The 2026 NRL season is just around the corner, and final preparations are well underway around the competition.
The first teams are not all that far away, but for most clubs, the all-important spine is all but locked away.
The fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker are the players who ultimately drive the team forward, set up the points and dictate the way footy is going to be played throughout the course of the season.
There are important positions all over the park, but no team have won a competition without a strong spine.
Here are the rankings ahead of the 2026 campaign.
7. Cronulla Sharks
Likely first choice spine: William Kennedy, Braydon Trindall, Nicho Hynes, Blayke Brailey
Other options: Liam Ison, Riley Pollard, Niwhai Puru, Riley Jones, Jayden Berrell
The Sharks crack the top eight spines in the competition heading into 2026, and with excellent reason.
Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes are one of the better halves pairings in the competition at their best.
While Hynes hasn't produced his potential in some years, Trindall has gone from strength to strength in recent times. Blayke Brailey has also fast become the game's best dummy half not named Harry Grant.
William Kennedy is the player the jury are out on. Liam Ison will be snapping at his heels throughout 2026, with Kennedy likely to leave the Shire at the end of the coming campaign after signing a cut-price one-year deal to remain there in 2025.
