The role of the five-eighth is fun!
They play a hybrid attacking game of a fullback mixed with the halfback. Throw in the movement of a centre and often the defensive work of a second rower.
2025 produced some magnificent efforts in the number six. We are here today to try and rank those.
This was the most difficult position to rank. Fletcher Sharpe was on track until his injury. Huge Savala was dropped more than once. Luke Brooks had some great heights and some horror lows.
Again, this is a list of the best ten performers for 2025 only. This isn't a list of the top five-eighths outright.
With that said, below are the top 10 five-eighths for the 2025 season:
9. Blaize Talagi
It took Blaize Talagi a few weeks to really get going for Penrith, but once it all clicked, it was easy to see why Ivan Cleary had so much faith in him.
His four try assists effort against the Cowboys in Round 10 really announced his arrival. From there, he was brilliant.
His 22 games for Penrith produced six tries, 11 try assists, nine line-break assists, nine forced drop-outs and 88 run metres per game. He defended at just under 82%.
Talagai's presence or Samoa has been a clear difference between his nation and Tonga. Talagai has set himself up for a monster career as a result of his 2025 efforts.
I share your uncertainty as to how to classify Ben Hunt. To me, he’s simply the ultimate utility player. If his team needs him to play 6, he’ll play 6 – or 7 or 9, and he probably has the skill to play 1 if he ever ended up at club that needed a replacement full-back for the weekend.
Trindall at 3 ? Hmmm. No. I see him as a 7 rather than a 6 but whilst Nicho is on the big money and is the face of the club, Nicho gets to wear the 7 if that’s what he wants, even though I think 6 is his natural spot.