Expert
It’s time for another instalment of The Roar‘s NRL MVP, and with the representative round around the corner and no games on Monday – this week we are here a day early.
Most of the favourites got up this weekend in their respective games, although things got underway with an upset. There were a number of smashings as teams ran away with games, but on the same token there were two matches decided by less than two points.
Many of the players at the top of the leaderboard last week have missed out on votes and we again add to the number of players who have totalled points this year showing the immense talent right across the NRL.
We once again have an outright leader at the top, and he has arguably been the form player of the competition as the leaderboard continues to establish itself.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 defeated by Wests Tigers 30
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
3: Robbie Farah – Really led the way for the Tigers in their win, coming up with two try assists from hooker and making 38 tackles.
2: Sam Burgess – Made the second most running metres for the game with 171 from just 18 hit ups, made 33 tackles and also had a line break in a 62 minute effort.
1: Jordan Rankin – Had to fill in at fullback for James Tedesco during the second half and hardly put a foot wrong. He made 169 metres from just 15 runs, added two tries to the tally and also made a line break.
Parramatta Eels 20 defeat Canterbury Bulldogs 12
Blogged by: Joshua Thomas
3: Corey Norman – Was instrumental in the Eels victory, scoring a try, playing a hand in others and leading the way with his kicking game. Added two line breaks and an offload.
2: Clint Gutherson – Also scored a try for the Eels, running the ball with fire at every opportunity. He had almost 200 metres, with 11 tackle breaks, two offload and an line breaks.
1: David Klemmer – Had his usual impact off the bench, being nearly impossible to tackle. He made nearly 170 tackles, 35 tackles, a try assist and two offloads.
Penrith Panthers 19 defeated Canberra Raiders 18
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Bryce Cartwright – Cartwright was like a machine for Penrith. Scored a try, assisted another and could well have been the reason they dominated so freely in the first half. Ended with nearly 190 metres and two offloads.
2: Jarrod Croker – If Cartwright dominated the first half then Croker dominated the second as Canberra made their comeback. He had 170 metres from just 11 runs with three offloads, two line breaks and a hand in a try.
1: Jamie Soward – Seemed to have an increased urgency to run the ball, and it paid off for Penrith. Had almost 70 metres with a tackle break and a strong kicking game.
Sydney Roosters 38 defeat Newcastle Knights 0
Blogged by: John Coomer
3: Jake Friend – Was extremely dangerous out of hooker adding three try assists and also had a game high for tackles.
2: Mitchell Pearce – Returning from an eight-week suspension he made the Roosters look like a different team. He controlled the attack well, scored a try, assisted another and had a strong kicking game.
1: Jackson Hastings – Had one of his better games so far this season with Pearce alongside, having a good kicking game, making a try assist and kicking seven from seven goals.
Manly Sea Eagles 18 defeated by North Queensland Cowboys 34
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Michael Morgan – Scored a try of his own and assisted another with a strong running and kicking game. Came up with a line break and was a real handful.
2: Jason Taumalolo – How Australia will tackle the Cowboys second rower next weekend is a mystery. Ran for 171 metres at over 10 metres a run with three tackle breaks.
1: Johnathan Thurston – Had two try assists in what was a faultless performance from the veteran, putting Manly under constant pressure with his kicking game.
New Zealand Warriors 26 defeat St George Illawarra Dragons 10
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Isaac Luke – The Warriors looked like a different team once he came off the bench. He ran the ball a lot, adding a try assist and a lot of creativity for the Warriors.
2: David Fusitu’a – Was absolutely fantastic at the back for the Warriors in a fill-in role. Came up with multiple stops on Dragons attacking plays and ran for 160 metres with a try assist.
1: Shaun Johnson – Had a controlled kicking game all afternoon and it allowed the Warriors to apply pressure, which he promptly built on with a strong running game which included a try, an offload and a line break.
Gold Coast Titans 0 defeated by Melbourne Storm 38
Blogged by: Connor Bennett
3: Cooper Cronk – Led from the front for Melbourne, really utilising the weak ruck defence of the Titans. Had 107 metres and 29 tackles.
2: Suliasi Vinivalu – Scored two tries on the wing, adding two line breaks to Melbourne’s efforts and being a constant threat.
1: Tohu Harris – Continued his run of good form with 143 metres from 14 runs, making two line breaks and scoring a try.
Cronulla Sharks 30 defeat Brisbane Broncos 28
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Michael Ennis – Was fantastic for the Sharks on both ends of the park. Strong in defence, and added a try assist for Paul Gallen while he was a constant threat running and kicking.
2: Anthony Milford – Brought the Broncos back into the contest during the second half with 74 metres from nine runs, a try assist and two offloads.
1: James Maloney – Scored a try of his own and assisted another during the Sharks first half onslaught. Had a strong kicking game and added a line break.
1. Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos) – 14 votes
=2. Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders) – 12 votes
=2. Corey Norman (Parramatta Eels) – 12 votes
4. James Tedesco (Wests Tigers) – 11 votes
=5. Chad Townsend (Cronulla Sharks) – 10 votes
=5. Ben Barba (Cronulla Sharks) – 10 votes
=5. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys) – 10 votes
=5. Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys) – 10 votes
=5. Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys) – 10 votes
=10. Shaun Johnson (New Zealand Warriors) – 9 votes
=10. Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm) – 9 votes
Anthony Milford has gone into the outright this lead, moving away from the man he was tied with last week – Josh Hodgson – by two points. That of course, is exaclty how many he picked up against the Cronulla Sharks while Hodgson failed to register a point against the Penrith Panthers.
Corey Norman is a big mover this week, having scored three points in the Parramatta Eels win over the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The middle of the top 10 sees a log jam of Cowboys players. All of Jason Taumalolo, Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan are now stuck on 10 votes, while Cameron Smith has squeaked his way into equal 10th spot with a man of the match performance against the Gold Coast Titans.
Next week is the representative round so the NRL MVP series will be taking a break with the rest of the club teams, however you can still catch live coverage of all the matches right here on The Roar.
Fire away Roarers! Did our bloggers get it right this week? Does our leaderboard look about right? Let us know in the comments below.
See you in a fortnight.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde