David Middleton's top five NRL and NRLW players of 2023

To celebrate the release of the, historian David Middleton has picked his top five NRL and top five NRLW players of the year.

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• Top 5 NRL players of 2023
• Top 5 NRLW players of 2023

Top 5 NRL players of 2023

Stephen Crichton

Stephen Crichton may not have heard of Kevin Ryan but Ryan’s move from St George to Canterbury in 1967 has long been regarded as the most transformative signing in the club’s history.

Ryan was a huge figure in the Dragons’ success through the 1960s, playing in seven of the club’s 11 successive grand final wins before his move to Belmore. History shows that the Dragons’ run ended the year after Ryan left and as captain-coach of Canterbury he had a huge hand in Saints’ dramatic exit in the 1967 preliminary final. Before he arrived, Canterbury had been perennial strugglers, failing to play finals football for six straight seasons. They made the grand final in his first year with the club.

There are obvious parallels with the current Canterbury team, who have missed the finals for seven straight seasons and have identified Crichton has a significant Mr Fix-it.

Considering that the Bulldogs are only part way through a major rebuild after years of poor list management, it may be a lot to expect for their star recruit to have as significant an impact as Ryan, however Crichton arrives as one of the most accomplished players in the game.

The Panthers’ grand final win in October coincided with Crichton’s 100th game for the club. It was his third premiership title and his 84th win in the NRL. At 23, Crichton has played in a World Cup final, played in six State of Origin games and four grand finals and has repeatedly proven himself to be a world class talent.

His reunion with former Penrith teammates Matt Burton and Viliame Kikau has the capacity to transform the Bulldogs into a dynamic attacking outfit in 2024. Crichton will not only bring individual quality; he can improve the players around him.

Crichton played a major role in the Panthers’ 2023 success and his achievement in scoring a try in a fourth consecutive grand final places him in rare territory. Only the legendary St George winger Johnny King, who scored in six consecutive grand finals (1960-65), has outdone him.

Crichton’s has ability to cover the centre position on either side of the field and the athleticism to play fullback and is a high percentage goalkicker; attributes that will give coach Cameron Ciraldo options in team selection.

James Fisher-Harris

After eight seasons in the Panthers’ engine room, Fisher-Harris bears the weight of responsibility more comfortably these days. He understands that the team’s success, built brick upon brick from the start of pre-season through to grand final day, starts with him.

On almost every tackle set through the season it starts with Fisher-Harris making the primary charge, pushing for yardage, positioning his body for a quick play-the-ball and getting the details just right.

It is a discipline that inspires his fellow front-rowers to play their roles similarly. Avoid errors and penalties that detract from team performance.

Fisher-Harris charged the ball into the opposition around 350 times in the season for the Panthers and made as few as four handling errors. He gave away eight penalties in 23 games. He was never sin-binned and only once was he charged with an offence.

The teak-tough New Zealander got it right so often in 2023 that the Panthers’ attack developed a relentlessness, a rolling down-field without pause for Cleary, Luai and Crichton to fire their scoring shots. Most teams could not contend with the Panthers’ precision; the one-two blows landed by Fisher-Harris and then Moses Leota and everything that flowed off the back.

Fisher-Harris carried his disciplined style into the Test arena for the Kiwis, where he was now recognised for his leadership qualities as the national captain, following a brief taste of the job deputising for Jesse Bromwich in a World Cup match against Lebanon in 2022.

He celebrated his first Test as captain on home soil with his first try of the season in a big win over Samoa and was one of the Kiwis’ best on a losing side against Australia at AAMI Park. A week later Fisher-Harris achieved arguably his proudest moment in a New Zealand jersey when he led the Kiwis to their record 30-0 win over Australia in Hamilton.

Fisher-Harris produced his usual efficiency with 17 runs for 142m and no errors. It was a performance that typified his approach. Cool, measured, powerful and disciplined... a recipe for modern front row success if ever there was one.

