Most Tries Scored in NRL History

=10. Josh Addo-Carr (159 tries)

159 tries in 201 Premiership matches (0.79 tries per game)

Josh Addo-Carr started his career at the Wests Tigers in 2016, scoring a try in each of his first 3 appearances for the club.

He moved to Melbourne the following season, finishing tied top try scorer with fellow winger Suliasi Vunivalu on 23 tries. The Fox would be the Storm’s try scorer list for all 5 seasons he played there, scoring 96 tries in his 118 games for Melbourne.

Since leaving the Storm, he finished the Bulldogs’ top try scorer in 2022, and the Eels’ top try scorer in 2025.

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=10. Hazem El Masri (159 tries)

159 tries in 317 Premiership matches (0.50 tries per game)

Hazem El Masri wasn’t a prolific try scorer, however, he did manage a try every 2 games on average throughout his career.

He was the Bulldogs’ top try scorer in just 4 of his 14 seasons with the club, and never scored more than 19 tries in a year.

However, he was able to break Terry Lamb’s club record for most tries back in 2006 against the Knights. A record he has held at the Bulldogs ever since.

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=10. Matt Sing (159 tries)

159 tries in 275 Premiership matches (0.58 tries per game)

Matt Sing was originally signed to Penrith as a halfback back in 1993, however, that experiment didn’t last long and thankfully, for his try-scoring record, he moved to the outside backs.

In 1996, he joined the Roosters, where he never led the club for tries in a season, but consistently finished each year in the double-digits up until his last one.

In 2002, he moved to the struggling Cowboys, where he scored 21 tries in 20 games in just his second season. He finished his career in North Qld in 2006 and still holds the club record for most hat-tricks (6)

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9. Brett Stewart (163 tries)

163 tries in 233 Premiership matches (0.70 tries per game)

Brett Stewart is one of rugby league’s all-time top-scoring fullbacks. In fact, only Billy Slater trumps him in tries scored in the position in Premiership history

He was nicknamed The Prince of Brookvale because of his incredible try-scoring record at the venue. He scored 87 tries in 98 games, with his longest streak spanning 9 games in a row.

Due to Manly’s failed merger with North Sydney as the “Northern Eagles” from 2000-2002, Brett Stewart is technically the Sea Eagles’ all-time try scorer, as Steve Menzies scored some of his tries at the merger club.

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8. Terry Lamb (164 tries)

164 tries in 350 Premiership matches (0.47 tries per game)

Terry Lamb is the all-time top try scoring five-eighth in Premiership history, scoring 40 more tries in the position than the next best (Brad Fittler, 91).

He was the Bulldogs’ top try scorer in 6 seasons, including 4 consecutive years from when he signed in 1984.

He scored a hat-trick in 6 games, the same as others in this list, such as Daniel Tupou, Brett Stewart and Andrew Ettingshausen.

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7. Andrew Ettingshausen (166 tries)

166 tries in 328 Premiership matches (0.51 tries per game)

Andrew Ettingshausen remains the Cronulla Sharks’ all-time try scorer with 166 tries across 18 seasons.

Nicknamed ‘ET’, he loved a home game at Shark Park, scoring 82 tries in 152 games at the venue - the 4th most tries at a single venue in Premiership history.

He has scored 5 tries in a game twice in his career, remarkably on the exact same date and the exact same ground, 5 years apart. He is one of just five players in Premiership history to score 5+ tries in multiple games.

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6. Brett Morris (176 tries)

176 tries in 315 Premiership matches (0.56 tries per game)

It took Brett Morris a little while to get ticking on try-scorers sheet, having gone his first 5 NRL games without a try before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury just 2 games into his 2nd year.

However, he kicked from that point on, scoring 25 tries in 24 games in 2009 to be named the NRL’s leading try scorer that season. He would also go onto score 12 hat-tricks through his career - a feat that only Alex Johnston has surpassed in the NRL era.

