Ahh, the life of an NRL number nine.
Make your 50 tackles. Better not miss any. Tired marker? You better be running the ball!
Today we round out the end-of-year positional rankings by looking at the numbers nines.
As always, this is a list of based purely on 2025 performances and isn't just a blanket top ten list in the position.
Below are the top 10 hookers from the 2025 season:
Honourable Mention: Reece Robson
4. Tom Starling
At the start of the year Tom Starling was supposedly off to England. Canberra even signed Jayden Brailey to come in next season.
Fast forward to the end of the year, and Starling has a new contract on the back of a career-best year. He made himself impossible to ignore throughout 2025.
24 games for the Raiders this season lead to four tries, five try assists, four forced dropouts, almost 55 run metres per game and a tackle percentage of over 91%.
Starling was a rock at hooker for the Green Machine in a season that saw them win the Minor Premiership. What a season.
I’d drop Starling below Api and Walters; in fact I think I’d have Api at #3 in the rankings. It’s hard to look good in a team that isn’t going well, but he managed it.
Nah, I think Starling has been better than Walters.