The NRL is home to the world’s best rugby league players.
But narrowing the list down to determine the best of the best is no easy task. So to mark the start of the 2025 NRL season, experts from The Sydney Morning Herald and Nine’s Wide World of Sports have come together to give their views – and a collective verdict – on who are the best 50 players in the game right now.
A panel of judges was put together: Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Darren Lockyer, Allana Ferguson, Roy Masters, Robert Dillon, Billie Eder, Dan Walsh, Adrian Proszenko, Michael Chammas, Christian Nicolussi and Marlee Silva. Together, they have many decades’ experience of playing, coaching, covering and analysing rugby league at the highest level. The players chosen as the top 50 current NRL players can be sure that they’ve earned their selection.
Each judge was asked to compile a list of their own top 30 current NRL players. They were to order the list from 1-30, with the player they considered their No.1 allocated 30 points, their No.2 allocated 29 points, and so on, with the 30th player allocated one point.
We then added up all the points awarded to each player and listed them from most to least. Where there was a tie, we sorted it by alphabetical order. The player with the most points was crowned our pick for the NRL’s No.1-ranked player.
That player will be unveiled on Friday, when the Herald and Wide World of Sports publishes the final article in our 50-1 series. Part one of the series can be found here. Today we rank the players from 40-31.
40. Api Koroisau (Wests Tigers, 17 points)
The diminutive hooker has been the most consistent Wests Tigers player since joining the club from Penrith in 2023. He missed out on NSW Blues selection in 2024 but is still up there with the classiest rakes of the competition. While going from the best team in the competition to the worst is a hard task, Koroisau has led the struggling Tigers through some tough times and may be about to enjoy some success as his former premiership teammate Jarome Luai arrives at Concord.
39. Lindsay Collins (Roosters, 18)
An old-school front-rower who puts his head where most wouldn’t put their feet. Collins has built a reputation as one of the toughest props in the NRL – and has also showcased some surprising talents in providing kick-chase and aerial contested options for the Roosters and Queensland. He was also a starting bookend for Australia’s Pacific Championships side in 2024.
38. Viliame Kikau (Bulldogs, 18)
It was a slow start to life as a Bulldog for Kikau in 2023 after he jumped ship from Penrith. But the barnstorming backrower returned to near his best in 2024 and scored five tries for the Bulldogs, before representing Fiji at the end of the year. Kikau will be key to Canterbury’s fortunes in 2025.
37. Matt Burton ( Bulldogs, 20)
Kikau’s Bulldogs teammate Burton is probably yet to realise his full potential in rugby league, and will no doubt be climbing higher on this list in the years to come. A tall, powerful and classy player who can cover multiple positions and has a towering left-foot bomb that terrorises opposition fullbacks. Missed Origin selection for the Blues in 2024 but made it into Australia’s team at the end of the season and played off the bench.
The Bulldogs celebrate after a Matt Burton field goal clinched a golden point win over Cronulla last season.Credit: Getty Images
36. Cody Walker (Rabbitohs, 22)
In among all the bash and barge of rugby league, Walker continues to ply his trade as a ball-playing artisan of the highest quality. A late starter who did not debut in the NRL until 26, he is now 35 and still humming along like a vintage Rolls Royce. Nobody takes the ball deeper into the line or manipulates a defensive system more subtly. With the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Jack Wighton and Alex Johnston steaming onto his sweet passes, Souths’ evergreen sorcerer will be intent on re-establishing the Rabbitohs’ left edge as one of the most dangerous strike forces in the NRL.
35. Reece Robson (Cowboys, 23)
A softly spoken hooker built like a fridge and now considered one of the best dummy-halves in the NRL. Robson has quietly gone about his business for the Cowboys for several seasons and has only recently won recognition by those outside his club, inking a four-year deal to join the Roosters from 2026. Now the starting NSW No.9 and is probably behind only Harry Grant in terms of Australian selection.
34. Isaiya Katoa (Dolphins, 23)
Despite being dropped last year with the Dolphins’ season on the line, the young playmaker is still held in incredibly high regard among the game’s smartest judges. Katoa has all the tools to become one of the NRL’s elite halfbacks and make the No.7 jumper his own at all levels of the game, while also possessing a level of poise rarely seen in players this early in their careers. Still only 20, the Dolphins are in safe hands for as long as Katoa is at the club.
Melbourne prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona is a hard man to bring down.Credit: Getty Images
33. Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Storm, 27)
One of the game’s most feared enforcers, front-rowers of Asofa-Solomona’s type are incredibly rare in the modern game. While many clubs have leaned towards smaller middle forwards due to the ever-increasing speed of the game, the 201cm Storm star is a towering figure who makes an impact in short bursts. His absence was keenly felt during Melbourne’s grand final loss against the Panthers and the only thing that lets Asofa-Solomona down from time to time is his discipline, spending plenty of time on the sidelines through suspension.
32. Joseph Tapine (Raiders, 41)
There’s a reason Canberra have made him captain this year. Tapine has continued to elevate his game over an extended period to become one of the most reliable big men in the competition. Last season, the front-rower finished just behind Addin Fonua-Blake for total run metres and total post-contact metres, placing him in the upper echelon across the league. Tapine has dominated the game at international level as well for New Zealand and still has plenty of gas left in the tank.
31. Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles, 46)
A force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, Olakau’atu has gone from strength to strength for Manly in recent years to establish himself as perhaps the best edge forward in the competition. Possessing a hulking frame and unbelievable athleticism, the Tongan international has proved unstoppable for opposition defenders, while also producing his own fair share of genuine highlight reel big hits. Earned a spot in the NSW Blues squad last year and there’s reason to believe he will be a long-term State of Origin player given that he is only now entering the prime of his career.
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