The New Zealand Warriors took their fans on the ride of a lifetime when they made it all the way to the grand final.
And though Warriors fans knew they had the talent to go all the way, it would have been a brave man or woman who said at the start of the season their team would make the grand final.
Qualifying for the playoffs in sixth place, the Warriors were hammered 40-10 by the Broncos in the first round. But a fingertip Krisnan Inu try in the final seconds led to a win against the Wests Tigers the following week. That took the Warriors to a semifinal against the Melbourne Storm.
Written off by many, the Warriors proved their doubters wrong when they sealed their place in the NRL grand final with a sensational 20-12 win over the Storm.
They might have been beaten in the grand final, but it was against a formidable Manly side that looked almost unbeatable when it hit the finals.
The Sea Eagles, who finished the regular season with 18 wins from 24 matches, were deserved champions. In the first week of the playoffs they hammered the North Queensland Cowboys 42-8, and in doing so sent a warning signal to the remaining teams.
After the week off, the Sea Eagles ended the Darren Lockyer-less Brisbane Broncos' run with a 26-14 win.
In the final, inspirational leader Jamie Lyon and Clive Churchill winner Glenn Stewart were to the fore when the Des Hasler-coached Sea Eagles beat the Warriors 24-10.
Hasler's joy at winning a second premiership with Manly, the club for which he also played, was shortlived when he was sacked for supposedly poaching players for the 2013 season with the Canterbury Bulldogs. He will start coaching at the Bulldogs next year.
Another coach who may well be looking for another job unless he improves his performance is Stephen Kearney.
Kearney had a horror year at Paramatta, with the Eels winning just six of their 24 games, and he could be shown the door if things do not improve next year.
The representative season resulted in things going from from bad to worse for Kearney when the Kiwis looked a shell of the team which won the Four Nations last year.
With just a solitary win against Wales, the Kiwis were no match for an Australian side that once again returned to the top of the rugby league world.
The Kangaroos beat the Kiwis convincingly three times this year and went through the season undefeated, including a Four Nations triumph which meant warhorse Lockyer ended his career on a winning note.
Lockyer also relished the sweet taste of victory when Queensland won an unprecedented sixth consecutive State of Origin game, with a 2-1 series win over New South Wales.
On the local scene, the Otago Whalers made a fine return to representative rugby league with wins against the Southland Rams, Tasman Titans and the West Coast Chargers to finish third in the five-team competition.
Jack Salter picks his five best rugby league players of the year.
Darren Lockyer
After a career spanning 16 years, Lockyer bowed out a winner when the Kangaroos won the Four Nations. He may have lost a bit of pace but, like a good red wine, he just got better with age and never lost those magical skills.
Shaun Johnson
The sporting world saw the arrival of a new sports superstar with skills that had the rugby league community in awe.The scary thing for opposition teams is that he is only going to get better.
Jamie Lyon
The 29-year-old Manly centre had one of his best years in the NRL. After making himself unavailable for representative duty, Lyon was like a rock on defence for the Sea Eagles and was a shining star on attack.
Billy Slater
The man all Kiwi league fans love to hate was once again at his brilliant best for the Melbourne Storm and the Kangaroos until injury ended his representative year. Slater has all the skills and once again Billy the kid was not afraid to show them off.
Cameron Smith
The dynamic hooker was yet again as tough as teak. Whether he was playing for the Storm or the Kangaroos, Smith never took a backward step and always brought his A game to the field.
