One New Zealand Warriors front rowers Mitchell Barnett and Addin Fonua-Blake have been ranked two of the top four props in the game by their peers in voting for the 2024 Players’ Dream Team.
They’ve made the cut alongside Canberra’s Kiwi front rower Joseph Tapine and Brisbane’s Payne Haas.
Barnett won the One New Zealand Warriors’ supreme award the Simon Mannering Medal as the club’s 2024 player of the year while departing Fonua-Blake was voted the players’ player of the year by his teammates.
Barnett, who reached his 150-game career milestone during the season and also captained the One New Zealand Warriors in Tohu Harris’ injury-enforced absence, averaged 15 runs, 149 metres (career best) and 32 tackles a game. His defensive efficiency rate (93.93%), post contact metres (1409) and tackle breaks (46) were career bests while his 28 off loads equalled his best.
Fonua-Blake headed all players in the NRL for most post-contact metres with a career-best 1698 and ranked fourth for metres gained (4031), the most by any forward. His average metres gained per game (175) was also a best, just ahead of last year’s 171 per game, while he backed up his nine tries last year with eight this term to establish himself as the game’s pre-eminent try-scoring front rower.
He complemented his 175 metres a game with an average of 27 tackles (including only 27 missed tackles all season) plus a total of 84 tackle breaks (another career best) and 24 off loads.
The pair were named as two of the club’s four contenders for The Players’ Champion alongside Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Te Maire Martin.
The final two front rowers for the Players’ Dream Team will be announced on Monday. Fonua-Blake was one of the props in last year’s selection.
