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
It almost came down to a coin toss between Lawrie and Paulo but the Red V's big man takes it by the slimmest of margins.
Lawrie, almost literally at times, carried the Dragons back on his own back. He was a very deserving Player of the Year winner.
His 22 games saw him cross for two tries, average 135 metres per game, tackle at 94% and record almost 920 post contact metres.
Lawrie shone in an otherwise dire and well beaten Dragons engine room.
The NRL community is absolutely asleep when it comes to David Klemmer. How he was overlooked for Origin for TPJ is beyond comprehension.
Klemmer missed seven tackles in 24 games this season. Seven! That is a 98.9% tackle efficiency. For the Tigers no less.
He also ran for almost 140 metres per game, had over 1270 post contact metres, 21 offloads and even crossed for a try.
I'm not sure what Klemmer has done to put the entire fan base off side but you give me 140 metres per game and almost 99% tackles made and you're worth every cent of your contract.
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.
Last year I proclaimed Joseph Tapine to be the best middle man in the game. Although he took a step back in 2023, he did everything within his power to drag his Canberra side with him.
Having shifted, officially, to being a full time prop, Tapine's 24 games netted 155 run metres per game, 59 tackle breaks, 30 offloads, over 1460 post contact metres and 93.8% tackling efficiency.
Canberra's season can probably rated as a C-, as best. Tapine himself would be an easy A.
Just when I thought I had seen it all from this freakish footballer, he even forced a drop out this season via the boot.
Moses Leota had a career best year in 2023. Considering his efforts across his eight year Panthers stint, that is saying something.
His 26 games in '23 saw him cross for three tries, including a pretty important one, run for over 110 metres per game, tackle at 91.4% and make over 1010 post contact metres.
Leota's stats may not measure up to the individual efforts of some below him but I do not care. He was enormous at some of the most critical junctions across the NRL season.
I wish there was a stat for "hitting like a truck" cause I guarantee Leota would be in rarified air at the top.
It's often tough for club mates to both land on a top 10 list given the amount of work taken away from one by the other. There are no such issues here for the second of the Panthers duo.
The Panthers big man is quickly becoming one of the scariest men in the game and one of the game's top enforcers.
Across 23 appearances this year he averaged 130 run metres per game, broke 54 tackles, produced 17 offloads and tackled at 92%.
The Grand Final shifted Penrith's way almost to the second he returned to the field. That is not a coincidence.
Lindsay Collins emerged as one of the game's elite props in 2023. He was huge both for club and in the Origin arena.
For the Roosters he ran out 25 times for three tries, 112 run metres per game, 37 tackle breaks, 11 offloads, 1032 post contact metres and completed almost 91% of his tackles.
Collins was the heart and soul of the Roosters outfit in 2023 and became the new pack leader.
As a Blues fan, the vision of him out jumping arguably the best fullback of the modern era to score a try will haunt my dreams for many years to come.
Although there were some incredible efforts that lead to the previous players being named, 2023 was a case of the top three, then some distance to the rest.
Tino signed an eye watering, lucrative contract earlier in the season. For the Titans, early on at least, it looks to be tremendous value.
In his 19 games this season he averaged 168 run metres per game, made over 1215 post contact metres, broke 52 tackles, had 32 offloads, scores six tries and tackled at over 92%.
In any other season Tino would have walked into the Dally M Team of the Year and landed a top two, or higher, spot on this list.
There is a reason social media lit up yesterday when news of AFB's request for a release broke. He walks into 15 other teams starting line up, and probably makes the Panthers side also.
Fonua-Blake was enormous in 2023. He had a career best season and in any other season in memory would have been the clear prop of the year.
In 26 games in 2023 he crossed for nine tries, averaged 171 metres per game, broke 73 tackles produced 35 offloads, made 1670 post contact metres, made 10 line breaks and just shy of 96% of his tackles.
Warriors fans will be crushed by their star prop's request but can certainly say they enjoyed the very best of Addin Fonua-Blake.
Payne Haas collected our Zero Tackle Player of the year award and would not have looked out of place with the Dally M equivalent around his neck.
Haas became the game's, undoubted, premier middle man across 2023 at club, state and international level.
He ran out 23 times for the Broncos this season and averaged 187 run metres per game, made 1662 post contact metres, broke 113 tackles, had 50 offloads and tackled at just under 99%.
Brisbane enjoyed a magnificent season and they largely have Haas to thank. He lead from the front in each and every game this season.