Shaun Johnson

Shaun Johnson was the face of the Wahs revolution in 2023, the player who was most responsible for igniting the club’s rise and rise that captured the imagination of the New Zealand public like never before.

Johnson, at 33, produced some of the finest form of his career and sparked a brand of football that not only had the local crowds rocking in their seats; it had them coming back for more.

"Up the Wahs" became the catch cry early in the season as Johnson helped the Warriors pull off an incredible comeback victory over the Sharks. New coach Andrew Webster allowed Johnson the freedom to play his own game and his teammates lined up to offer their support.

Off the back of a foundation built by middle forwards Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris and Wayde Egan’s livewire play from dummy-half, the game opened for Johnson to reprise the form that took him to a Golden Boot honour in 2014.

When Warriors fans in future years remember when “SJ had the ball on a string”, they’ll be talking about 2023 when Johnson led the NRL for try assists, with 29 from 25 games. His ability to set up Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on the right or Marcelo Montoya on the left with a long, looping pass developed into a well-practised routine.

At other times Johnson was equally effective with a line break assist, his ability to hold up a pass for a forward to hit a hole honed to a perfection. When the Warriors found their “shape” for a shift to the left or right, it was Johnson who was most responsible for the spacing, the direction and the timing of the play. When he hit the trigger, the tries flowed in remarkable regularity.

In fact, there were times during the Warriors’ seven-game winning run late in the season where a try appeared a formality from the time Johnson made the merest eye contact with Watene-Zelezniak on one of their shift plays. Watene-Zelezniak thrived on the inside service to produce the best year of his career and smash the club’s season try-scoring record.

Johnson made no secret of the fact that he struggled during the COVID years, isolated for long stretches from his family, and the return to “normality” in 2023 was a clear factor in his return to form.

He was a Dally M Medal favourite, only to lose out by a point to Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga but was honoured with the RLPA’s Players’ Champion title and won his first Simon Mannering Medal as the Warriors’ player of the season.

Kalyn Ponga

Two factors changed the course of Kalyn Ponga’s season in 2023 and by extension transformed the Knights’ fortunes from drudgery to delight and possibly even saved coach Adam O’Brien from an early exit.

The first was the all-clear Ponga received from medical staff in Canada, who conducted tests on the star playmaker’s brain function following the spate of concussions he had received over the previous 10 months.

Ponga admitted he had contemplated retiring from the game at 25 if he received a negative outcome but the clear result was a godsend. The second factor was a phone call from Maroons coach Billy Slater not long after Ponga had returned to Australia. Slater was concerned about a further knock he had taken in a game against Cronulla and was reluctant to expose him to the intensity of State of Origin. Ponga was disappointed to be overlooked but he accepted the decision and turned his attention to the Knights.

The turn of events provided Ponga with absolute clarity, allowing him to fully focus on club football and the results were there for everyone to see over the second half of the season.

Ponga was integral to the Knights’ 10-game winning streak that carried the club to its best finish in a decade and provided long-suffering fans with an overdue reward.

By the end of the season, crowds were sold out at McDonald Jones Stadium as the Knights continued their memorable run home. And Ponga was their undoubted hero. He reminded older fans of the days when the Knights were regular premiership contenders and Andrew Johns had the fans in the palm of his hand.

Ponga’s move back to fullback resulted in a return to his best form and he came from the clouds to win the Dally M Medal. He was the Knights’ best for the third time since 2018 and has raised hopes in the Hunter of even greater success for the club in 2024.

Reece Walsh

There is a unique quality about Reece Walsh that could make him a generational player if he continues his present trajectory.

The 21-year-old has already achieved more in the game than most players of his age: 60 NRL games, a grand final and two State of Origin appearances, but it is a rare set of skills that can’t be measured by statistics that places him on another level.

