HOOKER is one of the positions with the greatest depth across the NRL.

It says something about the quality of the dummy halves in the competition when players like Jake Friend, Isaac Luke, Robbie Farah and James Segeyaro can’t make our list.

Injuries and poor form from some marquee sides has seen a few bolters jump onto our Power Rankings.

Honourable Mention: Mitch Rein

It’s no coincidence that when Mitch Rein started playing well things began to turn around for St Goerge Illawarra. Explosive out of dummy half and with an improving workrate, Rein marshalls the underrated Dragons pack superbly and turned in one of the best individual performances of the season in the comeback win over Canberra that kickstarted Saints revival. With so little in-between the form hookers of the NRL we couldn’t bear to leave Rein out in the cold and thought it was only right to give him an honourable mention.

5) Josh Hodgson

The Englishman was a bit of an unknown commodity when he signed with Canberra in the middle part of last seasons and despite making his Test debut in the Four Nations and smashing into a door after England were eliminated, Raiders fans weren’t sure what to expect from the former Hull KR skipper. But Ricky Stuart has landed a good’un, with Hodgson proving to be the best and most consistent dummy half player the Raiders have had since Simon Woolford. Despite splitting time with Glenn Buttriss, Josh McCrone and lately the impressive Kurt Baptiste, Hodgson has quickly emerged as one of the most underrated players in the competition. A skilful competitor with great ball-playing abilities and a good kicking game, Hodgson provides the Raiders with outstanding service from dummy half and has already begun to form a strong combination with five-eighth Blake Austin. Three line break assists and two try assists from eight games show his attacking potency and before the emergence of Baptiste the Raiders suffered dearly whenever the 35-year old left the field.

4) Andrew McCullough

McCullough has been one of the Broncos best for several seasons and he’s continued to thrive as Brisbane surge up the ladder. A defending machine, McCullough averages 43.6 tackles per game and possesses one of the best work rates in the NRL. In the past the Dalby junior was obsessed with throwing as many dummies as possible but the double pumps have taken a back seat as he matures as a playmaker and as a distributor. With halves Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford both preferring to run the ball as often as possible, McCullough has had to undergo the role of the steadying hand, especially with his kicking game and he’s been doing it beautifully. He’s the only non-half-back to have kicked more than one 40/20 this year and if the 25-year old keeps it up he’ll enter the conversation with Segeyaro and Jake Friend as to who will one day replace Cameron Smith as Queensland hooker.

3) Michael Ennis

The Ennis renaissance just keeps on keeping on. In his first year with Cronulla Ennis has quickly emerged as a leader in the absence of regular skipper Paul Gallen. While he’s always been known as a niggling, grinding hardworking player (and make no mistake, he’s still all those things) Ennis transitioned into more of an organising role over the past few weeks following the inclusion of Jack Bird. Bird, while explosive and dangerous, is not much of an organiser and Ennis covers that slack by assisting Jeff Robson in directing the Sharks around the park. Ennis averages 5.5 kicks per game, the most of any hooker in the comp and also has the most try assists of any hooker on our list with four. He’s still Ennis the menace, but the 31-year old’s evolution has been a key component in the Sharks rise.

2) Cameron Smith

The best hooker of his generation is still ticking all the boxes, still doing all the little things right and still playing great footy for the Storm. Not as flashy as some of his younger counterparts, Smith is still the master of the fundamentals of dummy half play. He averages 38.5 tackles a game, has the best kicking game of any hooker in the competition and distributes the ball like a second half-back. His running game is highly underrated — Smith averages 49 metres gained per game, which puts at the upper end among hookers — and he’s the best in the game at legally slowing down the ruck. Critics keep waiting for Smith and the Storm to being their inevitable decline and while the Australian captain isn’t at the peak of his powers he’ll still an elite hooker.

1) Jake Granville

Smart judges expected big things from the Cowboys rake after a few eye-catching displays with the Broncos last season and he hasn’t disappointed. After starting the season on the bench and coming on in relief of Rory Kostjasyn, Granville was elevated to the starting line up for the Round 4 game against Melbourne and hasn’t looked back since. Granville might be the fastest dummy half in the game, as evidence by his scorching 60-metre try against South Sydney, and has given the Cowboys a far more dangerous dimension than the steady Kostjasyn. Despite still only averaging 39 minutes per game, Granville has made 12 tackle busts in 8 games and ran in three tries in the Cowboys win over the Warriors in Round 7. A former fullback, Granville’s tremendous acceleration and support play have made him a contender for buy of the year and an integral cog in the Cowboys revival.