The Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks, two of the best teams at the end of the regular season, have advanced to the NRL grand final, while a man who has done it all in the sport is running away with The Roar‘s NRL finals MVP.
The Sharks had their evening to remember first, breaking a long grand final drought by getting over a fatigued North Queensland Cowboys outfit by 12 points.
That was followed on Saturday by the Storm putting on their clinical best to dispose of the Canberra Raiders in an excellent and exciting game of rugby league by just two points.
Onto the votes from each game.
Cronulla Sharks 32 defeat North Queensland Cowboys 20
3: James Maloney – Absolutely fantastic effort from the now three-time grand final half as he led his side around the park. Kicking game was perfect, decision making cool, calm and collected, while he also scored two tries, set up another and ran for nearly 140 metres.
2: Chad Townsend – Might have played second fiddle to the more experienced Maloney, but did his job excellently nonetheless, scoring a try and setting up another.
1: Wade Graham – It could have been any of the Sharks forwards earning a point, but Graham was deadly on the left side working with Maloney and very unlucky not to get a try.
Melbourne Storm 14 defeat Canberra Raiders 12
3: Cameron Smith – A performance we have come to expect from the Australian skipper. Added plenty with his kicking and running close to the line, while racking up 39 tackles which was the highest for any Storm player.
2: Cooper Cronk – Cronk’s kicking game was accurate and controlling as he scored a try, played a hand in others and ran for 80 metres being selective but effective with the ball in hand.
1: Aiden Sezer – Best on the park for Canberra as they fought hard, but couldn’t quite get the job done.
6 Votes: Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm)
3 Votes: Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos), Matt Prior (Cronulla Sharks), Matt Moylan (Penrith Panthers),Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys, Matt Moylan (Penrith Panthers)Jack Wighton (Canberra Raiders), James Maloney (Cronulla Sharks)
2 Votes: Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos), Jarryd Hayne (Gold Coast Titans), Michael Ennis (Cronulla Sharks), Tohu Harris (Melbourne Storm), Josh Mansour (Penrith Panthers), Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys), Joey Leilua (Canberra Raiders), Chad Townsend (Cronulla Sharks), Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
1 Vote: Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders), Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys), Peter Wallace (Penrith Panthers), Junior Paulo (Canberra Raiders), Wade Graham (Cronulla Sharks), Aiden Sezer (Canberra Raiders
* – any players with a line through them are eliminated from the finals.
With only the grand final remaining, Cameron Smith can’t lose the competition regardless of what happens. While James Maloney or Matt Prior still find themsevles in a position where they could draw level, they would both need three points and for Smith to bomb out with zero.
Roarers, what did you think of the votes this week?
Be sure to tune in during the week for our comprehensive coverage of the NRL grand final, culminating on Sunday with a live blog of the match, talking points and the grand final MVP.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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