Was 2022 the year of the lock forward? We have elite number 13s now in a quantity that it's hard to remember seeing before.
There are so many different types of locks these days. We have arguably the best ever metre-eating number 13 and two of the best ballplaying middle forwards in history, plying their trade right now.
Truthfully, the ten here were really hard to rank. Numbers five, six and seven could very well have ended up in the top five. The top three all have credentials to finish top of the list.
Spoiler alert! Brandon Smith did not make the list. Despite his incredible talents, he only started on six occasions in the number 13 in 2022.
Below are the top ten locks from 2022. Again, this only takes into account performances in 2022. For a player to qualify, they must have played more games at lock than any other position.
5. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
Big Tino was an absolute monster in 2022. He was the Titans best player by a long way. He also starred for QLD and was chased heavily by Samoa before declaring for the Kangaroos.
The young Titans captain lead from the front in every respect. A massive 160 metres run per game, 61 tackle breaks, 22 offloads and four tries accurately represent his impressive season.
He was equally at home once moved to prop, even when asked to play big minutes. Another big name Titan dominates headlines but Tino is the man on the holiday coast.
Twice this season he topped over 100 post-contact metres. Overall he ran for just under 1500 post contact metres. He's one of the game's most damaging runners whilst also tackling at 92.6%.
