It's the time of year that all sorts of lists and rankings get rolled out, heck we've done a few. I'm not too fussed with who is the best player in the NRL or which team has the best signings, that's all a bit boring. I prefer to talk about the players who get me on the edge of my seat, players who I either make a point of watching or those players who always seemed to catch my eye from the 2015 season.

Fullback

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

If there was one player in the NRL who I would openly confess my love for, it's Roger. His ability is easily quantified with stats as he ran for the most metres ever last season but Tuivasa-Sheck is my favourite (of all positions) because you know what he's gonna deliver each week. Whether he's bursting on to the ball to run into a couple of forwards, making defenders grasp at Caspar thanks to nifty footwork or throwing a few gorgeous passes, Tuivasa-Sheck does it all and does so at the highest level. To put it simply Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is just so fun to watch.

Brett Stewart

The Snake. I'm not a fan of snakes but Stewart is all class. The fact that Stewart and Billy Slater are still operating at a level just below Tuivasa-Sheck despite being closer to retirement than anything else is testament to their ability as footballers and professionals. Stewart represents the slithering nature of a snake, combining it with some silky hands and freakish football skills that would be useless in any other sport; he's a footy player. 

Lachlan Coote

After moving to Townsville and suffering a season-ending injury before pulling on the Cowboys' jersey, Coote finally enjoy some luck and success. Watching Coote play consistently through the year was a joy in itself as he reminded me what made him such an exciting little fullback at Penrith, only this year he was working alongside Jonathan Thurston and Michael Morgan and the best team in the NRL.

I loved Coote's work because he had his own little niche within the Cowboys team, running their left-edge and easing a lot of pressure off Thurston's shoulders. Coote finished the year with 14 try assists, two more than Morgan and the same as Cooper Cronk, plus he's a little fella who never shirks the workload of an NRL fullback. Shout out to the little fellas.

Wing

Manu Vatuvei

Manu, who else!? Easily my favourite winger, almost my favourite player (behind Roger) and my favourite Warriors so Vatuvei is a certainty in this. 2015 was the year in which Vatuvei record 10 straight seasons in which he scored 10 or more tries, seriously folks. We also saw Vatuvei improve on 2014, despite playing seven more games in 2014 than he did in 2015 as he averaged 135 running metres in 2014 and 144 in 2015 ... oh and he had 16 line breaks in 16 games in 2015, compared to 14 line breaks in 23 games in 2014. 

Don't ever sleep on Manu.

Corey Oates

Oates is my guy because he's a second-rower playing on the wing ... starting on the wing for the Brisbane Broncos ... in a Grand Final ... he even scored a breakaway try in a Grand Final!

And he made another favourite spew with a shot coming in off his wing...

Marika Koroibete

Excitement is what pops into my head when thinking about Koroibete. Imagine being flicked to the curb by Wests Tigers (silly, silly Tigers) and popping up in Melbourne, a situation that I would describe as perfect. Koroibete gives the Storm exactly what they need to compliment their structured plays as he offers speed and power (speed + power = X factor). 

Centre

Kane Linnett

Two Cowboys players feature in the top-5 metre eaters of 2015 (Tuivasa-Sheck won this race by over 2,000 metres!!!): Jason Taumalolo and Kane Linnett. I love Linnett's no nonsense style in which he doesn't overplay his hand and rarely puts a foot wrong. This makes Linnett the perfect centre for a team with many play-making options and a Championship ring is a nice reward for Linnett's toil.

James Roberts

Gold Coast Titans weren't overly fun to watch, however they did have an absolute gun in James Roberts to perk my antenna up. Roberts is super fast and strong enough to whack a fend in your chest, bouncing away and scooting to the try-line. Why would I write anything when you can just watch this...

Halves

Anthony Milford 

Before joining the Broncos, Milford appeared to be a dynamic ball-runner who had the footwork and speed to pose a threat to any defence in the NRL. This came as Milford enjoyed success at fullback with the Raiders but a move to Brisbane meant a move to the halves and 2015 saw Milford offer so much more than merely fancy footwork.

