{"id":775069,"date":"2026-07-02T21:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775069\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T21:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:11:13","slug":"the-mole-nrl-news-2026-most-underrated-players-of-every-nrl-club-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775069\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mole NRL news 2026: Most underrated players of every NRL club, Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The focus of the league world is on 34 superstars over the next week in the countdown to Origin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But NRL<\/a> teams are made of much more than big names – and for this piece I\u2019ve picked the most underrated players from each club.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Ben Talty has been named one of the most under-rated players of the season. \u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

They may not get the headlines, but they get the job done for their team and the fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broncos <\/p>\n

Ben Talty came from Norths in the NSW Cup last season to be part of the Broncos<\/a>\u2032 premiership-winning squad. <\/p>\n

In a team of superstars, quietly goes about his work every week\u2026 a real Michael Maguire favourite in a team that struggles for consistency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Raiders<\/p>\n

He had a shocker against the Dragons last weekend but Sav Tamale has been an impressive quiet achiever for the Raiders<\/a> with his hard running and evasive skills. He will bounce back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bulldogs<\/p>\n

Plenty of big names on huge dollars at Belmore but Enari Tuala\u00a0is a budget utility back who gets the job done when he gets a chance in the top side, either at centre or wing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sharks<\/p>\n

He may not be ranked among the NRL\u2019s elite fullbacks, but Will Kennedy is a real strike weapon at the back for the Sharks<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The club wasn\u2019t sure he was the answer for next season but rewarded him with a one-year contract extension\u00a0recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dolphins <\/p>\n

Isaiya\u00a0Katoa gets the headlines every week but his partner in the halves, Kodi Nikorima, is also a clever attacking weapon who gives the speedy Phins<\/a> outside backs time and space to work their magic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Titans<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to believe the Titans<\/a> didn\u2019t fight harder to keep Phil Sami for next season – the wing speedster is off to the Dragons. In a team that struggles to cross the stripe, he\u2019s bagged 11 tries in 15 games this season and is primed for plenty more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sea Eagles<\/p>\n

Brandon Wakeham was signed as a back-up utility but has proved to be a real surprise packet at Brookvale this season. A crafty hooker with plenty of tricks out of dummy half, he\u2019s thrived under \u2018Fozball\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Storm<\/p>\n

Joe Chan was given the daunting task of replacing Eli Katoa at Melbourne this season and has done an admirable job. In a battling Storm<\/a> side, he\u2019s delivered with his wide running and is clearly enjoying Craig Bellamy\u2019s tough worth ethic.<\/p>\n

Knights<\/p>\n

Newcastle<\/a> fans love Dane Gagai so much that they started a petition to keep him – but it didn\u2019t do any good. The club has cut the 35-year-old loose despite a great season and he\u2019s heading back to Brisbane in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dane Gagai in Knights colours in April.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Warriors<\/p>\n

It\u2019s simply outrageous that Jackson Ford – who tops the tackle count AND run metres most weeks as well as playing 80 minutes, was brushed by the Blues. Now he\u2019s out with a pec injury and the Wahs are missing him big time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

The Cowboys<\/a> signed Braidon Burns as an after-thought three years ago and he\u2019s enjoying his best-ever season on the end of a speedy backline with 10 tries from 12 games. <\/p>\n

A classy finisher.<\/p>\n

Eels <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a tough year yet again for Parra<\/a> fans but new boy Brian Kelly has been a real breath of fresh air, averaging over 160 run metres per game and scoring and setting up tries. The Titans\u2019 loss is the Eels\u2019 gain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panthers<\/p>\n

Freddy Lussick joined the Panthers<\/a> this year as basically a back-up for Mitch Kenny and not expecting to play much NRL. But with Kenny suffering injury, he\u2019s played 12 games and been a star out of dummy half, coming up with four tries. Watch for him to get more game time leading into the finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rabbitohs<\/p>\n

Tallis Duncan started the season as a fringe first grader – now those in the know see him as a future Origin player. <\/p>\n

Either at back row or centre, he plays well above his weight and has a habit of breaking the line and scoring tries. A real energiser Bunny.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tallis<\/p>\n

Tallis Duncan (left) could be a future Origin star.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Dragons<\/p>\n

Samoan-born Setu Tu joined the Dragons<\/a> from the Warriors this year looking for opportunity – and has snatched it. He debuted in Vegas, scoring a try, and his speed and swerve have seen him add seven more in his 13 appearances. A great strike rate in a team that offers so little in attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BRISBANE,<\/p>\n

Setu Tu and Dragons players celebrate.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Roosters<\/p>\n

Hugo Savala has been a revelation since moving from a NSW Cup halfback to an NRL centre this season – so much so that Laurie Daley<\/a> brought him into the NSW<\/a> squad this week. He won\u2019t play in Brisbane, but the experience he gains hanging around the Blues squad will prove invaluable in his development.<\/p>\n

Tigers<\/p>\n

Alex Twal is the classic quiet achiever – much is made of his lack of try scoring prowess but he goes about his job week in, week out and has thrived under Benji Marshall <\/a>with his high work rate and imposing presence in the middle of the park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The focus of the league world is on 34 superstars over the next week in the countdown to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-775069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}