The NRL’s top 15 most valuable players: part one
If all the NRL players were in one figurative pool today, without a team but with their current contract length and pay, who presents the most value?
Before we get to that, what determines a player’s worth in the NRL?
It starts with something as simple as supply and demand, then deepens into trying to identify greatness within a player, what the going rate is for similar players on the market, the determination of whether the way NRL is played today is suited to the player’s strengths, what position they play their best football and much more.
Full disclosure, I’ve not ever been relied upon for what a player’s worth. It’s all subjective. Even list managers don’t get to find out everything about a player when they make decisions on who to keep, who to poach and on what a player’s future performance will be worth.
A player like Cooper Cronk is an amazing talent and any team would have been lucky to have him when he decided to leave the Melbourne Storm. His fit at the Sydney Roosters has been excellent. They were a team only missing reaching and winning a grand final. If Cronk was to take up the same two-year $2 million deal at (randomly selected club) the Wests Tigers, that team probably doesn’t get the best out of Cronk as they weren’t on the cusp of being premiership contenders. They were developing Luke Brooks and used most of the salary cap space to sign promising young players and cheaper veterans. Cronk could have wanted more than $1 million a season to play at the Wests Tigers. The variables are endless.
The proper management of a club’s roster, depth and salary cap are some of the toughest aspects to running a team. It’s always evolving, exists without an undo button and can’t be reset.
The NRL and the Rugby League Players Association have a history of remaining tight-lipped about all player contract details. That changed last month when the NRL released all the current player contract lengths.
Seeing the list gives a great indicator of the value clubs put on their players.
As for what really gets people talking about contracts, the money players receive, we’re still reliant on the sources of rugby league journalists. Hopefully the NRL releases the monetary values in the near future like other sports do.
Of the 17 players known to be currently earning $900,000 or more in 2019, 13 were bought to play five-eighth, halfback or fullback.
An interesting example of a high-risk high-reward establishment of player’s value happened with Daly Cherry-Evans. In 2015 the Manly Sea Eagles signed Cherry-Evans to an eight-year deal worth $10 million. At that point in his career he was 26 years old, had won a grand final, won the Clive Churchill medal and was offered a four-year $4 million deal at the Gold Coast Titans which he famously backflipped on. The salary cap was $6.1 million in 2015. For any club paying roughly $1 million a season for a player in 2015, you’d expect them to be your best player in nine matches out of ten, healthy for the entire season, match fit from round one, a team leader/captain off the field and guiding you to a grand final win (as long as the rest of the roster isn’t a mess). With the gradual expansion of the salary cap to $9.1 million in 2019, the risk associated with that deal has reduced.
Sidenote: The screenshot below is an extract from DCE’s player profile on the Manly Sea Eagles website. It lists the Gold Coast as one of his favourite holiday destinations. It’s a nice reminder about his history with the Gold Coast. If Lawrence Mooney had seen this he’d say ‘DCE YOU CAN’T!’.
Jack Bird, who signed a four-year deal in 2017 worth between $3.5 and $4 million to play for the Brisbane Broncos, has brought back well below anticipated value. His first two seasons have been riddled with serious injuries. It’s not Bird’s fault the Broncos wanted to pay him handsomely and that Wayne Bennett wanted to take him into a five-eighth role, away from the centre position he held at the Cronulla Sharks. Jack Bird has a player option for season 2021. I’m not one to bet, but put me down for $50 now that Bird will exercise his option.
These are the main factors I considered when evaluating players to make a top 15 list, in no particular order:
— Contract length (and price if available)
— Skill
— Likely production in the future
— Best position
— Off-field behaviour
— Injury history
15. Cody Walker
In terms of which player had the best form in the first half of the 2019 season, it had to be Cody Walker. The 29-year-old has scored 11 tries and eight try assists in 12 matches for South Sydney. The tactics of rugby league moving towards playing faster means Walker stands to benefit the most, with his speed, agility and ability for playing unscripted football.
When his current coach Wayne Bennett was at the Broncos, he tried signing Walker without success. This year Bennett said Walker “is as naturally talented as any footballer I’ve ever coached,” fair compliment.
Having only made his NRL debut as a 26-year-old in 2016, it’s hard to know how much time Walker has left in his prime beyond 2020. When he does lose a step, will he find a way to be worthy of a top NRL five-eighth’s salary?
14. Dale Finucane
To the casual NRL fan he’s Dale Fin-who-cane. To the Melbourne Storm he’s an invaluable part of their forward pack and success. He’s played in five NRL grand finals and has been a reliable lock forward for the Storm since he joined the club in 2015.
