Golden Point thrills, the return of Melbourne Storm, a Marzhew masterclass, and Walsh and Latrell make headlines (but it’s not Walsh and Latrell). Here is our Team of the week for Round 10.
Prop | Corey Horsburgh
Was defensively astute for the Raiders in their loss to the Panthers with a 47-tackle contribution in his 60 minutes. Recorded 123 run metres, 41 post-contact metres and had four tackle breaks.
Prop | Addin Fonua-Blake
Disappointing loss for the Sharks against what was meant to be a “weakened” Bunnies side. Fonua-Bake still showed up with 32 tackles, 143 run metres, 2 offloads, and four tackle breaks.
Hooker | Harry Grant
It was a welcome-back performance for Harry Grant and the Storm, who haven’t won in 7 games. They were back on track with their victory over the Tigers, and Grant was instrumental on attack, playing touch rugby in the way he was able to piece up the lethargic Tigers’ defence with a try, two assists, and three line breaks. Had a well-placed cross-kick for Warbrick too.
Second Row | Siua Wong
Wong had a massive run up the middle from the 20m that eventuated in a try for Robert Toia, and the Roosters saw Siua Wong record a season best 179 run metres. Siua had a try assist, four tackle breaks, two offloads and 37 tackles in the Roosters’ 28-12 victory over the Titans.
Second Row | Ativalu Lisati
Lisati recorded an impressive eight tackle breaks against the Tigers, ran for 172m, made 34 tackles and scored the final try in the Storms’ 44-16 victory.
Lock | Cam Murray
Without Latrell Mitchell, David Fifita, Humphreys, Wighton, Jai Arrow, etc., Captain Cam Murray and the Bunnies were dominant over the Sharks, who failed to score until the 72nd minute. This performance included a Latrell (not Mitchell) on debut in the centres and another hat-trick for AJ. Murray led from the front with 34 tackles, spun his way out of three tackles to score his own, and linked up well with the halves in their 36 – 12 victory.
Half | Tom Dearden
He will be sorely missed for Qld in this upcoming Origins series, but he won’t be missed off this week’s Team of the Week (not much of a consolation). Dearden is the cog that keeps the Cowboys turning and the glue of their attacking structure. Before his injury in Golden Point, Dearden recorded four try assists, 158 run metres, three tackle breaks, and three line break assists. He tore up the Eels’ defence and was involved in 4/5 tries for the Cowboys. Can’t help but feel bad for the Cowboys, lost a key player due to a hip drop tackle, didn’t receive a penalty for said hip drop, and then lost the game… Rough.
Half | Joey Walsh
The better Walsh on the field, it only took Joey 4 minutes to score against the Broncos in his second match of the season, slicing through the nonexistent Broncos’ defence before kicking a 40/20 within the first 15 minutes of the match. Walsh stepped up in a big way with the omission of Jamal Fogarty, facing the experienced Ben Hunt and the supposed top-8 side in the Broncos. Fozball is working wonders for Manly in securing a 32-4 victory over the Broncos.
Centre | Bradman Best
Bradman Best was massive against the dragons, even prior to his interception try, running 80+ metres, showcasing some serious speed. He also provided 3 try assists to a certain someone who scored 5 tries on the day. His work rate on the left edge to set up his teammates is to be commended and will be of great benefit in the blue jersey come Origin time.
Centre | Taylan May
A different kind of May for this week, with Taylan scoring twice and recording a season high of 179 metres. Showed incredible effort and strength for his first try, driving through four defenders before going over in the corner, and had an incredible 50m run. He was big on defence too, with two try savers despite the Storm dominating the game and was one of the few positives about the Tigers’ lacklustre performance.
Winger | Greg Marzhew
After a hat-trick for Marzhew last week, he has only gone and scored FIVE TIMES against the Dragons this week, equalling the Knights’ record for most tries scored in a game. He and the knights are starting to turn the ship around from their wooden spoon last season.
Winger | Jamayne Isaako
What can’t this man do? Showed incredible footwork to score from 40 metres out. Really enjoyed himself against the Bulldogs with a season-best performance of three Tries, an incredible try assist for Bostock to score, had eight tackle breaks, and 262 running metres, in addition to going 6/8 with the boot. He can score, step, and bounce his way over the tryline before curling a ball effortlessly through the middle of the goalposts from the edge of the field. Can’t wait to see him work his magic in the Kiwi jersey this World Cup.
Fullback | James Tedesco
A double try and an impressive 332 run metres for Tedesco earn him the fullback spot this week. He was active and elusive for the Roosters in their victory over the Titans with five tackle breaks and three offloads.