Looking over the players who've been used in first grade, factoring in role, and how good the players actually are & what I think their ceiling is, here's how I'd rate out players this year:
Kalyn Ponga - 8/10. Remains a transformational player for us, the difference between how we attack with and without him is startling - it's such a one-paced team outside of him. So much better with ball in hand than anyone else we have that the attack naturally starts to gravitate around him as the main playmaker, which arguably harms his more traditional fullback play esp. work in support, so I'm sympathetic to the idea he should be moved to 6. Also while I think people are a bit silly with the degree to which fullbacks cop heat for their defence in general (to the point of ignoring poor defensive efforts in the line where it's 100x easier to stop an attacking player) obviously it's not Kalyn's best attribute - we're likely better off with him in the line, with a strong & mobile defender in the back row bodyguarding for him. I don't think he'll reach his potential until he's playing 6 full time.
Enari Tuala - 6/10. Great on the wing, generally not great in the centres. I think the penny has dropped re: where he should play now as a result, but I see him as a replacement-level player.
Kurt Mann - 4/10. Kurt Mann has had games where he's been best on ground. Unfortunately, and something he has in common with another player I'll mention later, they're usually games where we've lost badly. That he never seems to play really well as an integrated part of a winning team kind of tells you there's just something fundamentally wrong with his approach to the game. If he just simplified his game and focused on the 2-3 things he's good at, I actually think he'd be an effective player for us. But it's like he has no understanding of his own game at all.
Bradman Best - 4/10. Dunno if I'm being a bit harsh on Braddy and it's actually other players who should be getting him better ball, but he came back to earth a bit this year. Wholehearted but has come up with some howlers in D, and with ball in hand it looks like he's been worked out and is making poor decisions. Brilliant at his best and I'm only marking him down a bit because I think he's got the second highest ceiling of the whole roster.
Hymel Hunt - 8/10. Has had the odd game where he's looked a bit disinterested or has made a poor error or two, but in general is Mr Reliable, Mr Dirty Work, Mr Try Saving Tackle. The kind of guy others like to play with. I don't know that he has any other levels to go to as a player though really.
Jake Clifford - 7/10. If we're just talking how he as a player fits into the team, he's a 10/10. Huge wraps on him and he's the answer to a lot of problems we had, and he was really good for a guy who had to integrate into the team on the fly. Goalkicking needs work but it should get better, a very natural striker of the ball. Also needs to work on his decision-making a bit, but that will come with time. Has all the tools to potentially be an Origin player down the line, has quickly become possibly my favourite player in the team, and I'm excited to see how he goes after a full pre-season of work with Jayden & Kalyn in particular.
Mitchell Pearce - 5/10. I really don't know what to say at this point. Yes, he lifts the floor of the team, yes he slogs his guts out for us fans and I feel bad slamming him, yes we obviously miss him when he's out. But honestly he killed us in a winnable finals game and I honestly think we score fewer points in games on average specifically because of him. How do you play 300+ games and still do so many things wrong, still play like such a headless chook? Count me among those who think we need to move on now. I don't believe he can lead us to a prelim let alone a premiership as he is now.
Connor Watson - 6/10. Wholehearted, intense, charming, overrated. Like Mann, performed at his best in games we lost (aside from the win over Manly where he was great) and, like Pearce, I honestly think the way he runs around in circles out there kills the cohesiveness in our attack. He also can't defend in the middle as a starting forward. I like him and he was likely a great "locker room guy" whose energy I hope we don't miss too badly, but I don't think it's the worst thing that he moved on.
Mitchell Barnett - 6/10. Another player who gets overrated by our fans IMO, slogs his guts out but in an attention-getting way, like he wants to make sure you know he's trying the hardest. On attention to detail stuff like ruck control, sliding correctly & quickly, communicating with his outside men etc he's a huge downgrade on Aidan Guerra and IMO the cause of a lot of our defensive issues on the edge he marshals. I think he's effective at lock though and I think he should start there full time next year, I just hate his work on an edge which is where he mostly played this year.
