Jack Welsby (St Helens)
VOTED as League Express readers’ player of the year for 2022, Jack Welsby has only gone from strength to strength in 2023.
As Saints have built momentum in the second half of the season, their ever-present star fullback has come to the fore with a number of match-winning moments of magic.
His 27 try assists place him behind only Bevan French, while only French and Matt Dufty have made more tackle busts than Welsby’s 117.
This is Welsby’s third consecutive Dream Team appearance and comes in a third different position, after centre and stand-off.
Josh Charnley (Leigh Leopards)
LITTLE over a year ago, Josh Charnley was contemplating his future in the game after being marginalised at Warrington.
Thankfully, for him, Leigh and Rugby League as a whole, he kept going and has enjoyed one of his best-ever seasons.
Charnley spent all year locked in a tussle for top try-scorer, finishing with 26, but the 32-year-old has impressed all-round.
His defence has been top-notch and he has contributed heavily with the ball, making 3,262 metres, the third-best figure in Super League, and a remarkable 36 clean breaks, ten more than any other player.
Jake Wardle (Wigan Warriors)
WIGAN have lacked top-quality, out-and-out centres in recent years, but have emphatically put that right in 2023.
By signing Toby King (on loan from Warrington) and Jake Wardle, they have two of the best in Super League and both have been strong performers this year.
No centre could match Wardle’s 15 tries (complemented by nine try assists), nor can any better his 21 clean breaks.
He has also made 366 tackles, an impressive number for an outside back and a reflection of a fine rugby talent starting to fulfil his potential after stagnation at Huddersfield.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Hull KR)
SWANSONG seasons don’t come much more impressive than Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s.
At 35, the former NRL centre has shown his undoubted class in leading Hull KR’s charge this year, playing every game bar five (four of them spent serving a controversial ban).
Kenny-Dowall’s 90 tackle busts are the third most made by any centre, while only six players in the competition made more offloads than his 35.
The Hull KR skipper was denied the chance to lift the Challenge Cup but could yet hold silverware before retiring to take a place on the club’s coaching staff.
Tom Johnstone (Catalans Dragons)
MANY wondered ahead of this season whether Catalans were wise to sign Tom Johnstone, so talented yet so injury-prone throughout his career.
Twenty-seven tries later, it’s clear that the move was a masterstroke for Catalans and for Johnstone himself.
The winger has finally enjoyed a season without injury, missing only one match and sitting joint-top of the scoring charts with Abbas Miski.
He’s not just a finisher, but a huge running threat too, making 3,375 metres (the best of any outside back), at a phenomenal average gain of 9.45 metres per carry (the best of any Super League regular bar Ricky Leutele).152
Bevan French (Wigan Warriors)
IT is a sure sign of Bevan French’s quality that he now proven himself to be one of Super League’s best players in three different positions.
First a Wigan star at fullback, French was pushed to the wing by Jai Field last year and topped the scoring charts with 31 tries.
This season, Abbas Miski’s good form and Cade Cust’s struggles saw the Australian moved to stand-off and he – and Wigan – have not looked back.
He tops the try-assists chart with 30, while 17 tries give him the most contributions in Super League. A team with French at the heart will always be a dangerous one.
Lachlan Lam (Leigh Leopards)
LEIGH’S Challenge Cup winner has been just as influential to their brilliant Super League campaign.
While neither he nor the Leopards have quite returned to the heights of the middle part of the year since their golden-point Wembley glory, Lachlan Lam has still been the outstanding halfback of the season.
The Lance Todd Trophy winner has registered 21 try assists alongside his nine tries, forming a great halfback partnership with Ben Reynolds.
But his greatest partnership is with his dad, as Adrian Lam leads Leigh’s best season in decades with his son the boss on the field.
Paul Vaughan (Warrington Wolves)
FEW NRL signings have made quite so immediate an impact as Paul Vaughan did on his arrival at Warrington.
The prop towered over all Super League in the Wolves’ unbeaten start to the year.
Like George Williams, Vaughan has also stood tall when times have been bad, continuing to lead amid the slump that saw Daryl Powell sacked and left Warrington scrambling for their play-off place.
Vaughan made the most metres of any Super League player after Tom Amone, with 3,301, at 7.99 metres per carry, but also showed his varied skillset by making 29 offloads, the second most of any prop.
Edwin Ipape (Leigh Leopards)
SUPER LEAGUE knew what was coming from Edwin Ipape, who was touted as a Man of Steel contender before playing a game in the competition.
While last season’s Championship Player of the Year has not quite hit the heights required for that prize, he has still made a notable impression.
His powerful and direct style, in tandem with the Leigh forwards around him, have made him a force to be reckoned with.
Ipape’s 16 clean breaks – many from his 112 dummy-half runs – are the most of any hooker, and his average gain of 8.41 metres per carry is the best of any regular nine bar Brad O’Neill.
Tom Amone (Leigh Leopards)
IT’S frightening to think that this time last year, Championship players had to go toe-to-toe with Tom Amone.
Because this season, most Super League forwards have been outplayed by the destructive prop who has led Leigh’s charge up the table from the front.
Amone has made 3,467 metres, the most of any player in Super League, at a staggering average gain of 8.27 metres per carry.
Behind him and Paul Vaughan, the next best front-row metre-maker is Robbie Mulhern (2,778 metres), with whom Amone formed a truly devastating partnership that often blew teams off the park.
Kallum Watkins (Salford Red Devils)
A MOVE to the back row has done no end of wonders for Kallum Watkins.
He has found a new lease of life in the position over the past two years, earning an England recall and now a first Dream Team appearance since 2015.
Now Salford captain, Watkins had another fine season in which he has proven the toughness required in the pack.
A combination of 690 tackles, plus 261 carries at 7.02 metres on average, demonstrate his work-rate, while 35 offloads (the most of any backrower in Super League) show he still has the varied skillset.
Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors)
NO stranger to the Super League Dream Team, Liam Farrell has been picked for the fifth season in a row.
That fact reflects his consistency over several years, producing solid seven- or eight-out-of-ten performances virtually every single week.
His standards certainly haven’t slipped in his first campaign as Wigan captain, making 2,679 metres (the most of any backrower in the competition) at an average of 7.3 per carry, plus 774 tackles (the second-best in his position).
Only five players have now made more Dream Team appearances than Farrell, who is establishing his place as a modern-day great.
John Asiata (Leigh Leopards)
CONTROVERSY may have followed John Asiata since scrutiny turned on his tackle technique in the aftermath of Leigh’s Challenge Cup semi-final win over St Helens.
But his role in their success this season, in knockout competition and in Super League, cannot be underestimated.
The Leopards skipper has led from the front, making the most carries of any player in the whole division with 528 – 80 more than the next best forward, Cameron Smith.
He has also made an impressive 35 offloads and set up seven tries, all while having the energy to make 741 tackles in defence.
