NRL 2020: Stats Insider's Team Of The Season

It's incredible to think where the NRL was six months ago. Few thought we could even get to a point where teams would get out onto the field let alone play enough games to warrant a Team of the Season.

But here we are...

After 20 rounds, a lengthy pause, rule changes, bubbles and the general craziness even a regular year produces, the Stats Insider Player Ratings system has crunched the numbers to determine the 2020 Team of the Season.

How is the Stats Insider 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 2020 season.

A player’s game by game rating (when named to start in each position) are then added together and the players with the highest overall rating in each position are selected in the Team of the Season. Halves are grouped into a single position for selection purposes. 

Because each game a player takes part in is included in calculating their overall rating, this method tends to reward players who have performed consistently over the entire 2020 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 makes our Team of the Season, that isn't to say the rating system regards them as the best player in their position. Only that they have performed consistently well throughout 2020.

Those consistent performances have seen them selected in the first Stats Insider Team of the Season.

1. James Tedesco

He's arguably the best player in rugby league right now and a lock for the #1 jersey in the Stats Insider Team of the Season.

A dominant force in the NRL's best attack, Tedesco managed eight tries and 15 try assists in 17 games this season. His one try, five try assists, 12 tackle breaks, a line break and four line break assists against the Broncos in Round 16 broke his own record for player rating points in a single game. 

His mix as a powerful ball-runner and willing support player along with this improving skills as a ball-player means Tedesco is a threat for the full 80 minutes. He may have been somewhat quiet by his standards during the regular season, but that's a testament to how far in front Tedesco is of everybody else in his position. 

2. Josh Mansour

Not many would have tipped Josh Mansour to be here before the season started, but he's quietly put together an excellent season on the end of a strong Penrith Panthers left edge attack.

After scoring just one try in 19 games last season, Mansour has dotted down 10 times in the same number of games in 2020. But it's his yardage and the tough carries he provides that make him such a valuable member of the Panthers left side. He's running for a career-high 181 metres per game and hasn't fallen short of 100 metres in a game once all season. A facial injury appeared to have sucked the confidence out of Mansour. However, his return to form is an underrated aspect of Penrith's improvements.

Plenty talk about David Nofoaluma and Blake Ferguson as the two most likely options for the vacant New South Wales wing spot, but Mansour deserves to return to the side for the first time since 2016.

3. Stephen Crichton

Mansour would have a lot more tries to his name if Stephen Crichton hadn't been scoring so many inside him. At one stage scoring in eight consecutive games while managing 12 tries in ten games between Round 6 and Round 16, Crichton couldn't be kept away from the try line. 

He scored in a variety of ways, too. Whether it be falling on pin-point Jarome Luai grubbers, collecting Nathan Cleary attacking kicks, playing out the back of shape with Viliame Kikau as the lead-runner, or simply using his size, strength and speed to get the ball across the line, Crichton has scored 15 tries in 19 games so far this season while handing out six try assists.

4. Josh Morris

The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks could have really used an elite defensive centre this season. Instead, Josh Morris took his talents to Bondi and has landed in the Team of the Season at 34-years old. 

While known more as a defensive centre, his never-failing speed and footy IQ has seen Morris offer plenty in attack too. He's dotted down nine times in 15 games while also breaking the line 11 times and handing out seven try assists.

5. Josh Addo-Carr

He hasn't been at the forefront of the conversation around wingers all season, but an outstanding last two months has reminded everybody that Josh Addo-Carr is a top tier NRL winger. He averaged just 112 running metres per game and scored nine tries in his first nine games this season. Since then (7 games), Addo-Carr has scored seven tries while averaging 165 running metres per game.

Melbourne have played him further in-field and tried to isolate him on opposing centres in recent weeks. The change allows Addo-Carr to be a threat all the way up the field. While he's looking to play in Sydney as a fullback next season, it would be in Melbourne's best interest to retain one of the best wingers in the game regardless of who or how much they receive as compensation for allowing him to leave early.

6. Shaun Johnson

Despite running for his most metres per game since 2014, the talking heads still demanded Shaun Johnson run the ball more.

Despite leading the NRL with 23 try assists in only 16 games, the same people heaped the blame on Johnson when the Sharks struggled overall.

In reality, Johnson has been one of the best half's in the competition all season. The Stats Insider Player Ratings have him paired with the highest-rated player of 2020 in the Team of the Season.

