How often do we hear it? Halves can't play behind beaten forward packs!
NRL middles are perhaps the most under appreciated sportspeople on the planet.
They do all the hard work. They take that first hit up in the big games. They get smashed. They make a mountain of tackles.
Today we are here to talk about the best of the big men.
If you're looking for Pat Carrigan, he will be in the locks. Played 13 games at lock, 12 at prop. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui also played more at lock than at prop.
Mitch Barnett, unfortunately, won't feature due to only playing 11 games, but he was well on track to place very highly.
As always, this list is purely based on 2025 performance rather than being a flat Top Ten list.
With that said, below are the Top Ten props from the 2025 season:
Honourable Mentions: James Fisher-Harris and Fonua Pole
9. Stefano Utoikamanu
Another name that seems to draw mixed feelings from fans, for whatever reason.
You just knew Utoikamanu would return to rep footy the second he was announced as signing for the Melbourne Storm. Bellamy is the prop whisperer.
25 games for the Storm saw him cross for two tries, break 102 tackles, produce 31 offloads, make 1071 post contact metres, average 109 run metres per game and tackle at almost 97%.
His campaign ended via a horror head knock playing for Tonga, but overall it was a brilliant season from the 25-year-old giant.
There are no bums in that crowd, Dan.
For me, Lindsay Smith is the “Mr. Unappreciated” of the NRL.
He has stepped up as the replacement for James Fisher-Harris (who had a quiet season at the Warriors – maybe weighed down by all that coin in his pockets).
The fact that the Panthers middle didn’t seem to miss JFH says a lot about the effectiveness of Smith, last season.