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 prop 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 front rower outright.
If you're looking for Cotter, he played more games as a lock and thus qualifies there.
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 props based purely and totally on 2023:
Honourable mentions: Taniela Paseka, Toafofoa Sipley, Junior Paulo
8. Thomas Flegler
Simply put, Tom Flegler was an absolute monster for the Broncos in 2023. He will be sorely missed.
It is so hard to stand out when your lining up beside the game's premier prop in Payne Haas, but Flegler's near perfect Grand Final performance capped off a marvellous season.
Across his 22 games he averaged almost 110 metres per game (a stat skewed by two games of under 25 minutes), broke 52 tackles, tackled at over 93% and crossed for three tries.
The 24 year-old is a genuine, marquee signing for the Dolphins in 2024 and should play an even larger role moving forward.