The State of Origin series is over, the Queensland Maroons have won again and the boys from the shire continue their incredible winning streak. Welcome to another edition of The Roar‘s NRL MVP, with an extended leaderboard.
While there might have been a bunker controversy on Monday Night, the scoreboard will show the Cronulla Sharks have now won 14 in a row, and continue their hold at the top of the table.
There was golden point in Perth, one of the games of the season at Penrith and an incredibly disappointing performance from the Dragons at home in what was an interesting round.
The gap at the leaderboard meanwhile keeps getting larger, while there were a couple of changes in the top ten this week. It is worth noting there are now 166 riders who have recorded votes at this point in the season.
A reminder with State of Origin votes that they will only count if the player’s team played the week before, when those players were in camp.
This time around, that means players from the Parramatta Eels, Sydney Roosters, Canterbury Bulldogs, Wests Tigers, Penrith Panthers, Cronulla Sharks, Canberra Raiders and North Queensland Cowboys are eligible to have votes added to their overall total.
New South Wales Blues 18 defeat Queensland Maroons 14
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: James Tedesco – It might have been his Origin debut, but he handled it brilliantly. He added creativity the Blues hadn’t had for the first two games, was safe as a house in defence and ran for a monster 260 metres off 24 runs.
2: Johnathan Thurston – Wasn’t at his Game 1 and 2 standards, where he controlled things to perfection for the Maroons, but still had plenty of strong touches, maintained a strong kicking game throughout and will be disappointed his goal kicking wasn’t better.
1: Josh Jackson – Was unlucky not to get a vote during Game 2, but turned it on during Game 3 running hard and tackling hard, looking threatening with the ball more than once.
St George Illawarra Dragons 12 defeated by Gold Coast Titans 32
Blogged by: Riley Pettigrew
3: Tyrone Roberts – Kicking game was pin-point accurate and the Dragons couldn’t work out how to defend him. Superb performance.
2: Zeb Taia – Has been a quiet achiever for the Titans this season, and it was another big performance with 165 metres and 39 tackles.
1: Agnatius Passi – Might have only played 30 minutes, but he had a hand in a couple of tries, and punched out 10 metres per hit-up.
Manly Sea Eagles 15 defeat New Zealand Warriors 14
Blogged by: Alan Nicolea
3: Jake Trbojevic – The fufute Origin player continued his impressive form with hard hitting tackles, strong runs totalling over 150 metres and charging down a Shaun Johnson field goal attempt.
2: Tom Trbojevic – Scored the opening try of the match and put in a brilliant performance at the back in defence.
1: Darcy Lussick – Over 170 metres to go along with 30 tackles in very ordinary conditions. Got Manly moving in the right direction all game.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 defeated by Brisbane Broncos 30
Blogged by: AJ Mithen
3: Ben Hunt – Finally orchestrated a return to form, running the ball well and controlling things with his kicking game while scoring a try and playing a hand in the lead up to others.
2: Corey Oates – Monster performance from Oates who ran 265 metres from just 14 hit ups, scoring a pair of tries as well.
1: James Roberts – While Oates dominated on the left, Roberts dominated on the right running for 200 metres, scoring a try and making a couple of line breaks.
Newcastle Knights 16 defeated by Melbourne Storm 20
Blogged by: John Coomer
3: Tohu Harris – Contnued what has been an impressive season with a workmanlike performance that saw a try, 126 metres and 34 tackles.
2: Jake Mamo – Was a constant threat running the ball, making 150 metres and scoring a couple of tries while defusing some very tough looking kicks to relieve pressure.
1: Jesse Bromwich – Game high 44 tackles and plenty of strong runs to get the Storm moving in the right direction.
Penrith Panthers 22 defeat Parramatta Eels 18
Blogged by: Scott Pryde
3: Josh Mansour – Played strongly for 80 minutes backing up from Origin, running the ball strongly at every opportunity, scoring a try and running 246 metres.
2: Clint Gutherson – Absolute wow of a game and unlucky not to lead Parramatta to victory. He had try assists, a strong kicking game and a number of great creative plays. Brilliant stuff from the makeshift half.
1: Nathan Cleary – Was one of the key catalysts behind the Panthers second half comebacks, controlling the kicking game with perfection and playing a hand in a few tries. Might be a debutant, but not showing it.
Sydney Roosters 20 defeated by Cronulla Sharks 32
Blogged by: Widget
3: Chad Townsend – Excellent performance at both ends of the park, standing up in the defence and being instrumental with his kicking and passing game.
2: Siosaia Feki – Added two tries, benefiting from some of Townsend’s work while he also ran a massive 216 metres and had a try assists.
1: Connor Watson – Last minute promotion to the starting team, and didn’t disappoint. He used his ball running ability fantastically, making 151 metres while scoring a try and assisting another.
We are out of the Origin period, and as promised last week, here is the extended leaderboard to give you an idea of where we are at as the run home begins.
1. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys) – 24 votes
=2. Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys) – 18 votes
=2. Josh Reynolds (Canterbury Bulldogs) – 18 votes
=2. Corey Norman (Parramatta Eels) – 18 votes
=5. Anthony Milford (Brisbane Broncos) – 17 votes
=5. James Tedesco (Wests Tigers) – 17 votes
7. Ben Barba (Cronulla Sharks) – 16 votes
=8. Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders) – 15 votes
=8. Ryan James (Gold Coast Titans) – 15 votes
=8. Shaun Johnson (New Zealand Warriors) – 15 votes
=8. Chad Townsend (Cronulla Sharks) – 15 votes.
12. Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm) – 14 votes
=13. Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs) – 13 votes
=13. Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm) – 13 cotes
=13. Ben Hunt (Brisbane Broncos) – 13 votes
16. Tohu Harris (Melbourne Storm) – 12 votes
=17. Josh Dugan (St George Illawarra Dragons) – 11 votes
=17. Jamie Soward (Penrith Panthers) – 11 votes – no longer in NRL
=17. Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sharks) – 11 votes
=17. Bryce Cartwright (Penrith Panthers) – 11 votes
So, looking at the top ten Johnathan Thurston continues to extend his lead while James Tedesco is moving to within striking distance.
Chad Townsend is also back inside the top 10 with a great performance on Monday against the Roosters.
Looking further down, and only 7 votes separate second place through to the end of the top 20. Both Josh Dugan and Jamie Soward won’t score any points in the near future though due to injury and no longer being in the NRL respectively.
So, there you have it Roarers. Did our team get it right this week?
Be sure to tune in for another update same time next week, where the additive will be finding out your club’s best performers so far this season.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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