Well, Queensland have won the State of Origin series in straight sets, the Cronulla Sharks made it 11 in-a-row and the Brisbane Broncos continue their mid-season form slump. Welcome back to The Roar‘s NRL MVP.
With seven matches played, there was a lot of good footy on the weekend, including a thrilling golden point finish and an almost amazing comeback on Friday Night.
With more and more players polling votes each week, we now have a total of 154 players on the board.
Just a reminder, that when it comes to State of Origin, points will only apply to the overall total if the player’s club played during the lead-up round, when Origin players were in camp.
Queensland Maroons 26 defeat New South Wales Blues 16
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Johnathan Thurston – Had one of his best Origin games – and that is really saying something. Controlled it from the outset with his kicking game, ran the ball well and had excellent execution on just about everything.
* – Vote will not count to overall leaderboard as Cowboys did not play during Round 15.
2: Cameron Smith – Very strong out of hooker, running the ball with authority and picking his spots well. Came up with a monster effort on defence as he always does.
1: Tyson Frizell – Alongside Josh Jackson, one of the Blues best on debut. Ran the ball hard with plenty of impact, scored a try and announced himself as a long time Origin candidate.
Penrith Panthers 28 defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 26
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
3: Bryce Cartwright – Played a strong game again in the halves, running the ball hard for nearly 120 metres, assisted three tries with some brilliant offloading and made a line break.
2: Sam Burgess – Was the reason the Rabbitohs got back into the game at the end with a try scoring double, while making a monster 204 metres with 35 tackles.
1: Cody Walker – Had a strong kicking game, but ran the ball well creating opportunities with three try assists and a line break.
Newcastle Knights 18 defeated by St George Illawarra Dragons 30
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Benji Marshall – Finally looked to be something near his best, albeit against the hapless Knights outfit. Scored a try, danced around defenders at will and was consistently good with the ball in hand, setting up a few tries.
2: Mitch Rein – The Dragons hooker always appears to be at his best running the ball – and that was no different on the weekend, setting up a few tries, going close himself and putting in a workmanlike effort on defence toping the tackle count with 43.
1: Trent Hodkinson – Quite a strong effort and he was one of the reasons why the Knights were able to get back into the contest during the second half. Ran the ball well, kicked well and had a hand in a few tries.
Cronulla Sharks 19 defeat New Zealand Warriors 18
Blogged by: Alan Nicolea
3: Michael Ennis – Continued his strong form with a try, assisting another and playing a creative hand all game long, looking very threatening running the ball while making 50 tackles.
2: David Fusitu’a – Another strong ball running game with 155 metres, adding a try assist and a few line breaks while saving another with his defence.
1: Simon Mannering – Monster effort in defence with 70 tackles.
Canterbury Bulldogs 40 defeat Brisbane Broncos 14
Blogged by: John Coomer
3: Aiden Tolman – Made the most metres and tackles on the field with 217 and 42 respectively, and was the reason Canterbury dominated the middle.
2: James Graham – Backed up Tolman well in a big performance with 206 metres and 32 tackles.
1: Brett Morris – First match for 2016 returning from injury, scoring three tries and having to work hard for all of them while staying solid in defence.
Gold Coast Titans 22 defeated by Canberra Raiders 30
Blogged by: Alan Nicolea
3: Jarrod Croker – Scored a first-half double and always looked dangerous with the ball and adding 102 metres, kicking five goals.
2: Ryan James – Scored a try and made nearly 200 metres while adding a line break and playing big minutes.
1: Josh Papalii – He backed his usual performance, looking dangerous in attack backing up from Origin with nearly 120 metres at 10 per run.
Melbourne Storm 29 defeat Wests Tigers 20
Blogged by: Brent Ford
3: Marike Koroibete – Despite a length of the field run, the Fijian still made 285 metres from just 13 runs scoring a try and adding a few line breaks.
2: Tohu Harris – Playing in the halves again, he scored a try, assisted another and ran plenty of metres in a big effort.
1: Luke Brooks – Was the catalyst for the Tigers comeback, scoring a try, assisting another and looking dangerous in attack while controlling his kicking game.
North Queensland Cowboys 30 defeat Manly Sea Eagles 26
Blogged by: Widget
3: Johnathan Thurston – ‘JT’ backed up from Origin with yet another professional and stellar performance. He set up a few tries in the first half before getting his kicking game perfect in the final 20 minutes to control the Cowboys lead.
2: Jason Taumalolo – The human wrecking ball continues to firm as a contender for the crown with a monster effort, totalling nearly 200 metres and a pair of tries.
1: Tom Trbojevic – Was one of the main men for the Sea Eagles comeback with some massive runs setting up attacking plays. He ended with 190 metres and a pair of line breaks.
1. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys) – 19 votes
2. Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos) – 17 votes
=3. Josh Reynolds (Canterbury Bulldogs) – 16 votes
=3. Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys) – 16 votes
=5. Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders) – 15 votes
=5. Corey Norman (Parramatta Eels) – 15 votes
=5. Ryan James (Gold Coast Titans) – 15 votes
8. Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm) – 14 votes
=9. Ben Barba (Cronulla Sharks) – 13 votes
=9. Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs) – 13 votes
After what seems like an eternity, we finally have a change at the top of the leaderboard with Johnathan Thurston taking over on 19 votes, with a two vote lead over Anthony Milford.
Jason Taumalolo joins his Cowboys teammate in picking up votes, meaning he moves into equal third, on 16 with Josh Reynolds.
Ryan James continues to excel, moving into fifth position while Sam Burgess moves into the top 10 on the leaderboard to round out this weeks changes.
What do you think Roarers. Did our bloggers get it right this time around?
Be sure to check back in next week for a full round of NRL.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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