We definitely saw a lot of Milford's (and Ben Hunt's) speed and footwork although we also saw Milford develop as a play-maker. I loved watching Milford execute long kicks with accuracy to finish off one set and then dribble a grubber into a dangerous position the next set, I can't forget his passing game either as Milford showed off his handles all season. If Milford's playing, I'm watching.

Cooper Cronk

There's a certain level of execution or perfection that you expect from Mr Cronk, hence I love him. While I appreciate the razzlers and dazzlers, I reserve a special spot for players like Cronk who do rugby league basics at a level that very few play-makers can and Cronk continues to do so in a Storm team that went through a few changes in 2015. 

I get the feeling that we only realise how good Cronk is when he's absent, so here's some love Cooper.

Jonathan Thurston/Shaun Johnson

I've put Thurston here because he's the best player in the game, so he's kinda my favourite because of that.

Johnson however is a must-watch player who continues to climb the ladder. This season he showed the ability to say 'follow me' and then actually produce the goods when his team is looking at him to provide inspiration. A lot of my love for Johnson stems from watching him develop; we have seen Johnson move from Under 20s to the NRL and now moving into a consistently excellent NRL halfback. 

Props

Jake Trbojevic

Bursting on to the scene in 2015, Trbojevic was arguably Manly's best player last season playing 23 games and averaging 105 metres and 26 tackles. When you consider that he's also only 21 years old and has Manly running through his blood means that he has the opportunity to be the focal point of their forward pack for the next decade. He's a nice kid as well.

Jesse Bromwich

Young Jake has a fair way to go before getting on Jesse's level though. Try averaging 23 tackles, 16 hit ups and 155 metres. Love ya Jesse, keep that low key footwork at the line coming as well, it always gets me going.

Leeson Ah Mau

First of all Ah Mau is from Auckland and spent time with the Warriors which is always a good start. More importantly though, Ah Mau went from being a status-quo squad forward to being a key cog in a Dragons forward pack that exceeded everyone's expectations.

2014 saw Ah Mau average 28 tackles, 10 hit ups and 84 metres per game

2015 saw Ah Mau average 26 tackles, 11 hit ups and 107 metres per game.

Gotta love incremental improvements.

Hooker

Jake Granville 

Granville enjoyed a successful season after battling away on the fringes for a number of years and his work out of dummy half is exactly what the Cowboys needed to go to that next level as it gave Thurston, Morgan and Coote a bit more time. This also gave the Cowboys a different threat as they would charge up the guts with Granville scooting out of dummy half before or after their big forwards got some go-forward. No team really found a way to stop this steamrolling play and Granville was a key reason.

James Segeyaro 

Very similar to Granville in that his running game is what earns him his NRL cash each week. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Segeyaro last season but when we did the Panthers certainly looked like a better team.

Second Row

Gavin Cooper

Tireless and the perfect second-rower to play alongside Jonathan Thurston, Cooper never really gets the props he deserves. Sure life beside Thurston must be easy, but Cooper is always hitting the right hole or taking tough carries to share the workload. Nine tries and nine try assists is a pretty handy tally for a second rower in one season, all done while averaging 30 tackles and 117 running metres.

Wade Graham

I'm gonna say that Graham is the best second-rower in the game, at least the best left-sided second-rower in the game. The Sharks were a tough opposition to line up against thanks to the threat posed by either edge and marking up against Graham's left edge would have been a nightmare as you'd have to account for Graham's ability to run the footy, the range of plays that his passing game offers and the best kicking game of any forward in the NRL.

Lock

Jason Taumalolo

There's only one man who captures my imagination at lock and that's Jason Taumalolo. Throughout the season we didn't really see Taumalolo quite at his best as his minutes were juggled by Cowboys coach Paul Green, which worked out perfectly as Taumalolo served up his best work in the biggest games. 

A lot of locks have great footwork and no one combines that footwork with speed quite like Taumalolo who is making that darting run back in behind the ruck his signature. While this is great for the Cowboys as they can have sets of six with Taumalolo, Matt Scott, James Tamou and Granville carting the ball forward, it's also the staple of a full-strength Kiwis side.

Not many forwards have the footwork of Taumalolo and Bromwich ... or Johnson, or Tuivasa-Sheck. This is what us kiwis have to look forward to!