1. Fullback: James Tedesco - Sydney Roosters
Teddy posted double-figure tries for the fifth consecutive season, the 12th of which put two quiet games against the Dolphins and Panthers behind him.
His 11 tackle breaks was his equal-second highest of the season and he turned his 35 receipts into 161 metres gained.
It was just the third of his last nine finals in which he crossed the line, an unusually quiet stretch for a man usually associated with big-game performances.
2. Wing: Dominic Young - Newcastle Knights
Young's mid-season move back to Newcastle from Sydney in last year has proven to be one of the best decisions of his life.
He had found himself in the Roosters' reserves team after going down the coast in pursuit of Premiership glory and pulled the pin on the experiment after just 30 games, returning straight to Newcastle's starting lineup and scoring against the Dolphins on his 'second debut'.
Nine tries in his first six games of 2026 was a pace that no man could keep up, but he returned to form by ending a five-game scoring drought against the Rabbitohs in the first of seven try scoring appearances in his last nine games.
Young made seven tackle busts, two line breaks and ran 184 metres in the narrow win over the Warriors.
3. Centre: Robert Toia - Sydney Roosters
The 22-year-old is fighting with Herbie Farnworth to be the best centre in the competition at the moment after scoring tries in each of his last four games, taking his total to 14 for the year - double his output from 2025.
That's his longest try scoring streak of the season and comes despite the Roosters losing three of those games, including against their upcoming opponents Dolphins.
Toia also broke eight tackles, assisted a try and landed a perfect 20 out of 20 tackles in defence.
4. Centre: Leka Halasima - New Zealand Warriors
21-year-old Leka Halasima is going to be one of Tonga's most exciting and versatile assets at the upcoming World Cup, and despite the result, this was his best game of the year as a centre.
Halasima spent the first half of the season in the second row before an injury crisis forced him to move into the backs, and for the second time from three attempts this year, he scored as a centre against the Knights.
This time, he followed it up with his first double of 2026, adding nine tackle breaks to the 13 he notched up against the Knights in their 46-32 Round 26 victory.
5. Wing: Mark Nawaqanitawase - Sydney Roosters
From State of Origin to NRL finals, Mark Nawaqanitawase is made for the big stage.
With his seventh brace of this NRL season, 'Marky Mark' propelled himself back into the top-ten of the try scoring list for the year with his 17th and 18th tries and gave Wallabies fans plenty to be excited about ahead of his reversal to union in November.
Nawaqanitawase has already vowed that a potential return to league after the 2027 Rugby World Cup will only be back to the Roosters, where it feels like he has already packed half a career into his meagre 45 first grade games.
6. Five-eighth: Fletcher Sharpe - Newcastle Knights
Little more than one year after getting surgery on a spleen and a kidney following a horrific high tackle at Perth's HBF Park, Fletcher Sharpe capped off his incredible 2026 comeback with a season-high 11 tackles and two forced drop outs off the boot.
A 2026-high of 61 receipts underlined just busy Sharpe was in the win over the Warriors, whilst he was unusually aggressive with ball in arm, recording 49 hit-up metres - a very high count given he had accumulated 101 all year.
7. Halfback: Daly Cherry-Evans - Sydney Roosters
Daly Cherry-Evans booked an emotional Suncorp Stadium reunion with his childhood club through a dazzling three try assists in Easts' 46-10 romping win over Cronulla.
That was in addition to a tackle bust and a line break of his own.
Warrior Te Maire Martin was a close second for an 80-minute stint that saw him gain 157 metres and break four tackles.
8. Prop: Mitchell Barnett - New Zealand Warriors
In his Warriors farewell, Origin prop Barnett made four tackle busts for the third time this year, gaining 51 post contact metres in his 54 minutes. He gained 140 metres, 102 of them from hit-ups.
His excellent comeback from an ACL injury should give Broncos fans great hope that he can be a tremendous asset to a forward pack that was lacking in 2026.
9. Hooker: Wayde Egan - New Zealand Warriors
Reece Robson, Blayke Brailey and Phoenix Crossland all had fairly quiet weekends, so Wayde Egan comes out on top at the end of what could be his penultimate year in Auckland.
Egan is set to test the open market from November 1 after accumulating 13 try assists, one of which came in the weekend loss to the Knights.
He made his second-biggest tackle count of the entire season, landing 45 at a success rate of 96%, helping keep the star-studded Knights back five to just 12 points.
10. Prop: Jesse Colquhoun - Cronulla Sharks
Colquhoun put in his longest shift of the entire season - 72 minutes - racking up 46 successful tackles and a total of 132 metres, 106 of them from hit-ups. With two tackle breaks and two offloads, he also racked up the most fantasy points (60) of all Sharks players.
11. Second row: Briton Nikora - Cronulla Sharks
Between his debut Origin series for Queensland and his upcoming second Rugby League World Cup, Nikora recorded his most post contact metres (34) in six games and 97 hit-up running metres, whilst he missed only one of his 40 tackles.
12. Second row: Kurt Capewell - New Zealand Warriors
The 11-season veteran made more tackle breaks (eight) and line breaks (three) than in any of his other 14 appearances this year, pushing through for 124 hit-up running metres and landing 34 of his 38 attempted tackles.
The Queensland forward will be beginning his fourth season with the Warriors in 2027 after signing a one-year contract extension in June, opening the door for the Australian clubs to offer him a potential twilight at home beyond that.
13. Lock: Erin Clark - New Zealand Warriors
It's probably fair to say Erin Clark doesn't qualify for this side on merit as the best lock of the weekend, but more as the... least worst?
Cameron McInnes played 45 minutes for only 13 receipts, 52 metres gained and 31 tackles made, and Billy Burns' replacement was even quieter.
Roosters lock Victor Radley recorded only 19 receipts for 78 metres gained and was the only starter of the side not to record a single tackle break, whilst Newcastle's Mat Croker gained only 84 metres from his 20 receipts.
Clark had a sensational 2026 and was a regular 'lock' (sorry not sorry) in our weekly teams of the week, but unfortunately on this occasion he wasn't able to record a significant impact.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
