SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 25: Tariq Sims of the Dragons celebrates victory in the round eight NRL match between the St George Illawara Dragons and Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on April 25, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
With every season, we see players emerge and show everyone that they are not quite the same player that we saw in previous years.
Whether it’s a young star coming of age, or a savvy veteran returning to form, there are always huge improvements every year in the NRL.
The following is a list of the top five most improved players that we saw in the 2018 season.
Being accused of being lazy, out of shape and over the hill; the past few years have not been kind to Isaac Luke since returning to his homeland and joining the Warriors.
However, 2018 seemed to be a huge step forward as the No. 9 looked as fit and mobile as he has in a long time.
It seemed that with the immensely improved season that the Warriors had in 2018, as did Luke.
Like the success of the club as a whole, many people put Luke’s return to form down to the pre-season and conditioning expertise brought to the club by former Storm trainer Alex Corvo.
The improved form from the Kiwi international even saw him finish in the top 10 for the Dally M award, that teammate Roger Tuivasa-Sheck would eventually take out.
What once were some of the most destructive big men in the game, the Burgess brothers had more than fallen out of form in recent years.
Being criticised often for constant errors and penalties, the Burgess twins had become what seemed to be more of a hindrance to have in the red and green than anything else.
However, in 2018 and since a few reshuffles at Redfern, it seems the twin towers have found their 2014 form once more.
With the new structures of Brisbane bound coach Anthony Seibold, George and Tom had great seasons for the Bunnies and were constantly bending opposition defensive lines and laying the platform for recent Kangaroos debutant Damien Cook.
Along with brother Sam, the twins formed a large part of the damaging South Sydney forward pack, which saw the great club return to the top four before bowing out in the Preliminary Final to the eventual premiership winning Roosters.
After being dubbed the next Greg Inglis before even setting foot in to the NRL arena, there were huge expectations placed on the young shoulders of Latrell Mitchell.
The young star struggled with effort, decision making and ball control at the back and was simply not ready to be a star in the NRL just yet.
However, in the 2018 season, the Taree native has more than proven that he was worth the hype and has quickly become the most damaging and dangerous outside back in the competition.
The year has been full of Mitchell effortlessly throwing opposition defenders off him and streaking away for countless four pointers.
The stellar year for Mitchell even saw him gain both state and national debuts and be one of the best on the park on all occasions. Mitchell finished the season with 17 tries, 104 tackle busts whilst leading the NRL in points with a huge 248.
The once dynamic young backrower from the Cowboys had fallen off the radar quite heavily after injury struggles and changing clubs.
Sims admits that after his first severe injury he struggled greatly and did not manage well, at one stage weighing up to 120kgs.
However, since making his way back home to Illawarra and playing consistent football, the young Gerringong local has found tremendous form in the 2018 season.
This season, Sims was undoubtedly one of the most damaging defenders in the competition and even made it somewhat of a trait to demolish opposition halves when given the chance.
In the stat department it is also clear that Sims has hit supreme form averaging 23.4 tackles and 2.4 line breaks a game, whilst also crossing the stripe 10 times this season for the Red V.
The 2018 season has seen Tariq Sims go from somewhat of an afterthought to one of the premier edge backrowers in the NRL.
After one of the best debuts in NRL history and being considered the next Andrew Johns after a handful of games in the top grade, the career of Luke Brooks has been one of criticism, pressure and often times disappointment.
After being handed the reins at Wests at such a young age, Brooks struggled in the NRL and often looked out of place on the big stage with poor defence, rushed decision making and ‘panic kicking’.
It seemed that over the last several tumultuous years for the Tigers, a lot of blame seemed to be heaped on the number seven and his lack of success.
However, after the confidence injection of new coach Ivan Cleary, 2018 saw Brooks put together his best season yet and live up to some of the hype put on him as a junior.
After the departure of local juniors Mitchell Moses, James Tedesco and Aaron Woods, Brooks was left to steer the team with the assistance of a veteran Benji Marshall.
This saw Brooks develop to a whole new level and become an excellent game manager and runner of the ball.
The improvement of the Tigers half did not go unnoticed as Brooks finished third in the Dally M voting and was named Dally M Halfback of the Year.
Honourable Mentions:
It was extremely tough to leave these names out of the list and narrow it down to five.
Luke Keary, Tevita Pangai Jr, James Fisher-Harris, Damien Cook, Benji Marshall, John Sutton, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak