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Welcome back to another instalment of The Roar‘s NRL MVP, including a special club-by-club breakdown of leaders with six rounds of the season to go.
At the top of the NRL ladder though, it is the Cronulla Sharks still pushing on with some special sort of winning streak as they completed a second rout of the hapless Newcastle Knights.
The Brisbane Broncos season looks to be stumbling, Johnathan Thurston picked up an injury and Robbie Farah is back at war with Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor, despite the club beating the terrible St George Illawarra Dragons.
The Gold Coast Titans are going from strength to strength as well with a 20-point win over the Parramatta Eels while the Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Warriors played out a game in Golden Point.
So, how did our team of bloggers see Round 20?
North Queensland Cowboys 36 defeat Canterbury Bulldogs 0
Blogged by: Alan Nicolea
3: Jason Taumalolo – He is as close to unstoppable as you can get. Made nearly 200 metres in what was a complete performance.
2: Johnathan Thurston – Might have been injured early in the second half, but it doesn’t stop him featuring in the points.
1: Antonio Winterstein – Clinical performance from the Cowboys winger with a hat-trick of tries and few errors at either end of the park.
Brisbane Broncos 12 defeated by Penrith Panthers 31
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
3: Trent Merrin – Milestone game and he backed it up with a massive 80 minute performance, tallying 227 metres, 32 tackles and scoring a try right on the siren.
2: Matt Moylan – The Panthers fullback had a strong game with a line break, try assist and a try to his own name.
1: Leilani Latu – Has impressed this season and continued his ways with some strong runs, tackles and a pair of try assists.
Canberra Raiders 26 defeat New Zealand Warriors 22
Blogged by: John Coomer
3: Jarrod Croker – A dream game for the Raiders captain, scoring three tries including the golden point winner, assisint another and being a constant threat with the ball as well as his usual solid goal-kicking.
2: Shaun Johnson – Was the Warriors spark in attack without a doubt. Kicking game to force repeat sets and build pressure was fantastic and gave the Warriors a stack of first half ball.
1: Jordan Rapana – Was safe as a house in defence, defusing the Warriors dangerous short range attack multiple times while also making a massive 173 metres in attack.
Gold Coast Titans 34 defeat Parramatta Eels 14
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Ashley Taylor – Brilliant from the rookie. He just gets better, scoring a try, assisting another and adding plenty with the ball including a few line breaks, a solid kicking game and 109 metres.
2: David Mead – His defence seemed to shine throughout the match, but he also added 150 metres from 14 runs and a try assist.
1: Tyrone Roberts – Backed up Taylor brilliantly and added plenty with his kicking game that was always applying pressure to the Eels line.
Melbourne Storm 26 defeat Sydney Roosters 10
Blogged by: Connor Bennett
3: Cooper Cronk – Composed and controlled could begin to describe the game Cronk played. Excellent performance, and although he didn’t run the ball alot he ended up with a try assist, a try and a fantastic kicking game.
2: Jake Friend – 72 tackles. No further explanation needed.
1: Cameron Munster – Joined in well with the Cooper Cronk show and ran the ball strongly from the back with 162 metres, while being a constant threat in attack.
Cronulla Sharks 36 defeat Newcastle Knights 4
Blogged by: Brent Ford
3: Ben Barba – Some sort of game for the Cronulla fullback. A pair of tries, another pair of try assits and 132 running metres from just 11 runs.
2: Jack Bird – Couldn’t have played much better at centre, like Barba scoring two and assisting another two while he had three line breaks and 178 metres from 15 runs.
1: Luke Lewis – Seemed to ignite the Sharks on the edge, benefiting off some fantastic creative work while assisting a try and running nearly 100 metres.
St George Illawarra Dragons 12 defeated by Wests Tigers 25
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
3: Mitchell Moses – Maybe his best performance to date in the NRL. Set up the winning try and was a constant threat all game kicking a field goal and making a line break along with maintaining a good kicking game.
2: Ava Seumanufagai – Had a massive impact off the bench, chewing up almost 150 metres from just 14 hit-ups while contributing 31 tackles.
1: Taane Milne – Might have only been his second game in the top grade, but he was fantastic. Made a stack of line breaks, outstanding offloads and set up a try while saving a few.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 12 defeated by Manly Sea Eagles 20
Blogged by: Widget
3: Jamie Lyon – Instrumental in the victory for Manly, with his kicking and passing game playing a roll in a few tries and settings up perfectly all game.
2: Tom Trbojevic – Going from strenght to strength and ended up with a try, a line break and 196 metres in an effort that helped set up the win.
1: Cody Walker – Had a massive impact on the defensive end for the Rabbitohs as they looked to mount a resurgance during the second half while also scoring a try and creating plenty of chances.
1. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys) – 26 votes
2. Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys) – 21 votes
3. Ben Barba (Cronulla Sharks) – 19 votes
=4. Josh Reynolds (Canterbury Bulldogs) – 18 votes
=4. Corey Norman (Parramatta Eels) – 18 votes
=6. Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos) – 17 votes
=6. James Tedesco (Wests Tigers) – 17 votes
=6. Shaun Johnson (New Zealand Warriors) – 17 votes
9. Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm) – 16 votes
=10. Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders) – 15 votes
=10. Ryan James (Gold Coast Titans) – 15 votes
=10. Chad Townsend (Cronulla Sharks) – 15 votes
So then, the North Queensland Cowboys duo of Johnathan Thurston and Jason Taumalolo continue to push aheads with both players collecting votes against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Ben Barba is no outright third with a man of the match performance, while it feels like an eternity since Anthony Milford has scored a point – and that’s because it is.
Cooper Cronk is also up to ninth with a big effort.
As promised, here are the top three for your club so far this season. Votes are in brackets.
Brisbane Broncos: Anthony Milford (17), Ben Hunt (13), Darius Boyd (10)
Canberra Raiders: Josh Hodgson (15), Jarrod Croker (11), Josh Papalii (7)
Canterbury Bulldogs: Josh Reynolds (18), James Graham (10), Moses Mbye (6)
Cronulla Sharks: Ben Barba (19), Chad Townsend (15), Andrew Fifita (11)
Gold Coast Titans: Ryan James (15), Ashley Taylor (13), Tyrone Roberts (9)
Manly Sea Eagles: Jake Trbojevic (10), Tom Trbojevic (8), Apisai Koroisau (5)
Melbourne Storm: Cooper Cronk (16), Cameron Smith (14), Tohu Harris (12)
Newcastle Knights: Jarrod Mullen (4), Korbin Sims (3), Nathan Ross (3)
North Queensland Cowboys: Johnathan Thurston (26), Jason Taumalolo (21), Michael Morgan (10)
Parramatta Eels: Corey Norman (18), Semi Radradra (9), Manu Ma’u (7)
Penrith Panthers: Bryce Cartwright (11), Josh Mansour (7), Trent Merrin (7)
South Sydney Rabbitohs: Sam Burgess (13), Adam Reynolds (5), Greg Inglis (4)
St George Illawarra Dragons: Josh Dugan (11), Gareth Widdop (9), Mitch Rein (6)
Sydney Roosters: Jake Friend (10), Dylan Napa (6), Latrell Mitchell (5)/Mitchell Pearce (5)
New Zealand Warriors: Shaun Johnson (17), Issac Luke (10), Tuimoala Lolohea (8)
Wests Tigers: James Tedesco (17), Mitchell Moses (10), Robbie Farah (4)
As you can see there, some massive disparity between teams but voting seems to reflect the NRL ladder.
What do you reckon Roarers? Did our team get it right this week, and how do you see the leaderboard finishing overall?
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde