Revealed: Each NRL Team's Best Player in 2022

We've used our detailed analytics to determine who were the best players in the NRL in 2022, thanks to stats and not opinion.

While there is still plenty of football to be played as we wait to find our premiers, it's a good time to look back on the 25 rounds up to this point and give praise to the best performers in the competition, to help answer who was the best player at each NRL club in 2022?

MORE: NRL Tips for This Weekend - Week 1 Finals, 2022

How is Stats Insider’s NRL Player of the Season selected for each club?

Using Stats Insider's NRL Player Rating system, players have been allocated a rating for each match they played in the 2022 season.

A player’s game by game ratings, for their 21 highest scoring matches, are then added together and the player with the highest overall rating for each team is awarded their player of the season.

Because players accumulate rating points in each match they play, this method tends to reward players who have performed consistently over the entire 2022 season. It also makes it difficult for players who have missed a chunk of games (through injury or suspension) to poll highly. 

With that in mind, it's important to remember that just because a player is awarded our player of the season, that isn't to say the rating system necessarily regards them as the best player at their club. Only that they have performed consistently well throughout 2022 and that performance has been recognised and rewarded by our Player Rating System.

Every NRL Team's Best Player in 2022

Panthers: Dylan Edwards

Take your pick for the Panthers this season.

Viliame Kikau has played arguably the best year of his career, and you could say the same about Api Koroisau. Isaah Yeo has again been outstanding and Nathan Cleary is always a talking point in the games he plays. However, through it all, Dylan Edwards has stood out for his consistency.

Edwards' role is fairly simple within the Panthers game plan. Tasked with working hard to be in position at the back and starting the sets well, Edwards led the NRL in total runs with 472 in 22 games. His 4,800 total running metres finished second in the competition while his 218-metre average ended on top.

Where Edwards really made his mark though is in kick returns. He led the competition with a whopping 1,968 kick return metres this season. For perspective: Clint Gutherson (Eels) finished second with 1,285 metres and played two more games than Edwards.

He's not flashy nor is he one that will fill the hype-reels ahead of the NRL Finals. Still, Edwards is a key cog in the Panthers juggernaut and proved it again with another impressive 2022 season.

MORE: NRL Futures Predictions

Sharks: Nicho Hynes

Nicho Hynes has taken to halfback like a Shark to water.

While some outside of the Shire doubted his ability to not only move from the Storm to another club and play well, but from a utility role to halfback, Hynes hasn't looked out of place in the #7 jersey.

He plays on the ball and guides the Sharks around the field. When in position to attack, Hynes has fired off 17 try assists and led the competition in line break assists with 24 for the season.

A running threat averaging 121 metres per game, Hynes is a threat with both his hands and feet.

The 26-year-old is still learning the halfback position, but if his first full season in the role is anything to go by, Hynes will only get better in 2023.

RELATED: Sharks vs Cowboys Tips

Cowboys: Scott Drinkwater

Scott Drinkwater started the season outside the starting 17 for the Cowboys, but ended the year as the first-choice fullback and one of their best performers. 

The 25-year-old is a constant threat with the ball. Allowed to roam and pop up as he pleases from fullback, Drinkwater finished the regular season with 11 tries, 15 try assists, 70 tackle breaks and 12 line breaks while averaging 143 running metres per game.

He has his issues defensively, with Todd Payten opting to start with Tom Dearden in the halves this season for that very reason. However, hidden at fullback where he was only asked to make 132 tackles all season, Drinkwater spent his 20 matches doing what he does best and piling up points for the Cowboys.

Eels: Mitchell Moses

Mitchell Moses has been in excellent form this season.

His organisation and control of the side has improved year-on-year for this to be the best season of his career. Moses directed a massive pack up the field and orchestrated the Eels attack to hand out an NRL-high 22 try assists throughout his 22 matches.

His combination with Dylan Brown has improved out of sight as the pair dominate their sides of the field and thrive beside big backrowers on the edge. Isaiah Papali'i and Shaun Lane are both honourable mentions here. Papali'i, in particular, has been a beneficiary of Moses' stellar season.

Storm: Cameron Munster

What a year for Cameron Munster.

Many have him marked down as the best player in the game right now.

