the Raiders as a whole, had a rough start to the season but came good at the pointy end of the season.
His 2022 stats: four tries, 10 try assists, 15 line break assists, 15 forced drop outs, 15 offloads and 100 metres run per game, are probably a little down on what you'd expect.
That said, Wighton was so very good and largely spearheaded the Raiders late charge to the Finals.
Wighton's form was so good come Final's time that a fair few people, myself included, saw him taking his side deep into the series.
The Sharks veteran would have been at $1000 to one odds to be on this list in the pre-season. If not for a late season fade out he would have placed even higher.
Moylan proved a perfect foil for Nicho Hynes in 2022. Their combination was almost solely responsible for the Sharks success this year.
Five tries, 12 try assists, 15 line break assists, 81 metres run per game, 72 metres run per game and 80% tackle efficiency were stats well beyond what Moylan's was expected to provide.
Moylan seemed to find fitness and speed he lacked in the past two to three seasons. He was rewarded with a new two-year deal which he richly deserved.
Opinions on Matt Burton's 2022 seem to be split. Personally, I thought he was largely very good in a disjointed side that never really established a halves combination.
Burton's boot became one of the competition's genuine weapons. You couldn't pay me enough to try and catch one of those.
His 2022 return consisted of six tries, 50 goals, 18 forced drop outs, 14 try assists, 14 line break assists, 431 metres kicked per game and a 72% tackle efficiency.
The Dogs locked in one of their long-term pieces in Burton. He proved you don't have to be in a great side to have a good individual season.
Cody Walker is another on the list who was hard to grade. I saw some say he had a "down season" but his stats and late performances suggest otherwise.
14 tries, 21 try assists, 21 line break assists, 10 forced drop outs, 160 metres kicked per game, 73 metres run per game prove he far from relied on Adam Reynolds.
Given a rookie halves partner probably contributed to Walker's relatively slow start to the season but by the Semi Finals he was once again amongst the elite.
There were worries that Walker's confidence and performances would be down after the Grand Final but overall he proved that to be totally false.
I'm breaking my own rule here for the simple fact that Keary played five-eighth for most of the season despite being named in the seven.
It's no coincidence that both Keary and the Roosters were a far better side once he was officially named in the six. That may prove to be Trent Robinson's worst decision ever.
In 2022 Keary may have only crossed for two tries but he assisted 22, set up 20 line breaks, forced 13 drop outs and tackled at over 90%.
Despite a slow start due to being forced out of his natural role, Keary ended up having a near career best season.
Dearden's odds to appear here may have been even longer than Matt Moylan's but he was one of the top performers in the position in 2022.
His efforts even earned him Origin selection where he was brilliant in a Series winning performance.
Dearden was magical in 2022. Nine tries, 15 try assists, 11 line break assists, six forced drop outs and 92 run metres per game only tell part of the story.
The Cowboys set up the perfect system in 2022. More importantly they filled the positions in the system with the perfect players for that system. Dearden fit like a glove and now has a monster future ahead of him.
Luai is arguably the game's most polarising player both on and off the field. That said, he is undoubtedly one of the game's stars on the field.
In 20 appearances in 2022 Luai scored seven tries, set up 13, assisted nine line breaks, forced six drop outs and ran for 72 metres per game. All whilst tackling at almost 87%.
Luai's stats are never going to match others on the list due to his role being very different. His halves partnership with Cleary is the game's best.
Origin-aside, I cannot remember the last time Luai was kept quiet or played badly. He's a genuine match winner, which in itself makes him very easy to hate.
I'm putting this on record right now. Dylan Brown's improvement in performance from 2021 to 2022 is the reason they made the Grand Final this year.
In any other year the Eels number six would be the number one here on this list.
11 tries, 17 try assists, 16 line break assists, 11 forced drop outs, 125 metres run per game and 65 metres kicking per game prove his worth to his side. He also tackled at 93%.
Brown often played second fiddle to Moses in 2021. I'd say he was the standout halves partner for Parramatta in 2022. What a season!
There can be no argument as to Munster's place here. Munster held the Storm together at times.
Munster's stats never match his overall performances but 2022 saw him cross for 11 tries, set up 16, deliver 34 offloads, force nine drop outs and run for 145 metres per game.
Throw in 15 line break assists, 205 metres kicked per game and his 85% tackling efficiency and Munster is the all round player.
Munster was asked to play out of position at times. That said one could argue he often played two positions. A near flawless season saw him drag the Storm to fifth.