Best on Ground · The season in data
2026 NRL season in data: fan votes, player rankings and trends
Explore the 2026 NRL season through Best on Ground fan voting: the Dally M simulation race, team of the year, consistent players and standout performances.
2026 regular season · Rounds 1–27 · Independent fan voting
The story behind the final leaderboard
Thousands of 3–2–1 decisions add up to more than a final ranking. They show when players built a lead, which performances drew broad agreement, and who repeatedly earned recognition. These reports turn the same ballots behind the player leaderboard into different views of the regular season.
Nathan Cleary finished first in the simulation with 77 points, while Nathan Cleary earned points in 15 different rounds. The reports below explain how those totals were built and where the voting sample affects their interpretation.
Nathan ClearyPanthers77 ptsKalyn PongaKnights55 ptsSualauvi FaalogoStorm47 pts
Herbie FarnworthDolphins47 pts
Thomas JenkinsPanthers44 ptsPick a question and follow the evidence
Start with the interactive season race to follow cumulative points. Explore the fan team of the year for positional selections, or compare consistency and late-season form to distinguish regular recognition from concentrated peaks.
For individual matches, the standout-performance and fan-consensus reports show percentages alongside ballot counts. Each player name links to their profile and voting history, while match links let you inspect the fixture behind an outlying result. The scoring guide explains why raw totals, normalized ratings and simulation awards can tell different stories.
Keep exploring the season
Open the full player leaderboard →Have your say in 2027
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