A posse of Panthers, a trifecta of Dragons, some vintage Daly Cherry-Evans and a hell of a lot of hyphens headline our Team of the Week for Round 4 of the 2017 Telstra Premiership.
1. Josh Dugan (Dragons)
Another whole-hearted performance from the Dragons' No.1 that this week came with the added bonus of a brilliant individual try against the Warriors. A customary 204 running metres and seven tackle busts rounded out a dominant display.
2. Josh Addo-Carr (Storm)
Another fine performance for his new club, this time against his former. His blistering pace was on full display in his second half try that sealed the win for the Storm, giving his running metres a boost to 218 along with 11 tackles and seven tackle busts.
3. Latrell Mitchell (Roosters)
Everything this kid does has a touch of class about it and makes his performances stand out from the crowd. He reigned in a pass from Luke Keary one-handed before cruising across for the first try of the game, caught-and-passed in the greasy conditions for Daniel Tupou's try and had two further line-break assists. Superstar.
4. Tyrone Peachey (Panthers)
We say it each week but is Tyrone Peachey becoming such a good centre that higher honours in the position beckon? On a comfortable night for the Panthers Peachey was again devastating with ball in hand, reaching behind to reign in a pass before scoring before half-time and running for 125m with five tackle busts.
5. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Panthers)
In just his second game of the season Watene-Zelezniak took advantage of a superb Dean Whare pass to open the onslaught for the Panthers, had a try assist of his own, three line breaks and 187 run metres.
6. Gareth Widdop (Dragons)
A courageous effort to even take the field after being involved in a car accident on the way to the game, Widdop is looking more and more like the player the Dragons recruited from the Storm and not his 2016 self. Used his forwards' platform to take the Warriors defence on at every opportunity and sealed the two points with a big right foot step and short-side raid for Tim Lafai's try.
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)
Good last week against the Cowboys, back to his brilliant best against the Bulldogs in his 150th NRL appearance. Took his tally of try assists for the season from two to seven in the space of 80 minutes as he tormented the 'Dogs defence. His pass for Brian Kelly's second try was sublime but his back-and-forth with Tom Trbojevic for his try was something else altogether.
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters)
In difficult conditions against the Rabbitohs the tough stuff in the middle was going to be crucial and Waerea-Hargreaves was a dominant presence, running for 137 metres and making 37 tackles in a 60-minute performance.
9. Andrew McCullough (Broncos)
Celebrated his 200th NRL game in fine fashion with the opening try of the game and by racking up 61 tackles, the second week in succession he has broken the 60-tackle mark. The heart and soul of this Broncos team.
10. Paul Vaughan (Dragons)
Transitioned easily from the Hulk of his Canberra days into the Dragons' Ant Man jersey on Sunday without losing any of his considerable powers. Slipped past some shoddy Warriors goal-line defence to score the first try of the game and rampaged through the middle of the field for 185 metres along with 38 tackles.
11. Coen Hess (Cowboys)
The Cowboy colossus took the game against the Titans by the scruff of the neck in the final quarter, scoring twice and leaving Titans defenders strewn all across the ground to assert his considerable frame on the contest. And this is just the beginning.
12. Wade Graham (Sharks)
Looked in danger of being forced from the field with an ankle injury midway through the first half but had already had an influence on the outcome, putting Jayden Brailey across for the first try with a perfectly-executed pass across his body and sparking the try for Sosaia Feki with an offload. Finished with 124 run metres and 28 tackles.
13. Paul Gallen (Sharks)
The skipper was at his unstoppable best against the Eels, putting his hand up for 23 carries in 58 minutes and running for 216 metres in a physical encounter. Just how 'Gal' likes it.
14. Apisai Koroisau (Sea Eagles)
Been superb in Manly's two wins in the past two weeks and again terrorised the Bulldogs around the ruck with his probing runs. Scored a try by evading four Bulldogs and had 53 run metres from seven darts out of dummy-half.
15. Scott Bolton (Cowboys)
Put to bed any concerns about the loss of Matt Scott and Jason Taumalolo for one week at least with a career-best performance that yielded 192 run metres from 16 carries in 49 minutes of action against the Titans.
16. Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Panthers)
Had a day out against a Newcastle defence that failed to turn up for the first time this year, rumbling forward for 209 metres in 52 minutes.
17. Boyd Cordner (Roosters)
Revelled in the tough stuff against the Rabbits, running for 138 metres and stinging with his 19 tackles in defence. With the lines he runs threatens to break open a defensive line with every carry.
