NRL: Luke leads the pack of Kiwis crucial to making their team's season a successful one

Isaac Luke gave a dummy half masterclass in the opening round against Brisbane. Photo / Getty

The NRL is stacked with Kiwis pivotal to their club’s cause. Chris Rattue picks the top 10 potential MVPs for 2015.

1. Issac Luke (Rabbitohs)
Gave an immediate dummy half masterclass in the opening round against Brisbane. The NRL is obsessed with a faster game which creates a happy hunting ground for Luke. Souths did more than okay without him in last year's grand final, but Luke makes them lethal.

2. Sam Kasiano (Bulldogs)
A giant among giants - Kasiano is the most dangerous of Canterbury's fearsome big boppers. Pace, power, size, good feet and most importantly he scoops the ball free of tacklers to create second phase play. With his bulk, Kasiano is probably only a 40-minute proposition but had a storming half-game as the Bulldogs began to click through the gears in defeat to the Panthers.

3. Jesse Bromwich (Storm)
King of the new-age props - gives more minutes per game than most and it's all about performance rather than posturing. Bromwich's knack is for stepping through defensive lines. The Storm are at a crossroad and Bromwich is essential to leading this champion club and their ageing stars down the right path.

4. Simon Mannering (Warriors)
The Warriors still have too many flakes - yes you Shaun Johnson - but that's not a tag ever associated with Mannering, a players' player if ever there was one. He fights for every centimetre. Doesn't have Steve Price's aura, but has been just as important in holding together this under-performing outfit.

5. Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys)
Terrific props and Johnathan Thurston will ensure the Cowboys get into attacking positions often enough. What comes next is the issue. Taumalolo, the storming backrower, is the Cowboys' x-factor. Without him they may lack sufficient attacking punch to prove the pundits right about their title credentials.

6. Jason Nightingale (Dragons)
St George Illawarra will spend the season in damage limitation mode and there's no better wing/fullback for a crisis than the inspiring Nightingale, a consummate outside back. The Dragons will need all the Nightingale-type professionalism they can get.

7. Kieran Foran (Sea Eagles)
Should match Luke as the most influential Kiwi in the NRL but he's probably in a lost cause at strife-ridden Manly, while still remaining pivotal to any hopes they have of respectability. Foran is as tough as halves come and will get dragged into unnecessary trench work behind a battling Sea Eagles pack. He'll have to rekindle his career as a title-chasing general at the Eels next year.

8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters)
Too much show and not enough dough last season, a reason why the Roosters failed to defend the title won in 2013 when W-H led the way. It's hard to work out if the big man has a shortish fuse or deliberately plays the tough guy but if he concentrates on his game, the Sydney glamour club will be major title prospects.

9. Martin Taupau (Tigers)
"Kapow" Taupau, an instant Kiwi sensation, is the man who can make a difference for the Wests Tigers who have only a thin veneer of first grade class. Jason Taylor shifted him from prop to lock and if the squad stays healthy, Taupau can turn the Tigers into the surprise of the season.

10. Steve Matai (Sea Eagles)
If only Matai had spent less energy on winning invites to the judiciary. The injury-affected centre has a neat step and excellent timing to match his overt aggression and will be crucial to keeping the swagger in Manly. Departures and a weird shopping spree (Feleti Mateo, Luke Burgess, Willie Mason) have wrecked their forwards.