NRL 2022 Team of the Month for June
Last updated: Jul 6, 2022, 11:26PM | Published: Jul 6, 2022, 6:24AM
The calendar has been flipped from June to July and we're heading into the pointy end of the 2022 NRL season, so it's time to check in with the Stats Insider NRL Team of the Month.
For each game of the NRL season, our data model rates every player's game, utilising stats and not opinion to figure out the best NRL players right now.
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How is the Stats Insider NRL Team of the Month Selected?
Based on Stats Insider’s NRL Player Ratings, a player’s game by game ratings (when named to start in each position) are added together for the relevant month. The players with the highest overall rating in each position are then selected in the Team of the Month.
Outside of players named to start on the interchange bench, players are only eligible to score in the position they were named to start the match. Halves are also grouped into a single position for selection purposes.
So, who cracks it this month?
Best NRL Players for June 2022
- Scott Drinkwater
- Brian To'o
- Stephen Crichton
- Izack Tago
- Murray Taulagi
- Matt Burton
- Nicho Hynes
- Joseph Tapine
- Reece Robson
- Siosiua Taukeiaho
- Haumole Olakau'atu
- Hudson Young
- Adam Elliott
Ordered by position and not ability.
1. Scott Drinkwater
Scott Drinkwater's move to fullback ignited the North Queensland Cowboys attack and he was particularly productive throughout June.
'Thirsty' finished the month with seven try assists to have 13 for the season - the third-most in the NRL.
Drinkwater is one of the best attacking players in rugby league and has taken on more responsibility as the Cowboys juggle State of Origin outs.
Capable of filling typical fullback duties through the middle of the field, there is no #1 more dangerous running at a scrambled defensive line on the edge right now.
After not even featuring in the Cowboys loss to the Bulldogs in Round 1, Drinkwater's appearance here in the NRL Team of the Month is a testament to his stellar improvement this season.
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2. Brian To'o
Brian To'o only needed three games in June to finish up on one side of the Team of the Month.
The Panthers metre-eater didn't go hungry while averaging 214 running metres per game. As the most consistent yardage winger in the NRL, To'o is a large reason behind Penrith's dominance through the middle.
To'o drags the Panthers up the field to start the set which cuts down the space the forwards need to travel back, saving energy and bringing them into the set earlier.
He's a regular feature in this team and will likely be in this spot for the remainder of the season.
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3. Stephen Crichton
Stephen Crichton is one-half of the Panthers contingent in the centres.
The discussion around him throughout June has been more to do with his lacklustre opening game of the State of Origin series and whether or not he would be selected for New South Wales in Game 3. However, his NRL form has continued to impress.
Crichton has always been able to find his way to the line but it's the try assists that stand out this month.
After managing only one try assist in the first 12 rounds of the season, Crichton's last three games have seen him send four teammates over the line.
4. Izack Tago
Izack Tago has been relatively quiet compared to earlier in the season but remains as one of the best centres in the competition.
His experience as a backrower provides him with the perfect skill set for the Panthers edge as they use Tago to hit the inside shoulder of the two-in defender as either Viliame Kikau or Jarome Luai wrap in behind.
The 20-year-old has two tries and two try assists to his name throughout June, but Tago has contributed to a lot more with his line running on the edge.
5. Murray Taulagi
Murray Taulagi is a try-scoring machine at the moment.
Taulagi is finding points through opportunistic intercepts but it's his finishing in the corner that has earned him a spot on the wing for the Queensland Maroons.
Taulagi scored four more tries in June - including a double as the Cowboys defeated the Broncos - to make it 11 for the season. Averaging 172 metres per game in his last four, Taulagi has become one of the best yardage wingers in the NRL in the process.
6. Matt Burton
Matt Burton didn't look like a happy camper while playing under Trent Barrett but everything has changed since Mick Potter took over.
Notably, Potter installed a decent ball-playing lock forward which has opened up space for Burton and the Bulldogs out wide.
Whilst he's always had a promising combination with Josh Addo-Carr, it looked to be the Bulldogs' only avenue for points up until the last month.
Now playing on the front foot and with a better team around him, Burton is performing how most people thought he would when leaving the Panthers.
