We had an outright leader after Round 4, of The Roar‘s NRL MVP, but we are back to co-leaders this week, with two new faces on the top. In what was an exciting round of NRL, half the games were decided by four points or less, with only two blowing out to double figures.
The leaderboard continues to take shape, and it seems to be a fairly fair reflection on the season so far.
So, who did our bloggers give votes to this weekend?
Manly Sea Eagles 12 defeated by South Sydney Rabbitohs 16
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
Wests Tigers 26 defeated by Cronulla Sharks 34
3: Cameron McInnes – McInnes was great on both ends of the park for Souths, being the real standout. He scored two tries and set up another for Cody Walker while making a massive 47 tackles all in under 70 minutes.
2: Apisai Koroisau – Withou Daly Cherry-Evans on the field he really stepped up, scoring a try and making three line-breaks. Also had 25 tackles and ran for 136 metres.
1: Siosaia Vave – Might have only played half the game, but had a massive impace running for 157 metres and adding 25 tackles. Really seemed to lift the Sea Eagles in limited game time.
Gold Coast Titans 16 defeated by Brisbane Broncos 24
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
3: Corey Parker – Showed his usual strong skills, coming up with an offloads, making 150 metres and also adding 33 tackles. Great performance.
2: Matt Gillett – Was a huge force on the defensive end, always showing up and getting the job done with 45 tackles. Looked dangerous in attack as well with a tackle break and an offload.
1: Ashley Taylor – Was the man who kept the Titans in the game until the end. His kicking game kept the Broncos back three under pressure and he also set up David Mead for a try.
Melbourne Storm 18 defeat Newcastle Knights 14
Blogged by: Alan Nicolea
3: Jesse Bromwich – Really led from the front for Melbourne. Had almost 10 metres a run, making 148 from 15, adding to that three tackle breaks and four offloads. Also solid in defence.
2: Cooper Cronk – Really kept the Storm in the contest with a pair of tries, also managing to run the ball nine times and looking dangerous more often than not.
1: Will Chambers – Set up one of Cronk’s tries and was pivotal in forcing the drop out that brought the other. Looked dangerous with the ball as well, making over 100 metres.
Wests Tigers 26 defeated by Cronulla Sharks 34
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Ben Barba – Was fantastic for the Sharks. Solid under pressure at the back, but he also scored the match winning try and had five tackle breaks along with two offloads from just nine runs.
2: James Tedesco – Got injured in the first minute, then came back on with his team looking in all sorts and proceeded to bring them back. Had a try assist for David Nofoaluma and scored one of his own making two line breaks.
1: Andrew Fifita – Fifita basically turned the game around for Cronulla in the second half. He would finish the game with 174 metres from 15 runs and always had the Tigers defence backpedalling, also coming up with a few offloads.
North Queensland Cowboys 36 defeat St George Illawarra Dragons 0
Blogged by:Sean Teuma
3: Johnathan Thurston – Was pretty much involved in everything, having 58 touches of the ball. Had three try assists in what was a flawless performance.
2: Lachlan Coote – Someone give him a contract to sign. Didn’t touch the ball much, but everything he did touch seemed to turn to gold. Came up with a try assist and as always was solid in defence.
1: Ethan Lowe – Was a standout in the forward pack, making 180 metres from just 17 runs including a few tackle breaks and also chipped in with 35 tackles.
Sydney Roosters 28 defeated by New Zealand Warriors 32
Blogged by: Alan Nicolea
3: Tuimoala Lolohea – After setting up a try in the first half and having a very damaging all around game, he would set up the match winner for Roger Tuivasa Sheck in overtime.
2: Jacob Lillyman – Couldn’t have asked for more from the prop. He ran hard, tackled hard and never stopped all game long.
1: Shaun Kenny Dowall – Came away with a first half double that kept the Roosters in the match.
Parramatta Eels 18 defeated by Penrith Panthers 20
Blogged by: Jarrod McGrouther
3: Bryce Cartwright – Played the full 80 minutes, bagged a pair of tries and was generally the difference. Had 27 tackles and 17 runs for 159 metres with an offload and a handful of tackle breaks.
2: Josh Mansour – Ran the ball like the weapon he is, making 187 metres from his 21 runs. Had a try assists and killed Parramatta in the ruck with a quick play the ball.
1: Isaac De Gois – Was one of the Eels best. Tried all the way, playing 62 minutes and scoring a try, as well as setting up another. Managed to join that with 41 tackles in a huge performance.
Canterbury Bulldogs 8 defeated by Canberra Raiders 22
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Josh Hodgson – Hodgson was absolutely fantastic, as he has been all season. In attack, he must be close to the best hooker in the comp, running he ball at every opporunity. Set up a try for Jack Wighton and added 43 tackles.
2: Joey Leilua – Leilua might have only made 83 metres from 11 runs, but he made the most of every time he touched the ball. The Canberra centre had five tackle breaks and an offload, while also defending strongly.
1: Shaun Fensom – Was another to look dangerous with the ball at various points in the match, but it was his 52 tackles and effort during the second half Bulldogs onslaught that stood out the most.
1. James Tedesco (Wests Tigers) – 9 votes
=1. Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders) – 9 votes
3. Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos) – 8 votes
4. Chad Townsend (Cronulla Sharks) – 7 votes
=5. Moses Mbye (Canterbury Bulldogs) – 6 votes
=5. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys) – 6 votes
=6. Josh Reynolds (Canterbury Bulldogs) – 5 votes
=6. Shaun Johnson (New Zealand Warriors) – 5 votes
=6. Ryan James (Gold Coast Titans) – 5 votes
=6. Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sharks) – 5 votes
=6. Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos) – 5 votes
=6. Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm) – 5 votes
=6. Bryce Cartwright (Gold Coast Titans) – 5 votes
=6. Ben Barba (Cronulla Sharks) – 5 votes
So then, we are back to co-leaders after Round 5, with James Tedesco and Josh Hodgson, arguably the two form players of the competition in the equal lead. Hodgson of course, earned three points this week with Tedesco picking up 2.
Other than that, there aren’t a heap of changes although Johnathan Thurston moves into equal fifth on the back of a man of the match performance for the Cowboys.
So, there you have it Roarers. Did our team get it right this week?
Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check back in same time, same place next week.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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