Hugh McGahan: It's time for some gongs and JT's the big winner

Johnathan Thurston won it all during a superb 2015 season. Photo / Getty Images

This morning's third test between the Kiwis and England rounds out another year for rugby league and it's thrown up a mixed bag on and off the field.

The NRL seems to get better and better on the field and the Kiwis reinforced their position as the world's No 1 side. There were the usual distractions off the field, with coach sackings, player controversies and the resignation of NRL chief executive Dave Smith.

It seemed timely, then, to hand out my awards for the year.

• Best player: Johnathan Thurston. What a year - NRL premiership, State of Origin, Clive Churchill Medal and, you would think, the Golden Boot as the world's best.

• Best coach: Wayne Bennett. What he did with the squad he inherited at the Broncos, by taking them to the grand final, was phenomenal. No one gave them a chance at the start of 2015 and they nearly won the title.

• Most over-rated player: Blake Austin. I really don't know what people see in him. Sam Tomkins wasn't over-rated because he's a player of some ability, it's just we didn't see it in his two seasons in the NRL.

• Biggest disappointment: The end to the Warriors' season, when they lost their last eight games. It was a limp end to what had started so promisingly. (How often have we said that before?) They started well enough, and were in the top four at one stage, but unravelled after the injury to Shaun Johnson.

• What I'm looking forward to the most in 2016: The Warriors. They have a very strong squad, especially with the additions of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke, and should make an impression next season.

Coach Andrew McFadden came under pressure in 2015 and next year will be the making or breaking of him. I expect it to be the former, because how could anyone fail with the squad he has put together?

• Best game: Maybe I'm a bit biased as a former Roosters player but their 22-18 defeat early in the season at Suncorp against the Broncos was one of the best games I had seen in a long time.

The Cowboys' 18-17 win over the Storm, which snapped their three-game losing streak to start the season, took them all the way to the grand final. And that premiership decider wasn't too bad, either.

• Surprise packet: Cronulla Sharks. They defied the odds, on the back of their horrendous time over the drugs issue, to just miss out in the semfinals. I wasn't surprised by the number of coach sackings (three or four is about normal) but felt for Geoff Toovey, who was a dead man walking at Manly for so long.

It amazed me how the team held it together, given the controversy around Toovey and Kieran Foran's move to the Eels, because they won seven of their last 10 to just miss out on the top eight.

• Most heartening: The Kiwis. New Zealand have built tremendous depth and are now reaping the rewards. It's taken 20 years (probably since the Warriors came into the Australian competition) but they're now the world's best side and still went into this morning's third test against England level even though they were missing so many players.

And the good thing is it's still a relatively young side so they are well set up for the next World Cup in 2017.

• Biggest worry: The NZRL. The Kiwis are holding up the game in this country because, unfortunately, the NZRL are struggling financially and I'm not sure how they are trying to grow the game.

• Biggest question: Who will take over as NRL chief executive? It needs to be a strong individual who is well connected at board level.