Burton managed only five try assists across the first 12 games of the NRL season. However, he picked up five more in June alone.
7. Nicho Hynes
Nobody saw Nicho Hynes being this good in 2022.
Arriving from the Storm as an x-factor player capable of filling multiple positions, Hynes has transitioned into one of the best on-ball halfbacks in the NRL.
Hynes has taken control of the Sharks as they look to play themselves back into their early-season form. The 76 touches he recorded for Cronulla in Round 15 ended up as a season-high with his 72 touches a week later equalling his previous high set back in Round 4.
It's not only in his touches though, with Hynes' kicking proving quietly effective for him, forcing five dropouts in his last three matches.
On the cusp of Origin selection, Hynes' rise to becoming a top-tier #7 has caught many by surprise.
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8. Joseph Tapine
The Canberra Raiders have started to turn their season around and Ricky Stuart has Joseph Tapine to thank for it.
Tapine is arguably the best prop in the world right now after averaging 202 running metres and 4.2 tackle breaks per game over the last month.
He's a dangerous carrier of the ball but is also having an impact as a ball player. The defence can't sag off him given his yardage and tackle-break ability which compresses the defence before Tapine digs into the line and shifts the ball wide.
We've seen promising patches of form before, but nothing like this. Tapine has gone to the next level in his career and is dragging the Raiders towards a top eight spot.
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9. Reece Robson
Reece Robson has been rewarded for a superb 2022 NRL season with a call-up into the New South Wales Blues extended squad for Game 3.
What a difference 12 months and a good pack makes to a hooker...
Unlike last year, the Cowboys are getting up the field and Robson is thriving on the back of it. Only the Panthers average more metres than the Cowboys and it has allowed Robson to do what he does best.
Always regarded as an attacking hooker, North Queensland's poor middle put a handbrake on his impact but Robson has gone on to score five tries, hand out three try assists and run for a career-high 72 running metres per game this year.
Four of those five tries have come in the last month.
10. Siosiua Taukeiaho
How has Siosiua Taukeiaho been allowed to leave the NRL for the Super League?
He's one of the hardest-working forwards in the competition and it has shown in the numbers recently.
The 30-year-old is quietly averaging 150 running metres per game this season and averaged 177 metres per game in June. Trent Robinson has been desperate for some consistency in the middle with forwards regularly going down with injuries and Taukeiaho has been the one to provide it.
Capable of playing big minutes, piling up metres and with enough skills to have an impact as a ball player, Taukeiaho still has a lot to offer NRL clubs.
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11. Haumole Olakau'atu
Haumole Olakau'atu has become one of the most destructive players in the NRL this season. His 76 tackle breaks are the most of any forward and he has averaged an outrageous 8.75 tackle breaks per game over the last month of football.
Olakau'atu does it all for a backrower. He's brutal as a ball runner, runs perfect lines and has the footwork to create something out of nothing. He has developed a nice partnership with Daly Cherry-Evans and is producing well enough for the Sea Eagles to be in with a sniff of the NRL finals despite being without Tom Trbojevic for the rest of the season.
12. Hudson Young
The Stats Insider Player Ratings model doesn't know Hudson Young put a grubber in behind the line to score in the 78th minute with his team down by two points, but has managed to find a place for him in the Team of the Month anyway.
His numbers are impressive enough.
With two tries, 20 tackle breaks, two line breaks and an average 115 running metres per game, Young is in career-best form for the Raiders. He is playing with confidence and has managed to release nine offloads in his last four games. For context, he threw only 18 offloads in 19 games throughout the 2021 season.
Tapine has been the trigger to Canberra's recent success, but Young has done his part in sustaining it.
13. Adam Elliott
Adam Elliott has found a home in the Raiders #13 jersey. At least, it seemed as though he had found one...
The Raiders looked a lot better with Elliott at lock where he ticked over 60 minutes in three consecutive games. However, shifted back to the bench where he only played 49 minutes in Round 16, Elliott may not have locked down the lock position as first thought.
Elliott averaged 147 running metres and 35.5 tackles per game while starting at lock. And he still managed 136 metres and 26 tackles off the bench to secure his place in the Stats Insider Team of the Month.
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(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