In Morris’ final season in 2021, he became the first player in Premiership history to start a season with consecutive hat-tricks. He scored 11 tries in his first 7 games before going down with a career-ending ACL injury.

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5. Steve Menzies (180 tries)

180 tries in 349 Premiership matches (0.52 tries per game)

Once the equal all-time most capped Premiership player of all-time, Steve Menzies remains the most prolific try-scoring forward in history.

Menzies scored most of his tries early in his career, being Manly’s leading try scorer for the season in 5 seasons between 1994-1999.

In 1995, at just 21, he was the competition’s leading try scorer with 22 tries - the last forward to be crowned the season’s top try scorer.

In 2004, he broke Frank Burge’s long-standing record for most tries scored by a 2nd rower. No player has scored in more Premiership games than Menzies, having crashed over in 140.

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4. Daniel Tupou (183 tries)

183 tries in 289 Premiership matches (0.63 tries per game)

Daniel Tupou had flown under the radar in the try-scoring ranks up until the 2024 season, where he has scored 49 tries in 2 years to leapfrog his way into the top 4.

The Roosters’ all-time leading try scorer has never finished the season as the competition’s leading try scorer; only scoring 20+ tries in a year once (2024).

Despite that, he has scored in 139 Premiership games, the 2nd most all-time behind Steve Menzies.

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3. Billy Slater (190 tries)

190 tries in 319 Premiership matches (0.60 tries per game)

Billy Slater finished his career as the most prolific try scoring fullback in Premiership history with 190 tries.

Slater started his career in fine try-scoring form, with 19 tries in his rookie season and then 20 tries in 21 appearances in 2005.

He scored a record 23 tries in finals in just 32 games, outscoring the next player by 6 tries. He scored the most tries in a final series in 2009 with 7 tries.

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2. Alex Johnston (210 tries)

210 tries in 243 Premiership matches (0.86 tries per game)

Alex Johnston has been breaking try-scoring records left, right and centre at the Bunnies - and it is only a matter of “when” he will break the all-time try scoring record.

Since 2020, he has scored 127 tries in 121 games. He is the only player since 1954 to score 30 tries in a season - a feat he achieved in consecutive seasons (2021, 2022).

He broke the record for most hat-tricks scored in Premiership history with his 16th against the Storm in 2025 - funnily enough, he also became the first player to score 4 tries against the Storm in that game too.

He has scored 98 tries in 106 games at Stadium Australia, which stands as the most tries scored at a single venue by a player.

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1. Ken Irvine (212 tries)

212 tries in 238 Premiership matches (0.89 tries per game)

There was a chance that Ken Irvine’s 212 try-scoring record could have stood the test of time. For over half a century, he has held this amazing accolade at an extraordinary strike rate of a try in every 0.9 games.

Similar to Alex Johnston, Ken Irvine was the competition’s leading try scorer at season’s end four times throughout his career. He scored a remarkable 171 tries in 176 appearances for North Sydney, before finishing his career with 41 tries in 60 games with Manly.

A fun fact about Ken Irvine is that he once held the world professional sprint record over 100 metres, running 9.3s in Dubbo in 1963. He has been touted as the fastest man to ever play the game (sorry, Josh Addo-Carr…)

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Most Tries Scored in the NRL era (1998-)

1. Alex Johnston (SOU) - 210 tries*
2. Billy Slater (MEL) - 190 tries
3. Daniel Tupou (SYD) - 183 tries*
4. Brett Morris (SGI, CBY, SYD) - 176 tries
5. Brett Stewart (MAN) - 163 tries
6. Josh Addo-Carr (WST, MEL, CBY, PAR) - 159 tries*
7. Josh Morris (SGI, CBY, CRO, SYD) - 158 tries
8. Michael Jennings (PEN, SYD, PAR) - 157 tries
9. Nathan Merritt (CRO, SOU) - 154 tries
10. Manu Vatuvei (WAR) - 152 tries