NRL Team of the Season So Far - Round 21, 2022

The Dally M votes are behind closed doors but the Stats Insider Player Rating system has continued to punch out the numbers to give us the NRL 2022 Team of the Season after Round 20. 

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How is Stats Insider’s Team of the Season selected?

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 are added together and the players with the highest overall rating in each position are selected for the Team 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 selected in our Team of the Season, that isn't to say the rating system necessarily regards them as the best player at their position. Only that they have performed consistently well throughout 2022 and that performance has been recognised and rewarded by our Player Rating System.

Team of the Season after Round 20

1. James Tedesco

We're always looking for the next big thing in rugby league. If the best player in any position isn't at the top of their game for a few weeks in a row, discussions about the new 'best [position] in the NRL' ramp up.

A slow start to the 2022 season gave life to the best fullback in the NRL chat. 

James Tedesco scored only one try and handed out three try assists across the opening seven rounds of the season. In his 11 games since then however, the 29-year-old has scored ten tries, sent seven teammates over the line, plus registered 11 line breaks and 86 tackle breaks.

His 214 running metres per game is a career-high, too.

James Tedesco is the best fullback in the world.

2. Taylan May

Taylan May burst onto the rugby league scene in 2022 and is towards the top of the list in Rookie of the Year nominations.

Playing well enough to take the left wing spot away from Brian To'o, the 20-year-old has scored 14 tries already this season. He has incredible finishing ability in the corner and takes a similar approach to To'o in that regard. Where he is also similar is in yardage. 

Penrith's set-starts are a big reason for their dominance and May's 160 running metres per game are a significant contributor. 

While he is only young and still learning his craft, May is displaying all of the signs of a long-term NRL winger.

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3. Siosifa Talakai

The Stats Insider Model has a bit of the Freddy Fittler's about it with some big numbers in and around less-impressive performances enough to promote Siosifa Talakai into the Team of the Season.

Nobody will forget Siosifa Talakai's dominance over the Sea Eagles in Round 7. He finished that game with two tries, three try assists, eight tackle breaks and 262 running metres. It's one of the best individual matches - almost all in the first half - we've seen in recent memory. 

While he only has one try and three try assists to his name since then, Talakai is still particularly effective in yardage and as a decoy. 

He's only failed to crack 150 running metres three times since Round 7 and has played a key role in the Sharks' potent left edge.

Notably, Joseph Manu's regular moves between centre, five-eighth and fullback make it difficult for him to feature in the TOTS.

4. Izack Tago

Izack Tago is another Panthers youngster that has made a name for himself in 2022.

Slotting in for the Dally M Centre of the Year (Matt Burton), Tago is in the hunt to win a medal himself this season, with these numbers so far:

• 12 tries
• Seven try assists
• 59 tackle breaks
• 15 line breaks

However, the little things are what make Tago so dangerous at the moment. His combination with Viliame Kikau inside him and May on his outside is lethal. Tago can run the lead line as good as any backrower, take possession out the back of a block, or make the final pass to his winger.

Still with only 19 NRL games to his name, Tago is just getting started.

5. Alex Johnston

The talk of Alex Johnston breaking Ken Irvine's record of 212 tries is heating up.

The 27-year-old Rabbitohs flyer has scored 22 tries in 18 games this season, crossing the line in each of his last four games while scoring an outrageous 16 tries across his last nine. 

Johnston's try-scoring alone is enough to see him recognised as one of the best wingers in the NRL. However, his career-high 121 running metres per game are also contributing to his career-best season. 

While he may not beat his NRL-high 30 tries in 2021, Johnston has produced a much more well-rounded season in 2022. 

6. Cameron Munster

Cameron Munster is one of those players you just can't nail down. 

A few changes off the field have translated into excellent form on it for the 27-year-old to be considered the best five-eighth in the game right now. 

The Storm have struggled at times this year. Perhaps that explains his 130 running metres per game, up from 113 metres last year and just 95 metres the season prior? When his team needs a lift, it's Munster there trying to do it.

