It's hard to go past a good Warriors comeback...
Stephen Foote - Shaun Johnson
NZ Warriors were the fairytale story of NZ sports and Johnson was the living embodiment of their resurgence.
Johnson's renaissance from a player widely perceived as a salary-cap burden to being robbed of the Dally M Medal was so absurd, Hollywood script writers would have laughed it off.
The Hibiscus Coast product led the NRL in try assists, and posted career highs in tackles, goals converted, kicking metres and points scored, while his radar off the tee was second only in accuracy to his 2021 campaign.
Johnson was the beating heart of a team that went from cellardwellers to the cusp of an NRL Grand Final, injecting a dose of hope to a fervent fanbase desperate for something to cheer about.
It was a season that cemented his standing right next to Stacey Jones as one of the club's most treasured sons.
Ollie Ritchie - Shaun Johnson
It's always difficult to go with an individual in a team sport, but you can't look past the influence of Johnson on the Warriors revival this year.
He was well and truly back to his best, his form and leadership had the Warriors humming, and under coach Andrew Webster, this team look genuine contenders in the next few years.
Johnson could've hung up the boots, but he kept believing and trusted he could still offer plenty for the Warriors.
More of the same in 2024 and they could be back to the Grand Final.
Alex Chapman - Aaron Gate
The old boy of New Zealand cycling continues to thrive.
At now 33, like a good red, he just keeps getting better with age. Three golds at last year’s Commonwealth Games, now followed up this year with gold in the points race at the world championships, as well as bronze in the Madison (with Campbell Stewart) and bronze in the team pursuit.
All that will likely stop Gate from medalling at next year’s Olympics is another crash.
Fingers crossed there won’t be a repeat of Tokyo.
Alex Powell - Shaun Johnson
Twelve months ago, there was genuine reason to think 2023 could be Johnson's last in the NRL.
A return to the Warriors from Cronulla Sharks hadn't quite gone to plan, as the club endured a torrid 2022 campaign, with just a year left on his contract.
A return to New Zealand and the belief of coach Andrew Webster unlocked the very best of Johnson, who led the Warriors to within one game of the NRL Grand Final.
In 25 games, he put up a career-best tally of 29 assists this season and led the NRL in kicking metres.
A flawed system was all that stood between Johnson, 33, and the NRL's Dally M Medal, with consensus among his peers being the veteran half was robbed of the game's greatest individual honour.
With a new one-year contract freshly signed, here's hoping for a repeat in 2024.
Grant Chapman - Campbell Johnstone
While NZ sport has talked a good game in terms of inclusion and diversity over recent years, one major milestone still existed - we'd never had an openly gay All Black.
Think about that. Our most prestigious national team have undoubtedly had gay players, but none were comfortable enough in their environment to reveal their lifestyle to the world.
Johnstone, a three-test prop, waited until nine years after retirement to tell his story, hoping his courage would enable others to end the double lives they had been leading. So far, none have.
Other sports and other teams around the world have embraced LGBT (maybe not so much the 'T') without dire consequences. We continue to watch the All Blacks and wait.
Randall Munro - Ryan Fox
Ryan Fox winning professional golf tournaments isn't out of the ordinary - he's been doing it for years now - but in 2023 Foxy took his accomplishments to new levels.
The Aucklander was one of just 12 golfers on the planet to make the cut in all four Majors; joining an exclusive club that included Rahm, Koepka and Scheffler.
He also secured his fulltime PGA Tour card at a canter, finishing fifth on Europe's Order Of Merit. But his crowning moment was winning at Wentworth to claim the DP World Tour's marquee event, the BMW PGA Championship.
It was the field he outlasted that made the victory all the more impressive: It featured every member of the European Ryder Cup team that would go on to pants America's all-stars the next week; proving Fox belongs is a champion golfer as well as a champion bloke.
Newshub Sport wishes you a Merry Christmas... see you in the New Year!