• 21 games
• 11 tries
• 15 try assists
• 15 line break assists
• 30 offloads
• 111 tackle breaks
• 141 running metres per game

Munster does it all and has done so for the Storm in a season they've needed him most.

With injuries to key players around him and a pack starting to age, Munster has taken his game to another level. Whether it be at five-eighth, fullback or a combination of the two, Munster has been incredible. He is enough on his own to keep the Storm in the premiership conversation.

RELATED: Storm vs Raiders Tips

Roosters: James Tedesco

There was a moment there when discussions around James Tedesco's New South Wales Blues jersey took place. For a moment, he wasn't considered the indisputable best fullback in the game.

Those discussions have ended heading into the NRL Finals.

Tedesco may have taken a little while to get going this season but he will finish it as the best #1 in the competition and one of the most influential players in the game.

Tedesco led the NRL in total yardage with 4,968 running metres at 216 metres per game (2nd). Within those running metre numbers, Teddy broke an NRL-high 166 tackles.

While he may have only scored one try in the opening eight rounds of the season, Tedesco finished up with 13 tries in 23 games along with 12 try assists and 17 line breaks.

Another year, another outstanding campaign for James Tedesco.

Rabbitohs: Cameron Murray

Cameron Murray has stepped up in the absence of Adam Reynolds this season.

His tries, tackle breaks and running metre numbers are all down on last year, but one has jumped up: touches.

Murray has bumped his touches up from 20 per game in 2021 to roughly 28 per game in 2022. He is positioning himself at pivot in good ball and acting as the trigger to South Sydney's dangerous shifts. Where he was once the ball carrier and quick play-the-ball before a shift (he still features in this role), Murray has more often been the one to dig into the line, compress the middle and fire the ball wide. 

His 15-minute dismantling of the Warriors in Round 21 best highlights his dominance and development as a ball player.

The lock forward set up three tries for three try assists before breaking a sweat in an incredible period to open the game. While Murray's best moments don't always show up in the numbers, he is still doing enough in the key statistical areas to end up as the Rabbitohs best according to the Stats Insider Player Ratings Model.

Raiders: Joseph Tapine

Joseph Tapine has always been capable of seasons like this one.

The 28-year-old has played out promising periods to look like one of the best forwards in the game for a moment, but never has he been able to string it out for a full season until now.

Tapine's 164 running metres per game is a new career high, smashing his previous career high set in 2020 by 39 metres. But it's not just the carries up to the line where Tapine has dominated.

Third in the competition in offloads with 42 for the season and the league leader in post-contact metres with 1,596 metres, the defence isn't done with Tapine until he's on the ground. He's a constant threat until he's on his back and the second-phase and forward movement he has been able to generate first kept the Raiders within touching distance of the top eight before helping them leap the Broncos and into the finals later in the season.

He now faces the task of leading the Green Machine against the Storm in Week 1, but with the form Tapine is in, there is a good chance again he finishes this one as the best forward on the field - win or lose.

Broncos: Adam Reynolds

Shock: Adam Reynolds played a big part in Brisbane's improvement from 14th on the ladder in 2021 to 9th in 2022.

What is somewhat of a shock are his numbers.

Reynolds scored five tries and had seven try assists throughout an impressive 25 games for the Rabbitohs last season. In his first for the Broncos, Reynolds scored six tries and sent 19 teammates over the line in only 20 games.

He played out his role as organiser and the experienced head as everybody expected. However, few saw how much he would improve the Broncos' attack with individual moments.  

Dragons: Ben Hunt

Ben Hunt was the Dragons in 2022.

His form was enough to keep them in the hunt for the finals longer than many expected following their 1-4 start to the year. The Dragons even managed to spend a fortnight at eighth on the ladder across Round 15 and 16.

It all came down to Hunt and the way he elevated what is a fairly average Dragons side around him.

His NRL-high six 40/20's turned games on their head. In good ball, the 32-year-old pulled the defence to pieces to finish with 17 try assists and 17 line break assists along with six tries of his own.

Voting for the Dally M Medal has gone behind closed doors, but it will be a surprise not to see Hunt not finish in the top three, if not take the medal home himself.

