Fantasy NRL: The 2014 Dream Team Dally-M Awards

Dr Stats looks back on a roller-coaster ride of a season in Dream Team Fantasy NRL and names his own set of Dally-M awards.

Sam Burgess has ended his rugby league career with an NRL title, the Clive Churchill Medal and last, but not least, my own Dream Team Fantasy MVP crown.

Burgess was an auto-play throughout 2014 and successfully knocked Cameron Smith off a throne that looked ironclad in March.

While Smith was still a must-play every week, he had some average moments and may have reached his peak as a fantasy force last season.

The emergence of Andrew McCullough and Jake Friend as 80-minute players saw them become fantasy staples while owners aplenty rued the loss of potential MVP players like Shaun Fensom, Paul Gallen and Robbie Farah for large chunks of the season.

Those who exploited Wade Graham's halves eligibility early in the season reaped huge rewards as did those who jumped on the back of high-value plays like Joseph Paulo, Tariq Sims, Trent Merrin and Timoteo Lafai.

You'll find below my list of season awards as well as a breakdown of the top five players in each position for 2014.

The "Corey Parker Memorial" Dream Team MVP Award:
Sam Burgess, Rabbitohs, 55.12 points per game.

The "Jeremy Latimore" Best Value Award:
Joseph Paulo, Eels, $187,000 & 39.92 points per game

The "Tasesa Lavea" Breakout Star Award:
Josh Jackson, Bulldogs, 42.14 points per game

The "Andrew Johns" Perfect Day Award:
Shaun Fensom, Raiders, Round 4: 80 points - 67 tackles, 118 metres-gained, 2 offloads.

THE BEST OF:

Front rowers (points per game)
1) Sam Burgess, Rabbitohs - 55.12
2) Cameron Smith, Storm - 54.35
3) Andrew McCullough, Broncos - 54.26
4) Jake Friend, Roosters - 51.82
5) Robbie Farah, Tigers - 54.16

Sam Burgess had a monster year in every respect, including fantasy, to finish his time in the NRL. He is our front row and overall fantasy MVP and the only player to play at prop amongst our top five performers on this list. If Robbie Farah had played more this year then he'd feature higher.

Back rowers (points per game)
1) Shaun Fensom, Raiders - 55.22
2) Boyd Cordner, Roosters - 46.73
3) Josh Jackson, Bulldogs - 42.14
4) Simon Mannering, Warriors - 42.75
5) Anthony Watmough, Sea Eagles - 44.3

Despite recording less total points than most on this list, Shaun Fensom is hard to look past as our back row MVP after averaging over 55 points per game in his 18 games played. In fact, if he'd put in a full season he would have challenged Burgess for our overall title.

Halves (points per game)
1) Wade Graham, Sharks - 40.89
2) Jonathan Thurston, Cowboys - 34.04
3) James Maloney, Roosters - 32.89
4) Adam Reynolds, Rabbitohs - 32.92
5) Ben Hunt, Broncos - 32.84

Graham tops this list courtesy of a clear points-average advantage and a generous positional eligibility. He's also a great example of one of the quirks of Fantasy sport in that players can sometimes be eligible in positions they do not play in real life that season. While Graham began his NRL career in the halves, he's now a staple in the Sharks' back row where he was able to record many more points than the average half.

Backs (points per game)
1) Jarrod Croker, Raiders - 32.33
2) Jarryd Hayne, Eels - 33.29
3) Will Chambers, Storm - 32.73
4) Dylan Walker, Rabbitohs - 29.75
5) Josh Dugan, Dragons - 31.28

Croker tops Hayne due to a few more games played during the season, though Hayne was the best back in our game on average points (of those who made more than 10 appearances). Josh Dugan excelled with over 35 points per game once he moved into the centres and could be fantasy force next season.