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 fullbacks 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 fullback 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.
With that said, below are the top 10 NRL fullbacks based purely and totally on 2023:
6. James Tedesco
It says everything about James Tedesco, and his standing in the game, that he can have a "down season" yet still perform at the level he did in 2023.
Across his 22 games for the Roosters this year, he crossed for 11 tries, set up 11, made 15 line breaks, ran for 185 metres per game and broke a staggering 126 tackles.
Tedesco managed to hold off some emerging megastar fullbacks to retain both his NSW and Kangaroos jumpers.
The Rooster skipper pretty much dragged them to a Finals finish. I can't remember ranking Tedesco as low as sixth previously but he is still among the competition's very elite number ones.
