How often do we hear it? Halves can’t play behind beaten forward packs!
NRL middles are perhaps the most under appreciated sportspeople on the planet.
They do all the hard work. They take that first hit up in the big games. They get smashed. They make a mountain of tackles.
Today we are here to talk about the best of the big men.
If you’re looking for Pat Carrigan, he will be in the locks. Played 13 games at lock, 12 at prop. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui lock
Mitch Barnett, unfortunately, won’t feature due to only playing 11 games, but he was well on track to place very highly.
As always, this list is purely based on 2025 performance rather than being a flat Top Ten list.
With that said, below are the Top Ten props from the 2025 season:
Honourable Mentions: James Fisher-Harris and Fonua Pole
10. Lindsay Smith
I still have no idea how Laurie Daley overlooked the Penrith middle for Origin duties, given the “efforts” of some of those chosen.
Smith continues to be the most overlooked prop in the competition. Fans will rush to the comments to be negative here but the bloke has two Kangaroos caps.
His 2025 season saw him run out 26 times for four tries, 46 tackle breaks, 24 offloads, 964 post-contact metres, 115 run metres per game and a tackle percentage of almost 96%.
Whether starting or coming off the bench, Smith did absolutely everything asked of him by Ivan Cleary. He’s set for a bumper contract extension.