An Eels workhorse terrorises the Bulldogs, a trio of Sea Eagles help get their team's season back on track, two Bunnies give their fans a night to remember, a new No.9 tears the Titans to shreds and three Raiders lay the foundation for an upset win over the Sharks in the Round 22 Team of the Week.
1. Tom Trbojevic (Sea Eagles)
With the Sea Eagles' top-four hopes fading before their fans' eyes 'Tommy Turbo' took it upon himself to change the complexion of the game with tries either side of half-time, not to mention three tackle busts, two offloads, a try assist and 211 run metres.
2. Bryson Goodwin (Rabbitohs)
In perfect position to score the try that tied the scores with a few minutes left to play. Been one of the Rabbitohs' best in an otherwise disappointing season and racked up seven tackle busts, two line breaks and 154 run metres against the Dragons.
3. Dane Gagai (Knights)
With his time at the Knights quickly drawing to an end Gagai gave the Newcastle faithful something to remember him by with another starring performance against the Warriors in which he ran for 142m and had an incredible 11 tackle busts.
4. Tyrone Peachey (Panthers)
Scored the first try of the game in rather fortuitous circumstances but even prior to that he had threatened to tear the Tigers to shreds on the left edge and continued to pose a threat for the entire 80 minutes. Finished with eight tackle busts and 199 run metres.
5. Suliasi Vunivalu (Storm)
Broke the record for the most tries scored by any player in their first two seasons in the premiership with his sixth double of the season, staying one clear of his Storm teammate Josh Addo-Carr who also crossed twice against the Cowboys.
6. Anthony Milford (Broncos)
As the Titans wilted Milford came into his own, causing havoc through the middle of the ruck in the second half. Showed incredible speed to get to Ben Hunt's grubber kick first and then race away and score and provided the spark for the spectacular four-pointer scored by James Roberts.
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)
Another stellar performance from the Manly No.7 who helped to engineer a comeback from 18-4 down to win 36-18, scoring a crucial try and challenging the Roosters' line with an enormous 169 run metres and six tackle busts.
8. Junior Paulo (Raiders)
Up against the premiership-winning Sharks pack Paulo stepped up to the challenge with 204 run metres, two offloads and three tackle busts to set the Raiders on their way to their upset win.
9. Ben Hunt (Broncos)
Held back from the initial onslaught, Hunt came onto the field wearing the No.9 jersey in the 20th minute and orchestrated an attacking exhibition, scoring three tries and having a hand in three others as the Broncos ran riot.
10. Martin Taupau (Sea Eagles)
Massive second half from the Manly prop, running for 111 metres from 10 carries, almost half of which came after contact. Gave his playmakers the platform from which to launch their comeback.
11. Josh Papalii (Raiders)
Made up for spending two weeks on the sidelines with a barnstorming display, scoring a try and running for 164 metres with five tackle busts.
12. John Sutton (Rabbitohs)
The match was seemingly out of reach with six minutes to play against the Dragons on Friday night before Sutton took matters into his own hands, scoring a try under the posts to get his team back within reach and then showing wonderful awareness and touch to create the space for Goodwin's match-tying try in the corner.
13. Nathan Brown (Eels)
Went off early with a head knock but got back to business as soon as he returned, terrorising the Bulldogs through the middle third with four offloads to go with his 187 run metres and 35 tackles.
Interchange
14. Josh Hodgson (Raiders)
A return to his favoured position at hooker worked wonders for the Raiders as the crafty No.9 scored a try in the first half and set up one other as Canberra raced out to a 24-8 lead by the half-time break.
15. Daniel Alvaro (Eels)
The loss of Nathan Brown inside five minutes looked like it might hurt the Eels but Alvaro wasted no time in picking up the slack, carrying Bulldogs defenders across the line for the first try of the game and revelling in the extra minutes, finishing with 126m, 29 tackles and five tackle busts.
16. Adam Blair (Broncos)
A tally of 97 metres and 19 tackles doesn't sound like much of a haul for a front-rower but Blair set an aggressive tone in defence that rattled the Titans and helped to assert a clear physical dominance for his team. Ash Taylor and Kane Elgey will be having nightmares for weeks.
17. Mitch Barnett (Knights)
In the space of 10 minutes had doubled his career try-scoring tally to four and set his side on the way to a convincing win over the Warriors. Made 101 metres and 37 tackles with five tackle busts in a typically hard-working display.
