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.
3. Jason Taumalolo
Taumalolo earned his sixth Paul Bowman Medal as Cowboys Player of the year in a season where they enjoyed multiple standout performers.
These are his 2022 stats: 156 metres per game, 80 tackle breaks, 1625 post contact metres, 22 offloads and over 91% of his tackles made.
Taumalolo also scored his club's most important try of the season, in the final moments, against the Sharks, earning his side a home Prelim.
There were worries earlier in the season that Todd Peyton was underusing their marquee weapon but it's fair to say everything worked out ok.
