The prop forwards. Not a position that draws the attention of the halfback role, or even the modern-day fullback, but just as important.
They say that Origin is won in the forwards. It's hard to name a brilliant halfback who stars with any sort of consistency whilst playing behind a beaten forward pack.
In 2022 we are spoilt when it comes to middle forwards. The shortlist here was 18, without even deep diving for names that didn't come to mind right away.
Some super-performing props are going to miss out here, but here are the 10 props I believe performed best in 2022.
Only 2022 is taken into account. To qualify a player must have played more games in the front row than elsewhere. There may be some crossover with the lock position, but we'll cross that if and when we come to it.
5. Junior Paulo
There is a reason that Junior Paulo was the target of an international tug of war for his services. He walks into either the Samoan or Australian side.
He lead the way for the Eels, with a soon-to-be named middle partner, with 145 metres per game, 1455 post-contact metres and 29 tackle breaks.
I was shocked to read he only broke 29 tackles across the season as it honestly felt three or five times that. No forward bends the defensive line quite like Paulo in full flight.
Far from just a wrecking ball though, Paulo tackled at 93% and produced nearly 50 offloads.
Personally, I would have dropped David Klemmer for Jordan McLean, but I can’t really grumble about that list.