Stephen Kearney and Brad Arthur beat the likes of premiership-winners Des Hasler, Paul Green and Michael Maguire. David Klemmer has been superb for Newcastle in 2019, however only received five per cent of votes. In the most one-sided positional vote of 2019, Latrell Mitchell has knocked off nemesis Will Chambers as the best centre in the NRL. Cooper Cronk will retire the king of the kids after polling almost 40 per cent of the votes in the best halfback category. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has leapfrogged Kalyn Ponga into second position, with Ponga dropping to third after finishing behind Slater last year. With a whopping 80 per cent of the 150 plus votes, Mitchell rose from fourth in 2018 to the leader of the pack 12 months later. He finished equal fifth, however he only polled two per cent of the votes. Interestingly Penrith’s Viliame Kikau pipped Australian captain Boyd Cordner for second position. Four of the top five from last year remain, with Clint Gutherson replacing Slater in the group. 2018 votes: Billy Slater (60%), Kalyn Ponga (11%), Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (10%), Tom Trbojevic (6%), James Tedesco (5%). 2018 votes: Johnathan Thurston (35%), Ben Hunt (19%), Nathan Cleary (11%), Shaun Johnson (11%), Cooper Cronk (9%). The reigning premiers are the team to beat. Keary knocked off the two most in-form players of the NRL, Cameron Munster and Cody Walker. 2018 votes: Will Chambers (31%), Greg Inglis (21%), Euan Aitken (13%), Latrell Mitchell (11%), Josh Dugan (4%). As expected, the former Queensland and Australian captain finished with more than half the votes. Last year Smith had 33 per cent more votes than his nearest competitor, which was Johnathan Thurston. Ivan Cleary has dropped from second position in 2018 to well outside the top five given his struggles in his return to Penrith. Almost half the players tipped the Roosters as the 2019 premiers with South Sydney the next popular team. Mitchell Pearce has rocketed up the leaderboard to finish in second position, with Daly Cherry-Evans, Adam Reynolds and Chad Townsend all new faces in the top five for 2019. Three locks won the voting last year, with Reagan Campbell-Gillard earning the most votes of the props. NRL Telstra Premiership 2020 Finals Series Week Three, 'One Zoom a week': How Wayne rebooted Rabbits by barely coaching, You have skipped the navigation, tab for page content. Ferguson’s red-hot start to the year hasn’t gone unnoticed by the players, with the flamboyant winger rising from equal fifth to first in the space of 12 months. In the lead-up to Origin, the players give their thoughts on who will win this year's series and which player most deserves to debut for their state. Wayne Bennett has climbed to second position, increasing his support from 8 per cent in 2018 to 19 per cent this year. James Maloney was the overwhelming winner last year with 36 per cent of the votes, however Penrith’s horror start to the year saw him drop dramatically. Craig Bellamy has retained his spot on the top of the coaches leaderboard, however his lead has been significantly reduced. NRL.com polled more than 150 players from all 16 clubs to get their responses about a range of topics from the best players in each position, the leading coach and many of the biggest talking points in the game. Sam Burgess’ shift to the edge has seen him rewarded with top position in the back-rower category. Four of the top five centres from last year have lost their positions, with Greg Inglis (retired), Euan Aitken, Josh Dugan and Chambers all dropping out. Luke Keary wasn’t even in the top five last year, but on the back of the Roosters premiership and Australian jumper at the end of 2018, the Roosters five-eighth has one the battle in a hotly-contested category. 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