The best bench players in the competition ranked, Dylan Walker contract, analysis

They are the players who can turn a game on its head, and according to the Red Bull High Flyer Rankings it is an unwanted utility who has been the best of the lot in the 2026 season.

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Parramatta’s Dylan Walker comes out on top in the Top 10 bench players this season with a Predicted Score Value (PSV) of +1.20.

But despite playing some of the best rugby league of his career, Walker will be leaving the Eels at the end of the year to join the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.

While it was surprising Parramatta didn’t offer Walker an extension, it sounds like the rest of the NRL was not keen on the veteran either.

“I had conversations (with Perth), but they weren’t keen, and a lot of people weren’t keen, to be fair,” Walker told AAP last month.

“It’s a young man’s game now. I think everyone’s waiting for the next best young thing, which I get, and you get a few nos and you know you’re meant to be where you’re meant to be and I’m excited.”

Walker is the epitome of the modern-day lock forward, with the soft hands and deception that make him a hard player to defend through the middle.

On one play he may charge hard through the line and then the next he will throw a deft pass out the back to set up a try.

In fact, Walker’s 288 general play passes rank him first among all forwards in the entire NRL this season ahead of even Panthers superstar Isaah Yeo.

RED BULL HIGH FLYER TOP 10 — BENCH PLAYERS

1. Dylan Walker (Eels) +1.20

Walker is one of the best ball-playing forwards in the league, and so it is hardly a surprise to see his PSV pass score come out as the highest inside the top 10 at +0.64.

The versatile Walker produced one of the highlights of the season earlier this year against Manly when he broke through the line as he shaped to pass to Jack de Belin before pulling off a stunning behind the back flick to put Kelma Tuilagi over.

2. Nathan Brown (Sea Eagles) +1.13

The Sea Eagles have needed to draw on Brown and their other depth forwards in recent weeks amid the club’s growing injury toll.

Depth is certainly an issue at Manly, but Brown has settled in otherwise as a strong option off the bench with his +1.13 PSV total score coming in second behind Walker.

His PSV run score of +1.43 is the second-highest in the top 10, with Brown averaging 82 run metres this season.

3. Sam Healey (Warriors) +1.07

It is a credit to Healey that the back-up Warriors hooker has been able to have such a big impact in limited playing time.

Healey comes in third despite regularly playing around 20 minutes per game, with the craft hooker boasting the second-best PSV pass score in the top 10 and best PSV kick score.

Healey has been a more than dependable secondary option behind the impressive Wayde Egan and is a perfect emergency option to have in the finals should Egan ever go down injured.

4. Kurt Mann (Bulldogs) +1.02

Mr Fix It for the Bulldogs.

Mann went down with a groin injury for the weekend, but has otherwise plugged a number of different holes for the Bulldogs since joining the club.

Mann does a little bit of everything but has largely featured in the forwards for the Bulldogs, while also spending some time at hooker this year.

His PSV pass score rates the second-best in the top 10.

5. Tyson Frizell (Knights) +0.87

Frizell is entering the final few years of his career but continues to provide quality work off the bench for the Knights, who have unearthed a few established and emerging stars in the second row.

The veteran is averaging a solid 79 run metres to go with 21 tackles this season, having taken a backseat to Dylan Lucas and Francis Manuleleua.

Frizell’s experience and leadership can’t be measured by numbers and has also proved invaluable for a young Knights forward pack.

6. Kurtis Morrin (Titans) +0.74

The underrated Titans forward made a name for himself at the Bulldogs with his hard-running style and that has translated to the Gold Coast, where Morrin has the highest PSV run score (+1.49) of the top 10.

His PSV error and penalty scores are both the highest too, so discipline is an issue but otherwise Morrin has proven a shrewd purchase for the Titans.

7. Demitric Vaimauga (Warriors) +0.63

Vaimauga had his first minutes since Round 21 last week, having previously been sidelined with a rib injury.

The 22-year-old has quickly established himself as a consistent part of the Warriors’ forward rotation off the bench, averaging 63 run metres, 19 tackles and 2.1 tackle busts in 35 minutes this season.

The scary reality for the rest of the league is Vaimauga still has several more levels to his game and should only get even better with more experience.

8.Ray Stone (Dolphins) +0.61

The ultimate workhorse.

Stone has long been one of the most consistent and dependable forwards in the NRL and will retire from the league at the end of the season.

Stone is as tough as they come at just 95 kilograms, regularly matching it with the biggest forwards in the game through the middle of the field and the impressive thing is this PSV score does not factor in defensive workrate, which is the cornerstone of his game.

9. Billy Phillips (Panthers) +0.61

Phillips has quickly established himself as a legitimate first grader for Penrith since making his debut and has been an underrated part of the team’s success this year.

None of Phillips’ PSV numbers jump off the page but that is his game to a tee. He isn’t breaking tackles or making highlight plays. Phillips is just quietly getting through a mountain of work and that is what makes him such a valuable piece off the bench.

10. Scott Sorensen (Panthers) +0.56

In a lot of ways, Phillips is just following in the footsteps of more experienced second rower Scott Sorensen.

Sorensen is also a workhorse and will be missed at Penrith when he links up with the Perth Bears at the end of the year.

Sorensen isn’t particularly explosive either, but has had multiple long-range runs this year with deceptive speed off the mark and strength to fend off defenders.

HOW DO THE RED BULL HIGH FLYER RANKINGS WORK?

It is worth clarifying that PSV is not a score out of 10. Instead, each player is ranked relative to their PSV, a model which measures how much each player contributes to the final scoreboard.

The system processes more than 15,000 data points per game, analysing every run, pass, kick, error and penalty as the game unfolds.

The model is based on deriving the intrinsic value of every single action that occurs in a match relative to the final scoreboard using a proprietary AI model.

It means that every moment in the game is assessed based on how it changes a team’s likelihood of scoring.

For instance, if an action such as a linebreak or linebreak assist improves the chance of points, the player responsible gains PSV.

If they concede a penalty or drop the ball, however, it reduces the chance and their PSV decreases accordingly.

These changes are tracked across the entire game to produce a total performance value for every player, allowing them to be ranked based on their overall impact on the game rather than just traditional statistics.

Because every action is valued on the same scale, PSV allows players across different positions to be compared fairly and highlights the moments that have the biggest influence on the result.

Now, of course, there is going to be some variation among positions as forwards generally build their scores through repeated involvements such as runs and tackles while spine players and outside backs are more involved in scoring actions and hence likelier to see bigger spikes in their score.