Despite Melbourne's relative struggles overall, Munster has still managed to pile up seven tries (one short of his career high in a season) and 13 try assists (two short).

While some question the Storm as premiership contenders, it's Munster and his potential to drag them to a Grand Final that keeps them in the conversation.

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7. Nicho Hynes

Plenty doubted Nicho Hynes heading into the season, and boy has he proved them wrong.

The 'nobody plays well after leaving the Storm' narrative hit overdrive with many totally ignoring the fact Melbourne wanted nothing more than to retain him. However, he ended up with the Sharks and has blossomed into one of the top halfbacks in the game.

Hynes plays on the ball and directs the Sharks around the field with his passing and kicking game.

His 18 line break assists leads the NRL in 2022, while his 20 forced dropouts rank second.

With three tries, 11 try assists and an impressive 122 running metres per game also to his name, there is no question that some players can, in fact, play well after leaving the Storm. 

8. Joseph Tapine

We've seen Joseph Tapine play well for brief periods before. 

He's a beast and has always been capable of becoming a top forward in the NRL, but consistency has let him down over the years.

That is far from the case in 2022. 

Tapine has been on fire. The Raiders have lifted themselves into top eight contention following a shocking start to the season, and Tapine's form acted as the catalyst.

The Kiwi international leads all forwards in total running metres with 3,138 metres in 19 games this season. He finished his 19-game season with just 2,282 last year.

RELATED: NRL Finals Probabilities

9. Damien Cook

Damien Cook has been one of the more consistent players within an inconsistent South Sydney Rabbitohs side this year. 

Cook has upped his yardage from 67 metres per game in 2021 to 79 metres per game in 2022, picked up five more tries already to have seven for the season, and is doing his part in defence to have made 781 tackles with only 21 misses. 

With Latrell Mitchell back in the side and taking attention away from the ruck and sending it out wide, Cook is set for a strong finish to the season as the Rabbitohs build into premiership smokies, with our futures model projecting tham as a 7.1% chance of winning the flag.

RELATED: NRL Premiership Probabilities

10. Payne Haas

Payne Haas' name will be here for the foreseeable future.

Still only 22 years old, Haas is already the best prop in the game and still getting better.

His footwork is ridiculous. He accelerates into contact and pushes through it for an NRL-high 79.5 post-contact metres per game. Haas' 171.4 total running metres per game is good for second among all forwards. 

He does things other props can't and it's difficult to see him missing out on a Team of the Season nod anytime soon.

11. Isaiah Papali'i

Isaiah Papali'i produced one of the greatest Most Improved Player seasons ever in 2021. He left the Warriors desperate and ended the following season with the Eels as an elite edge backrower. 

Signing his big-money deal with the Tigers early, there was some concern that with the bag locked in, Papali'i might not be able to produce at the same level. Those concerns ended up being misguided as the 23-year-old continues to dominate.

Papali'i's 2022 numbers for reference:

• Nine tries
• 75 tackle breaks
• 24 offloads 
• 139 running metres per game

12. Viliame Kikau

Viliame Kikau started the season in a similar fashion to Papali'i. 

He could have sat back and cruised through the 2022 season after signing on with the Bulldogs for 2023. However, he has added another dimension to his game over the last 12 months.

The big Fijian is no longer just a battering ram. He's still running for almost 100 metres and breaking three tackles per game. Kikau will always be effective as a ball carrier. Where he has made developments, though, is as a ball player.

Kikau managed nine try assists across the first 98 games of his NRL career but has nine already this season in 19 games. 

13. Isaah Yeo

Isaah Yeo is the chassis to Penrith's chaos engine.

So many of the great things the Panthers produce across the 80 minutes start with Yeo. Most don't show in the stats pages.

Whether it be a strong carry into half a gap generating a quick play-the-ball, passing a teammate into position to do the same, or filling in at pivot on a wide-ranging shift, Yeo is the centrepiece of the Panthers attack. 

Still, the 27-year-old manages to put up decent numbers around the little actions to have three tries, three try assists, 25 tackle breaks and 138 running metres per game to his name.