We’ve compiled the average age of players every club has used in 2017, along with the breakdown of player ages.

Across the league, the average age of players for 2017 is 25.88.

Cronulla have the oldest average age at 28.06, which makes sense considering they field three of the Top 10 oldest players in Paul Gallen, Chris Heighington and Luke Lewis.

At the other end of the scale, it’s no surprise to see the Newcastle Knights with the youngest team in the league with an average age of 24.21.

Another interesting team to note is the Melbourne Storm. With Billy Slater and Cameron Smith featuring in the oldest players list, many fans would consider them to have one of the oldest squads in the league but they sit right on the league average at 25.93.

The table also highlights that experience helps win matches. With the current Top 8 teams all featuring near the top half of the list, with the New Zealand Warriors being the only outlier to that fact.

Average age at each club in 2017

Club Average Age Cronulla 28.06 Parramatta 26.52 North Queensland 26.28 Warriors 26.28 Manly 26.15 Brisbane 26.14 Sydney Roosters 26.02 Melbourne 25.93 St George Illawarra 25.92 South Sydney 25.92 Canterbury-Bankstown 25.82 Canberra 25.78 Gold Coast 25.57 Wests Tigers 24.90 Penrith 24.73 Newcastle 24.21 League Average 25.88

Once again, the Sharks show their age with seven players over the age of 30 making an appearance for the club in 2017. They also haven’t used a player under the age of 20.

The Gold Coast Titans have used the most players in 2017, with 32 taking the field to date. Two of those have been under 20 years old.

The Dragons have used the least players this season, with only 23 players named for the season so far. This total would have been 22 prior to Matt Dufty making his debut for the club in Round 20.

Every club’s age breakdown in 2017

Club <20 20-29 30+ Total Brisbane 1 21 4 26 Canberra 1 22 2 25 Canterbury-Bankstown 0 22 4 26 Cronulla 0 17 7 24 Gold Coast 2 29 1 32 Manly 1 20 5 26 Melbourne 1 25 4 30 Warriors 2 21 5 28 Newcastle 1 27 2 30 North Queensland 1 23 4 28 Parramatta 0 23 4 27 Penrith 1 26 1 28 South Sydney 1 22 4 27 St George Illawarra 1 20 2 23 Sydney Roosters 1 24 1 26 Wests Tigers 1 27 1 29

The above table shows player's current ages, not their age when they played.