At 27 years of age he is in his prime and has a lot of wisdom to pass on from 173 NRL games. The New South Wales Blues put him as 19th man for game three of the 2017 Origin series, but haven’t named Finucane to play until now. It’s a mystery why it took so long for NSW to give him a go. At $500,000 a season he’s great value.
13. Cooper Cronk
Cronk is a fearless leader, committed to excellence and has the know-how to take a team over the hump for a premiership within 12 months. His CV should have enough accolades on it to warrant immortal status. By announcing his retirement this season at age 35, he won’t be one of those sportspeople commonly thought to have played far too long past their prime.
Let’s not forget he’s every chance of steering the Roosters to back-to-back premiership success. The salary cap space he provides the Roosters next season comes at a crucial time, as it allows the team to keep as much of their premiership players together as possible.
12. John Bateman
Put your hand up if you didn’t know who John Bateman was 12 months ago.
The second rower and part-time centre is an extremely talented player that’s gone under the radar, but for no longer. Last year he won the Super League title with the Wigan Warriors and was nominated for the league’s man of steel award.
He’s been the leader of Canberra’s surprise success this season, as when Bateman plays the Raiders are 9–2. Canberra has lost all three matches without him.
Sadly, there appears to be an expiry date on his time in the NRL. As part of an agreement for the Raiders to have received Bateman in the first place, he will return to the Warriors in 2022 as their marquee player. He’s likely going to be the NRL’s buy of the year.
11. Latrell Mitchell
The centre is already in the discussion for best player in the NRL at 22 years of age. He’s already been part of a premiership winning team, an Origin series winning side and represented Australia.
At $450,000 this season and $550,000 next season that’s extremely team friendly for the Roosters. Mitchell was noticeably lacklustre in Origin a couple of weeks ago, but opposing teams will not hesitate to make him one of the NRL’s highest paid players.
The Roosters should have the money to keep him as Cronk’s retirement makes at least $1 million available. If teams want to pay $1 million for Mitchell, it’s a lot of money for any centre. We’ve seen him struggle at five-eighth in limited appearances, will he be able to adapt to a new position?
The Broncos lured Jack Bird away on big money, and that experiment has just about failed dramatically. Mitchell is a more talented player than Bird, but have we learned centres don’t make great modern five-eighths?
10. Jason Taumalolo
Simply put Taumalolo is a level above any other middle forward in the NRL. His stretch in 2017 with Michael Morgan to take the Cowboys from the bottom of the eight and into the grand final was special.
He started earning $1 million a season last year on this 10-year deal. He’ll be making $1 million at age 34, which makes me nervous. The counter would be Paul Gallen is example of someone playing great football at age 34. Gallen was one of Cronulla’s best players at 35 years of age when the Sharks became the 2016 premiers.
In the game today Taumalolo consistently achieves run metres and tackle bust totals others can’t match. North Queensland isn’t a destination to attract the NRL’s best players that don’t already have an affiliation to the area, which means making a long-term commitment to Taumalolo is smart.
9. Jake Trbojevic
A set and forget 80-minute second rower with ball playing skills and an instinctual combination with his talented brother Tom. These two seemingly present themselves as a package deal, as they both signed contracts for the same length last time they negotiated with Manly.
Tom finds the highlights packages more than his brother, but Jake has the skills and consistency to be a regular contributor for the Blues and Australia. They both continue to make a real difference in the rugby league community.
I would make sure I have the space to fit the brothers on my roster. Jake’s currently getting paid $200,000 a season less than Tom.
8. Nathan Cleary
A mature and fundamentally sound 21-year-old halfback, normally it’s when halves are roughly 30 years of age and have played 200 NRL games that you can get this combination.
His all-round kicking game, effort and defence has earned him NSW rep honours in a series winning team. What should come with time is better choices around playmaking, as his attacking stats are sub-par.
With five try assists on the season in 13 games with the Panthers, it ranks equal 24th in the NRL. Only Cleary and Melbourne’s Kenny Bromwich have used 13 matches to accumulate five try assists. Manly’s rookie Cade Cust has recorded the same try-assist total in five matches.
After four games of Origin Cleary’s yet to make a try assist, linebreak assist, linebreak or try. In time, which he has plenty of, Cleary only projects to become a better player for his club and his state.
With his dad Ivan being a package deal, it’s a drawback on Nathan’s value because of Ivan’s loss-heavy coaching record and the poor start to this season.
That’s all for part one. Part two will be published tomorrow. Who will be number one? How many clubs won’t have a player in the top 15?
