The extraordinary 2014 NRL regular season is complete, and the Dally M awards night only a couple of weeks away. The Dally M Medal is widely considered to be a four-way race between Jarryd Hayne, Sam Burgess, Ben Hunt and firming favourite Johnathan Thurston, but many of the positional gongs are wide open contests.

The New Daily’s NRL Team of the Year contains some perennial contenders, a few returning favourites, and a clutch of new stars that enjoyed breakout 2014 campaigns.

While he was ultimately unable to carry Parramatta into the finals, Jarryd Hayne produced a magical season that arguably outstripped his 2009 Dally M-winning campaign.

The attacking wizard – who topped the NRL with a career-high 20 tries – is the complete fullback, turning provider when he’s not scoring them himself and regularly coming up with brave, brilliant plays at the other end. Hayne will be shaded for the Dally M, but is a lock for fullback – despite the superb seasons enjoyed by fellow rep staples Billy Slater and Greg Inglis, departing Canberra teenager Anthony Milford, and breakout stars Matt Moylan and Michael Morgan.

Rarely has the premiership enjoyed such an extensive batch of brilliant wingers, making this the toughest position to settle on.. Dragons duo Jason Nightingale and Brett Morris, Manly’s Peta Hiku, Penrith’s Josh Mansour, Brisbane’s Dale Copley, Melbourne’s Sisa Waqa and Souths rookie Alex Johnston were all potent try-scorers and brilliant all-round contributors in outstanding campaigns respectively. But it is impossible to overlook bulldozing pair Manu Vatuvei and Semi Radradra.

Oft-criticised veteran Vatuvei was arguably the Warriors’ most consistent player, scoring 17 tries and cranking his unmatched yardage-gaining exploits up several notches, while largely eliminating the errors that have characterised the bulk of career. Radradra was shaded by Eels teammate Hayne for the NRL’s top try-scorer honour, but the big Fijian generated just as many highlights in a remarkable first full season.

South Sydney’s Dylan Walker is still a teenager until preliminary finals weekend, but he is already among the code’s most damaging three-quarter talents. He surely would have made his Origin debut for injury-hit NSW if not for a broken thumb. Despite internal unrest at Manly and confirmed reports that he wants out of the club, Steve Matai has been in career-best form. The veteran backline hit-man has scored 13 tries and remains arguably the finest centre provider in the NRL.  

Josh Dugan’s switch from fullback to centre paid handsome dividends at club and rep level, while Konrad Hurrell’s wrecking-ball displays would have propelled him into our team if not for a quiet finish to the season as the Warriors flaked out of the finals race.

Among the most maligned players of recent seasons, Jamie Soward’s renaissance with high-flying Penrith has been a fairytale within a fairytale. Soward, dumped by St George Illawarra last year, has steered the Panthers to the top four despite seemingly losing a key teammate to injury every week.

Johnathan Thurston took his game to another level. Photo: Getty

Johnathan Thurston looks certain to join Andrew Johns as the only three-time Dally M Medal winner in the award’s 35-year history. After donning the No.7 at club level again, the Test five-eighth’s performances went to another level. The Cowboys surged to fifth spot and cured their travel woes – largely on the back of their virtuoso playmaker. A premiership triumph as co-captain is all that is left to achieve for the talismanic ‘JT’.

Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop were among the 2014 season’s finest individual performers, while Daly Cherry-Evans, Kieran Foran, Cooper Cronk, Peter Wallace and Shaun Johnson would have been worthy halves inclusions in most seasons.

Aside from perhaps Hayne, no player was more of an automatic selection than Sam Burgess at lock. The Englishman’s dynamic impact was matched only by his extraordinary work-rate and consistency, while the ill-discipline and hotheadedness that marked his 2013 campaign has been shelved. Burgess will go desperately close to becoming the first backrower or prop to win the Dally M since Gavin Miller in 1989; the rugby union-bound powerhouse is a huge loss to the code.

The second-row was a tough field to sift through, with many strong performers but no out-and-out studs. Our nod goes to the Roosters’ Aiden Guerra, who earned an Origin debut for Queensland, and ultra-consistent Melbourne and NSW stalwart Ryan Hoffman. The tireless duo – at opposite ends of the experience spectrum – epitomised the role of the modern backrower, racking up big numbers on both sides of the ball and offering plenty in attack.

Josh Jackson, Sonny Bill Williams, Kevin Proctor, Matt Gillett, Beau Scott, Tyrone Peachey and Anthony Watmough all came into the frame.

Queensland and Australia veteran Matthew Scott reclaimed the ‘No.1 Prop’ mantle that Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Andrew Fifita, who both endured a mixed 2014 season, attempted to wrest from him last year. The Cowboys forward pack anchor is a marvel, resembling the all-time great Shane Webcke more and more with each passing season.

Our other front-rower, Melbourne’s Jesse Bromwich, is a major contender for Scott’s crown, however. Bromwich’s work-rate, remarkable mobility and Beetson-like ball skills mark him as one of the NRL’s most valuable forwards. The 25-year-old Kiwi is set for some titanic clashes with Scott during the Four Nations – and possibly during the finals.

James Graham, George Burgess, Jacob Lillyman and Aaron Woods can all be proud of their efforts, but Scott and Bromwich were streets ahead of the field.

James Segeyaro has outperformed Cameron Smith and Robbie Farah. Photo: Getty

The battle for the hooker spot was not as clear-cut as it has been for most of the last decade, with long-time adversaries Cameron Smith and Robbie Farah slightly down on their sparkling best. Matt Ballin and Jake Friend were consistent, and Michael Ennis produced his best season since 2009, but we’ve gone with Penrith jack-in-a-box James Segeyaro, who developed from bench weapon into 80-minute star as a key member of the Panthers’ drive to the top four.

On the bench, we’ve picked Ben Hunt, Gareth Widdop, Peta Hiku and Corey Parker. Hunt enjoyed a breakout season under enormous pressure and difficult circumstances, scoring 13 tries and laying on many more as the Broncos scraped into the finals; he may still claim Dally M Halfback of the Year honours, given Thurston played much of the season at pivot.

Widdop was the outstanding individual of the premiership’s early rounds and finished the season in blistering form, although his mid-season lull mirrored that of the Dragons. The versatile Hiku, the incumbent New Zealand Test No.1, spent most of the season on the Sea Eagles’ flank and scored 17 tries, but was also superb filling in at fullback and centre.

Broncos co-captain and Test backrower Parker, pitched into the front-row for much of the season, maintained his reputation as one of the code’s most valuable and hardest-working players.

There are many strong candidates for the coaching job. Parramatta’s Brad Arthur and the Warriors’ Andrew McFadden performed near-miracles, before their respective sides’ limp finishes saw them dip out of the finals race at the last hurdle. Paul Green’s rookie-season efforts with the Cowboys have been outstanding, while Geoff Toovey deserved a minor premiership with his tough Manly outfit.

Ivan Cleary gets our vote, though. The unassuming mentor’s ability to mould a top-four side from a squad of veteran journeymen and unheralded youngsters is remarkable, but to hold the injury-ravaged Panthers together and keep them in the hunt for an unlikely premiership is the season’s most impressive coaching performance.