Sea Eagles: Daly Cherry-Evans

The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles played well for roughly three-quarters of the 2022 NRL season.

While most expected it all to turn for the worst following Tom Trboejvic's injury, the Sea Eagles managed to stay in the hunt for the finals up until Round 20. Much of that came down to the form of Daly Cherry-Evans.

The Manly captain led from the front and struck up a wonderful partnership with Haumole Olakau'atu on the right side, with the Tongan international a major beneficator of Cherry-Evans' 18 try assists this season (4th in the NRL). When defences started to cotton onto how the duo broke through the line, Cherry-Evans made Tolutau Koula his target at right centre.

In what has ended up a horror season for the Sea Eagles with his captaincy now coming under question, Cherry-Evans did his talking on the field throughout the 2022 campaign.

Bulldogs: Matt Burton

Matt Burton's bomb became a huge talking point throughout the 2022 NRL season.

It started as the Bulldogs' only hope for points while Trent Barrett was in charge. Upon hiring Mick Potter to take over for the rest of the season, Burton used his boot further to link up with Josh Addo-Carr on the left wing.

Ending the year with 320 kicks and 10,357 kicking metres, nobody put boot to ball more than the 22-year-old.

Despite what the talking heads around the game might imply, Burton is more than a kicker. He challenged the line through his 69 running metres and sent 14 teammates through it. Burton's 14 try assists led all Bulldogs players in 2022 and provided them with a consistent attacking avenue after finishing 2021 as the worst attacking team in the competition.

Burton struggled at times during the year. However, if the Bulldogs can develop some consistency in the middle and provide him with a platform to attack from next season, Burton will take his game to another level in 2023.

Titans: A.J. Brimson

The Gold Coast Titans ended the year as arguably the most disappointing of all 16 teams. Still, A.J. Brimson managed to stand out in a sorry season.

Playing in 22 games, Brimson put up impressive numbers in a side that didn't always make it easy to do so:

• Nine tries
• 15 try assists
• 13 line breaks
• 75 tackle breaks
• 117 running metres per game

He spent time at five-eighth and fullback. Wherever he was, Brimson made a difference. With Kieran Foran due to arrive over the summer, the question now is where does Brimson play in 2023?

Knights: David Klemmer

In a side that regularly had their effort and pride in the Knights jersey questioned during the year, David Klemmer is one player that consistently produced on the field.

Playing over 60 minutes in 11 of his 18 matches, including the full 80 against the Sharks in Round 25, Klemmer's effort can't be questioned. He turned that effort into 155 running metres per game as he desperately attempted to drag the Knights up the field.

In a side that lacked any sort of spark in attack, Klemmer threw 36 offloads, up from only 17 across 21 games last season.

Few can hold their heads up in Newcastle after this season. However, you always know what you're going to get from David Klemmer and he proved that once again in 2022. 

Warriors: Addin Fonua-Blake

The New Zealand Warriors finish 16th in yardage, with a pack that looked so dominant on paper failed to make a dent in the opposition line. Still, Addin Fonua-Blake did all he could to average 153 running metres per game.

The Warriors employed a wide-ranging approach to their attack and failed to use their best players in their most dangerous roles. When Fonua-Blake did take possession, he used his late footwork at the line to push through for over 70 post-contact metres per game.

Even better when isolated onto a single defender, the 26-year-old broke 38 tackles and released 11 offloads.

While he isn't regarded as such right now, Fonua-Blake can still be one of the best props in the world if used correctly. With a new coach with a fresh approach joining the club next year, expect Fonua-Blake to get back to his best and end up back on this list in 12 months.

Tigers: Joe Ofahengaue

Jackson Hastings is the only other Wests Tigers player that could have really challenged this spot but he was limited to just 16 games. Instead, Joe Ofahengaue's full 24 gets him over the line in what was one of the best seasons of his career.

Particularly dangerous with the ball, Ofahengaue's 122 running metres is a new career high. So too are the 33 offloads he threw across the year. With 882 tackles, the 26-year-old made 299 more this year than last playing only one extra game while significantly clearing his previous career high of 652 tackles across 24 games in 2018.

Despite another year to forget for the Tigers, Ofahengaue can spend the summer knowing he put in more than anybody else.