Hopgood, Fonua-Blake among big men in Round 9 Team of the Week
Powerhouse performances from J'maine Hopgood and Dylan Brown saw the Parramatta pair not only lead the Eels to an important win over the Knights but also secure their place in the Round 9 VB Hard Earned Index Team of the Week.
In a 74-minute effort at lock, Hopgood (103 points) put his hand up for 18 carries and achieved hauls of eight metres or more in nine of them, in addition to getting through 41 tackles in Parramatta's 43-12 win over the Knights.
Hopgood was joined in the Team of the Week by five-eighth Brown (77 points) who churned through some work with nine carries for eight metres or more, seven line engagements and 25 tackles.
Meanwhile, the Raiders' thrilling golden-point victory over the Dolphins saw three of their stars feature in the Team of the Week with Corey Horsburgh (96 points) putting his hand up for 20 carries and 30 tackles at lock.
Horsburgh was joined by centre Matt Timoko (69 points) and prop Josh Papali'i (85 points).
Warriors forward Addin Fonua-Blake topped the round for index points with 104, in a performance at lock which included 22 carries, 17 over eight metres, nine decoy runs and 32 tackles.
The effort of Titans winger Phillip Sami (77 points) was a feature again in Round 9, as the speedster put his hand up for a massive 24 carries, with 12 of them ending in gains of eight metres or more and six tackle busts.
Sami was joined in the Team of the Week by teammate David Fifita (85 points) who took 19 carries, 12 more than eight metres and broke five tackles.
And after defeating the reigning premiers to break their 12-game losing streak in Bathurst on Saturday, Wests Tigers forwards David Klemmer (84 points) and Alex Twal (85 points) both earnt a place in last Round's Team of the Week.
VB Hard Earned Index: Round 9
- James Tedesco (Roosters) – 67 points
- Phillip Sami (Titans) – 77 points
- Matt Timoko (Raiders) – 69 points
- Campbell Graham (Rabbitohs) – 68 points
- Braidon Burns (Bulldogs) – 64 points
- Dylan Brown (Eels) – 77 points
- Nicho Hynes (Sharks) – 56 points
- Josh Papali’i (Raiders) – 85 points
- Blayke Brailey (Sharks) – 57 points
- David Klemmer (Wests Tigers) – 84 points
- David Fifita (Titans) – 85 points
- Teig Wilton (Sharks) – 84 points
- Addin Fonua-Blake (Warriors) – 104 points
- J’maine Hopgood (Eels) – 103 points
- Corey Horsburgh (Raiders) – 96 points
- Jack de Belin (Dragons) – 95 points
- Alex Twal (Wests Tigers) – 85 points
Stats for the VB Hard Earned Index and Team of the Week are provided via Fox Sports.
