Nathan Cleary has been crowned the undisputed king of rugby league, polling maximum votes from all 10 judges who determined the NRL’s top 50 players for 2024.
Cleary has become the dominant player in the dominant team over the past five years and his grand final appearance in 2023 elevated his status to all-time great at the age of 26.
He’s one of two halfbacks who was voted into the top 10 by a panel that included Andrew Johns, Allana Ferguson, Darren Lockyer and Brad Fittler as well as an esteemed selection of Nine journalists.
Apart from the two No.7s, there was two fullbacks, a hooker, a five-eighth, two front-rowers and two locks voted into the top 10.
Scroll below to see who Nine’s panel considered to be the cream of the crop. And to get a better understanding about how the NRL top 50 was judged, click here.
Winning three premierships with Penrith, State of Origin titles with NSW and World Cups for Australia was never going to be enough for the Penrith halfback’s critics. But the manner in which he dragged his team back into last year’s grand final against Brisbane, with the Panthers trailing by 16 points with 20 minutes to go, ended the debate. Only the special playmakers like Lewis, Johns or Thurston are capable of such heroics in the biggest games. Cleary joined them that night. By the way: he’s only 26. Andrew Webster