The uniqueness is tied to his explosive acceleration, but it is also linked with timing and vision; a rare blend that has already made Walsh one of the most marketable players in the game. ARLC Chairman Peter V’Landys observed during the season that Walsh reminded him of former pin-up player Andrew Ettingshausen. Speaking ahead of the game’s pitch to the American market with the pre-season double-header in Las Vegas, V’Landys said: “If marketed right, Reece Walsh can become one of the best-known Australian sportsmen in America.”

It was a preliminary final performance by Walsh that left many in awe of his ability. As the Broncos ended the Warriors’ bold run, the prodigious fullback showcased his astonishing skills with three try assists and six line break assists in a 30-point victory. It was only a wayward pass that allowed the Warriors to score from an intercept that detracted from a 10 out of 10 display.

But errors are par for the course for a player willing to chance his arm. Walsh subscribes to the Michael Jordan credo: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Walsh made more errors than any player in the NRL in 2023 but no player brought more fans through the turnstiles at Suncorp Stadium than the Broncos’ brilliant No 1.

He played State of Origin for the first time in 2023 and contributed to the Maroons’ series success with several high-quality involvements. In 2024 he is expected to go head-to-head for selection with Kalyn Ponga, a battle that will be of compelling interest to Maroons fans in the first half of the season.

Top 5 NRLW players of 2023

Tamika Upton

If there were lingering doubts about Tamika Upton’s place in the women’s game, they were all but crushed by her consistency through the extended NRLW premiership and then her extraordinary ability to pursue a grand final victory in the manner that she did for the Knights. Upton placed herself in the big moment and made magic happen, first with a weaving run for the line and then from a kick that was followed by a fiercely determined play for the ball. Upton knew what was required, she went after it and then executed perfectly in the intensity of a grand final.

Tarryn Aiken

When the Roosters reviewed their 2022 campaign and decided that new talent was required to lift the team, Aiken was one of the players they immediately identified. The Broncos’ five-eighth had taken her game to an elite level through her vision and ball skills and the Roosters decided to make her one of their top recruitment targets for 2023. She lived up to the hype with a superb season for her new club, topping the NRLW for try assists (10) and breaking the line six times. Aiken was prominent for the Maroons and Jillaroos and remains a player at the top of her game.

Shannon Mato

Titans coach Karyn Murphy could not have asked for much more from prop Shannon Mato in 2023. Ultra-consistent, reliable, hard-working and impactful, she was everything a front-rower should be. After coming back from the World Cup in 2022, Mato played almost every game possible in 2023; she was captain of the Māori All Stars in February, played two Origin games for Queensland, all 11 games for the Titans and two Tests at the Pacific Cup in October. The only game she missed was a Round 2 clash in the Queensland Women’s Premiership for Mackay, giving her a program of 23 games from a possible 24 for the season. Mato was awarded the Titans’ player of the year title for the second year running.

Teagan Berry

The formidable presence of Tamika Upton might have blocked ‘Flash’ Berry’s path to a Test jumper in 2023 but a continuation of her attacking brilliance should ensure that Jillaroos selection is a matter of when and not if for the gifted 21-year-old. Berry displayed elite pace in topping the try-scoring lists for the Dragons, crossing for 11 tries in nine games and assuming the top position on the NRLW’s all-time tryscoring chart. Berry produced a remarkable performance against the Titans in Round 6 when she scored all four Dragons’ tries (equalling the NRLW record for tries in a game) but finished on a losing team. Berry won the Dragons’ player of the year award and was named RLPA Women’s Players’ Champion for 2023.

Mele Hufanga

Hufanga arrived at the Broncos in 2023 with a formidable reputation after her impressive effort for the Kiwi Ferns at the World Cup but questions about her fitness and ability to crack NRLW defensive lines were quickly answered. Hufanga took the NRLW by storm with her powerhouse style and passion for crossing the try line thrilling her teammates and supporters. Hufanga brought a new energy to the Broncos, and she proved unstoppable when she straightened off an inside pass from five-eighth Gayle Broughton or fullback Hayley Maddick and finished her debut season in the NRLW with 10 tries from 10 games.