NPC Players of Round 10 - betcha The Playbook

That wraps up the regular season of the 2025 NPC, with each team having played 10 games and the playoff spots now confirmed ahead of next weekend’s quarter-finals. This means it’s the final week of player ratings, and we’ll soon complete our table for players of the season. But before that, we’ve still got five players from round 10 to hand points to, so let’s get stuck into those.

5. Stanley Soloman (1 Point)

Another product of the New Zealand Under-20 system, Wellington Lions outside back Stanley Soloman has well and truly announced himself on the professional rugby scene this NPC season. Known for his knack of finding the try line and his uncanny ability to leave defenders flat-footed, he has been one of the breakout backs in the competition.

In the Lions losing effort this past weekend, which closed out a disappointing title defence, Soloman was one of the few bright spots, providing a genuine attacking threat. Although deployed on the wing rather than in his more natural fullback role, he made the most of the opportunity, finishing with the second-most metres gained for his side and beating a couple of defenders along the way.

His first try came in somewhat spectacular fashion. Attempting to pin Bay of Plenty back with a 50-22 kick, Soloman chased it relentlessly. The Steamers winger made the mistake of aimlessly throwing the ball back into play, and Soloman was first to the loose ball. From there, all he had to do was scoop it up and dive over the line to secure the five points.

His last big moment came in the second half when the ball was spread wide to his wing. After a goose step, he created just half a metre of space for himself. From five metres out, with a defender bearing down on him, Soloman launched for the corner and managed to score in a way that DWZ would be proud of.

4. Cameron Millar (2 Points)

Otago have been one of the biggest surprises this season, hanging around the top end of the table throughout. They managed to sign off their dominant regular season with a 51-point performance against Auckland, which was the perfect way to head into the playoffs.

Before we look ahead to their quarter-final matchup, we need to discuss the play of their game driver, Cameron Millar. In the game against Auckland, he put together quite the performance around the park. As a game manager, he got his team into the right positions often and allowed his unit to succeed.

What was most exciting was him putting the game on his back at certain stages. This was highlighted by his 24-point haul, which included a strong try, three penalties, and five conversions.

It was a great showing from Millar, who really demonstrated what he can do as one of the top game managers in the competition. Otago will be relying on him to repeat that performance against Auckland if they want to compete for the title.

3. Zarn Sullivan (3 Points)

Hawke’s Bay have continued to be a high-octane unit throughout the entire season, generally scoring plenty of points and doing so in spectacular fashion. One of the key reasons for that has been their fullback, Zarn Sullivan, who was dominant once again in the regular season finale against the Turbos in the lower North Island rivalry game.

He was at his best with the ball in hand, leading the game by a long way with 151 metres, more than double the next closest on his team. The reason he is able to carry for so many metres is because of how decisive he is at the back, combined with the vision to break tackles with ease. Like metres carried, Sullivan led the game in defenders beaten with seven, which also led to two clean line breaks.

One of those breaks was special to see, as he picked the ball up in the backfield in a tough spot. However, he looked up and saw half a gap, which he burst through, making about 50 metres on the carry.

To complete the day for Sullivan, he also got his own five-pointer after hitting a crash ball on the angle from five metres out, resulting in him burrowing over just before half-time.

2. Cooper Roberts (4 Points)

For the first time this season, we have two players from the same game making the list, and that’s thanks to the sensational skill, and at times the lack of it, on display during the Makos clash with Counties, which turned into an absolute barn burner.

The first name from that game is Tasman’s young midfielder Cooper Roberts, who has truly had a breakout season at NPC level after also previously spending time in the New Zealand Under-20 set-up.

He might not be the prototypical size for a midfielder, but he runs sensational lines and has serious pace to add to his already impressive skill set. That was on full display this weekend as he ran riot against the Steelers in a performance that kicked off with a 70-metre intercept try against the run of play.

Following this, Roberts remained the centre of attention as he continued to showcase his running game. After receiving a back-door ball from the forward pod, he hit the gap left by the rushing defence. Bursting through, he carried the ball the remaining 30 metres to score his second try of the match.

To cap off his breakout outing, Roberts led the game in running metres with 125 and also set up a teammate for a meat pie of their own. What makes this performance even more impressive is that he managed all of it in just 53 minutes before being pulled from the game.

1. Adam Brash (5 Points)

As I mentioned, we have a second name from the same game, simply because of all the highlight plays and standout performances on display over the 80 minutes. This time we shift to the other side of the ledger with a star showing from Counties, in what was a must-win game for the side.

His performance was highlighted by a hat-trick of tries, which proved to be one of the key reasons Counties managed to come away with the win. He got his day started in the 20th minute, scoring off a short ball from the base of the ruck. After picking up a burst of speed, he barrelled his way over the chalk with ease, bumping off a couple of Mako defenders on the way.

His second try of the half came just before the stroke of half-time, as he finished off a lovely team effort. Some outstanding ball movement from his teammates managed to cut through the Tasman defence, and Brash got on the end of it with an offload five metres out, allowing him to dive under the sticks.

Just after Roberts scored his second of the day, Brash threw a haymaker right back to keep the Mako at arm’s length. From the kick-off, Tasman looked to exit, but Brash read the play perfectly and charged down the clearance. He then chased down the loose ball, secured possession and dotted down for his third try of the game, and of the season.

The last thing worth noting is that Brash wasn’t just scoring tries for fun. He also nailed his core duties as an openside flanker, leading the game in tackles with 21. That’s especially impressive in a match where it often looked like both teams had forgotten how to defend.

Leaderboard After Round 10 (Top 20)