Stirring results and starring performances were the theme of Round 13 as the first Origin-affected week saw a big shake up across the competition.
Returning halfback Mitch Moses was straight back in the Team of the Week after starring in his first game back from injury while several Dragons also featured after their dominant display over Penrith.
1. Scott Drinkwater (Cowboys)
A star showing from the Cowboys’ No. 1 in Sunday’s upset over the Roosters. Drinkwater had a hand in everything and helped ignite his side’s dominant second half attacking display. Finished with a try, an assist and a superb cover tackle on English winger Dom Young to save the match.
2. Sione Finau (Dragons)
Had a day out on the Dragons right edge for his first appearance for the season to help his side to a big upset over the Panthers. Ran for 184 metres, broke six tackles and was also solid in defence.
3. Will Penisini (Eels)
Like the rest of the Parra backline, Penisini benefitted hugely from the return of Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson and he got a big night for the struggling club started with a try on 11 minutes. Trucked the ball out of yardage with enthusiasm to gain 184 metres from 16 carries of the footy.
4. Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins)
Looking right at home on the Dolphins’ left edge, Farnworth kept his side in the match right until the dying stages with several damaging runs and some quality deliveries to winger Jack Bostock. Topped his side’s run metres with 208 and also had five tackle breaks and two offloads.
Jack Bostock Try
5. Ronaldo Mulitalo (Sharks)
A shining light in the losing side, the Kiwi winger stood up in the absence of Origin call ups Cam McInnes and Nicho Hynes. Running for an incredible 232 metres and breaking nine tackles, Mulitalo did everything he could to ignite a comeback after the Eels skipped out to an early lead on Thursday night.
6. Dylan Brown (Eels)
Complemented his returning halfback perfectly in the halves, taking on the line on and using his swift running game to torment the Sharks on both sides of the field. Finished with 144 metres, eight tackle breaks and topped it off with a try late in the match.
Mitchell Moses Highlights vs. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
7. Mitch Moses (Eels)
Breathed new life into Parramatta’s attack in his first game back since Round 3 to lead his side to a morale boosting victory over Cronulla. Didn’t miss a beat for the 80-minutes and had 10 runs for 90m, a try assist and a line break assist. Also kicked superbly, punting the ball 652 metres to take control in key moments of the match. But his stats don't do justice what a difference Moses made to the Parramatta outfit on Thursday.
8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Eels)
A powerhouse showing up front which included 179 run metres, the most by any forward on the field. RCG played a big role in the Eels getting the better of a highly-rated Sharks pack. He also made 27 tackles without a single miss in a 63-minute stint up front.
9. Reed Mahoney (Bulldogs)
The crafty hooker stepped up in the absence of Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton to get his side on a roll late in the match. Controlled the ruck from dummy half and set up two tries to go with his 48 tackles.
Making Mahoney moves
10. Joseph Tapine (Raiders)
A colossal effort on both sides of the ball, with the Kiwi Test star making 50 tackles with just one miss in addition to putting his hand up for 22 carries for a touch over 200 metres. Raiders coach Ricky Stuart singled Tapine out for praise post-match and said he was in career-best form, which is hard to argue with when he’s serving up performances like this.
11. Jacob Preston (Bulldogs)
After having to bide his time on the interchange over the past month following his return from a broken jaw, this was Preston’s best game of the season as he ran in two four-pointers in addition to proving a try-saver at the other end with some key defensive interventions.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner Try
12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Dragons)
After a run of injury-riddled seasons, ‘RFM’ is back playing his best footy and put in a big shift for the Dragons to upset the defending premiers on Saturday. His game-sealing try late on was icing on the cake, but he’d already enjoyed a good performance by that point which included making 45 tackles and carrying for 164 metres. The one-time Kiwis Test player is proving to be an astute pickup by coach Shane Flanagan.
13. Lindsay Smith (Panthers)
Put in by far his biggest stint up front this season, grinding out 80 at lock after Moses Leota went down with a hamstring injury early in the match. Did everything he could to wrestle momentum back against the Dragons with 126 metres off 14 hit ups and also came up with 61 tackles, ten behind fellow forward Liam Henry who had 71.
14. Kaeo Weekes (Raiders)
Faced with a shootout against the Dolphins, the young playmaker didn’t flinch and came up with some huge individual moments late on. His try just before the hour mark was one of those, but he also had some impressive defensive plays, including a try-saver close to the line on Jake Averillo inside the final 15 minutes. Kicked Canberra around the park well too.
15. Terrell May (Roosters)
Another strong showing in what has been an impressive start to the season for the Roosters backrower. Got through a mountain of work in defence when the Cowboys dominated possession late in that match, finishing with a team-high 51 tackles and zero misses. Also stood up in attack in the absence of Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins (Origin), with an impressive first half try, 147 run metres and nine tackle breaks.
16. Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys)
The North Queensland veteran wound back the clock with an energised performance off the bench on Sunday. Made his presence known after entering the fray 16 minutes into the contest and went on to run more metres than any other Cowboy with a tireless 184 metre effort with the ball - 73 of which were post contact – and busted eight tackles in the process.
Marschke slices through
17. Jesse Marschke (Dragons)
A huge performance filling in as the team’s chief playmaker in the absence of Ben Hunt on Origin duty. The 26-year-old has previously played at hooker and off the bench for the Red V but took his first opportunity wearing the No. 7 in the NRL with both hands. Setting up two tries and controlling the game off the boot, Marschke made a big statement in the Dragons’ upset win over Penrith.