Tyson Frizell - 6/10. Tyson is such a weird player. An absolute warrior who never stiffs the fans on effort but - and there's a theme here I think - he'd be an AMAZING player if he did some things a bit better. For such a quick, explosive, tackle-busting athlete, gee he runs lines poorly, like he might be the worst regular starter in the comp in that regard. Consequently we end up using him as another freelancing individual runner flying around in circles a lot... can't say we needed another one of those. At least he'll often win us quick play the balls, but with his natural ability it feels like we should get more out of him, like he should be scoring a try every other game. Going with a 6 in the hopes that with a full pre-season with a fit spine he becomes an absolute weapon next year on that edge.
Daniel Saifiti - 8/10. I think he's been hampered a bit this year by injury, but I keep recalibrating what I expect from him because he keeps improving. In his second stints in particular this year he has come back on and absolutely owned games. Absolute stud. Sometimes he could stand to hustle a bit more in D though.
Jayden Brailey - 9/10. For my money the player of the year. An absolute Energizer Bunny out there, leaves it all on the park, and he's a guy who just does his job and makes things easier for the guys around him - IMO we need more of that, we've got too many individuals out there. Showed a bit of playmaking and attacking threat too which he never had at the Sharks, as well as a useful but inconsistent kicking game. If he brings all that together consistently with his work in defence, a 10/10 season could be on the way next year.
Jacob Saifiti - 8/10. I don't think he's as impactful as his brother, but he has rightly been praised a lot for his work this year. Mr 1%, in the 78th minute of tight games he'll be out there forcing line speed to try and will us to a win, probably runs the most decoys of anyone in the side, and puts out a lot of fires for us in defence. Has the odd error in him still - if he cleans that up he might catch his brother as a player, which would be exciting.
Jesse Sue - 7/10. Brought in to do a job on a cheap deal. He did a job. Apparently a good mentor off the field for our young Pasifika players.
David Klemmer - 7/10. Where did the offloads go? Other than that, few players work harder out there, even if he doesn't have the impact he once did. Looks way better coming off the bench and I'm glad Adzy didn't let price tags dictate who starts and who's an interchange player.
Josh King - 8/10. I actually thought he was really ****ing good in the minutes he got this year, a sneakily impactful bench forward. Never thought I'd see him go close to as well as he did in his games this year. Shrewd signing for Melbourne.
Brodie Jones - 8/10. Again, very very pleased with his play in the chances he got. You know exactly what you're going to get from him, and that's effort. Made a couple of inexperience errors in defence which he should fix in time though.
Lachlan Fitzgibbon - 6/10. Not as bad as some people say IMO. Just unlucky that the few errors he made were weirdly calamitous. I honestly think he didn't do a lot wrong besides not be super fit, needs a proper pre-season I think. Looked dangerous as a running option again, breaking the line a fair bit in his shortened season.
Phoenix Crossland - 6/10. Had one really good game against Manly, and one really poor one against the Warriors. Otherwise just consistently okay, quite reliable, and unlike Junior knows when to get out of the way.
Starford To'a - 5/10. Lethal finisher, strong runner, but the coaches seem unhappy with him for a reason - he's a bit slack out there. That's not the club Adzy is trying to build. With his potential he should have been one of the first backs picked each week. Needs to shape up or it's off to Wests with him IMO.
Gehamat Shibasaki - 1/10. The less said the better. Looked mentally shattered. Wish him all the best.
Tex Hoy - 3/10. Had a couple of good games deputising for KP, but the majority were very bad from memory. Looks to have slid right down the pecking order.
Chris Randall - 5/10. Toiler. Unlucky with injuries.
Dom Young - 6/10. I liked what I saw. Still learning the game (and his own body seemingly), but a great project player who should be better for the run in the top grade next year.
Simi Sasagi - 5/10. Barely got a shot. One absolutely stellar piece of attacking play, looks to be a strong ball runner with all the skills, also looked badly off the place fitness-wise and in his defensive awareness. Again, another project.
Blake Green - 2/10. Retired for a good reason.
Jack Johns - 4/10. I really don't know if he's a first grader but not *horrible* in the chances he got, just kinda bleh.
Mat Croker, Pasami Saulo - 5/10 Few chances this year but both looked decent enough I thought.
Jirah Momoisea - 6/10. I really like what I see there. Looks like Joe Tapine with better defence potentially. I really hope he's in the round 1 team next year because he looks like a beast to me, my tip for club ROTY next year.
Dunno if I missed anyone, but I reckon this averages out to about a 6/10 across the squad, which makes sense - it was a 6/10 year.