After leading the NRL with 41 tries down their right side in 2019, the Sharks have scored 42 tries down that side of the field in 2020. Johnson has also drifted across to the left edge to add to his try assist tally throughout the year. He's not going to step through teams or burn defenders with his speed like the old days. However, Johnson has developed into an excellent traditional half and still has plenty to offer despite turning 30 this season.

7. Nathan Cleary

Nathan Cleary's suspension put a dampener on his restart to the 2020 season but he has bounced back to finish at the top of the Player Ratings list. 

He's been doing it all for the Penrith Panthers for four tries, 15 try assists, 11 line break assists and 26 forced dropouts in 18 games. We've talked about the tempo he plays with already this season. Cleary is a threat as a ball-player and ball-runner, and this season, has led the way in attacking kicks with 156. He's repeatedly been able to land the ball on a dime for either Kikau to Crichton to use their size in the air. 

At just 22-years old and already considered the best halfback in the game, Nathan Cleary is the Stats Insider 'Player of the Year' for the 2020 NRL season and will be a regular feature in the Team of the Season for the next decade.

8. Josh Papalii

The prop position is the closest-contested position in the Team of the Season for 2020. 

With James Fisher-Harris, Sio Siua Taukeiaho and Payne Haas all unlucky to miss out, Josh Papalii occupies one prop position for this season. He's the heart of the Canberra Raiders middle. While teammates around him have succumbed to injury and suspension, Papalii is a picture of consistency whether Ricky Stuart asks him to start the match or come off the bench.

Papalii's 150 metres per game this season is a career-high. So too are the 31 tackles he's making per game in 2020. The 112kg middle forward has missed only ten tackles while making 592 in 19 games, including this incredible effort in Round 15:

9. Cameron Smith

He is 37-years old and has played 427 NRL games. Still, Cameron Smith is the best hooker in rugby league.

A maestro behind the ruck, he doesn't need scintillating speed and lightning acceleration off the mark to dominate. He reads the game better than anybody. So long as his top two inches continue to process what is in front of him at this rate, he will continue to pick apart opposing defences and cause havoc around the ruck.

The 15 try assists in 16 games only begin to describe his influence on the Storm attack. He touches the ball more than anybody else in the team (116 times per game) and has left his fingerprints on a lot more than 15 tries. He's not credited with anything here, but his perfect read and pass out of dummy half is what creates this Brenko Lee try:

As Smith weighs up whether or not 2020 is his last season, we can't rule him out of being here again next year should he choose to play on.

10. Junior Paulo

While many Parramatta Eels players around him have struggled for consistency this season, Junior Paulo has been the dominant piece to their middle all year.

He's played in all 20 games so far this season while running for a career-high 157 metres per game. While he's more known for carting the ball up as a 123kg middle forward, Paulo's ball-playing is what separates him from the others. A person his size shouldn't have the footwork and ball-skills to straighten his run and hold up the defensive line before putting his fullback through a gap to score.

Paulo's four try assists this season leads all props and is double the next best (Marty Taupau, 2).

11. Ryan Matterson

Ryan Matterson has been a somewhat quiet achiever on Parramatta's right side. He's doing it on both sides of the ball to run for 125 running metres while averaging 39.6 tackles per game. 

While not a regular feature in the highlights packages, Matterson, like Paulo, has been a consistent performer in a side that hasn't kept up their high-quality early-season play for the full 20 rounds.

12. Luciano Leilua

While Angus Crichton would likely have ended up here had he played a couple more games, Luciano Leilua deserves recognition for an outstanding season.

Things got off to a rocky start. Defensive issues while playing beside his brother on the edge were evident for all to see. However, the change unlocked Leilua and he has since become one of the best edge back rowers in the NRL.

He's a nightmare to defend. If you try to take out his legs during one of his rampant runs, Leilua has the ball-skills to release the ball in contact (22 offloads). Go too high, and he adds to his 102 running metres and 2.7 tackle breaks per game. 

Leilua has always had the talent but it's his consistency - along with seven tries - that has surprised most in 2020.

13. Jason Taumalolo

What more can you say about Jason Taumalolo?

The Cowboys are a different team with him on the field. While he isn't the ball-playing middle forward that most who occupy #13 jersey's are these days, Taumalolo dominates the yardage game to such an extent that he's still the best in his position.

His 207 running metres per game this season is a career-high, third-most overall and the most of any forward in 2020. Anything below 200 running metres is considered a quiet night for the hulking Tongan.

Still only 27-years old and only now entering the prime years of his career, expect to see Taumalolo here again next season.

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