Following each week of the NRL season, nswrl.com.au selects the round’s best 13 of New South Wales eligible players. These selections are based on the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSWRL or the selection process for the Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues. Captaincy is awarded based on that week's on-field performance and is not based on club captaincy or leadership qualities.
1. Clint Gutherson (c). Club: Parramatta Eels. SOO appearances: 3. TOTW selections: 1.
The ever-present Gutherson – and TOTW captain for Round Five – stood up in just about all the key moments for his side on Saturday night, with a typically high work rate and no errors to his name.
He scored a first half double, made a line-break and six tackle busts, ran for 196 metres with 99 from kick returns and 53 post-contact, forced one goal-line drop-out and made eight tackles with only one missed.
2. Mathew Feagai. Club: St George Illawarra Dragons. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
The youngster is the first Dragon to appear in TOTW for 2022 after an admirable display against the Rabbitohs in his 10th NRL game. He came up with two line-breaks, a line-break assist, seven tackle busts and two offloads, running for a game-leading 194 metres including 52 post-contact.
3. Kotoni Staggs. Club: Brisbane Broncos. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
Staggs was finally unleashed with a lot of early ball on Friday night and gave the tricolours’ left edge plenty of nightmares in the form of 14 tackle busts and a try. He also produced two line-breaks, one line-break assist, 196 run metres and 18 tackles.
4. Jesse Ramien. Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
After dominating the left side when they were on the attack last week, the Sharks’ right edge took the plaudits in Round Five and Ramien the beneficiary. Ramien scored a try and set up two others, made a line-break and two line-break assists, had eight tackle busts and ran for 147 metres.
5. Josh Addo-Carr. Club: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. SOO appearances: 12. TOTW selections: 1.
Canterbury-Bankstown may have been on the wrong end of the scoreboard against an unbeaten Penrith side, but new recruit Addo-Carr was up for the challenge and is the first Bulldog to feature in TOTW.
Addo-Carr found himself with room to run in the second half and glided around the Panthers’ defence to set up Joe Stimson. He also made one line-break, had 11 tackle busts and ran for 146 metres including 74 from kick returns.
6. Jack Wighton. Club: Canberra Raiders. SOO appearances: 9. TOTW selections: 3.
Wighton is the first of two halves from the weekend to earn a third TOTW selection and remains the shining light in a Raiders team struggling for consistency.
In his Round Five performance, the former Dally M Medal winner recorded a line-break assist, two tackle busts, 155 run metres from 15 runs, 155 kick metres and 11 tackles.
7. Mitchell Moses. Club: Parramatta Eels. SOO appearances: 1. TOTW selections: 3.
Moses has been in a rich vein of form over the past few weeks as yet another TOTW selection suggests, and it only continued in Parramatta’s 26-20 win against Gold Coast.
The Eels’ No.7 produced three try assists and a line-break assist, made one line-break and two tackle busts, converted three from five off the boot, tallied 322 kick metres and made 21 tackles with just two missed.
8. Payne Haas. Club: Brisbane Broncos. SOO appearances: 7. TOTW selections: 4.
Yes, he was in a losing side but you cannot fault Haas’ commitment to his job. His 21 runs against the Roosters netted him 205 metres – the most of anyone at Suncorp Stadium last Friday.
He had three tackle busts, two offloads, made 33 tackles and missed only one. Equally impressive is that his 117kg frame was out on the field for 70 minutes.
9. Damien Cook. Club: South Sydney Rabbitohs. SOO appearances: 12. TOTW selections: 3.
It’s getting monotonous how Cook keeps topping the tackle chart (47 against the Dragons) each week but it’s something Rabbitohs coach Jason Demitriou knows he can count on.
The running game of Cook also brings smiles to South Sydney faces. Seven of his nine runs on Saturday night were from dummy-half and he made 102 metres – most of that off the line-break to set up Latrell Mitchell's try early in the first half.
10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard. Parramatta Eels. SOO appearances: 1. TOTW selections: 2.
He was on the field for 66 minutes but motored every second of that to clock up 241 metres from 20 runs – the highest of anyone in the Eels-Titans game at Cbus Super Stadium.
His post-contact metres reflect the mood RCG was in with a game-topping 104. He still had the energy for 37 tackles (missing one) and touched the ball 24 times, which was the most by any Eel after the two halves and hooker.
11. Haumole Olakau'atu. Club: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
He punches holes or drags defenders along with him nearly every time he touches the ball, becoming a real menace for defenders on Manly’s right edge.
Olakau’atu broke three tackles and made a line-break in his 11 runs, and had 67 post-contact metres from his 130 against the Knights. He also scored the Sea Eagles' fourth try – his second in five games this season.
12. Cameron McInnes. Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
The rugged back-rower is relishing playing again after his knee injury wiped out 2021. He’s lost none of his consistency and energy that worries defences around the ruck, from the moment he comes off the bench.
He had an error-free game in his 57 minutes against the Wests Tigers on Sunday, which included a line-break, one try-assist, an offload and 21 tackles. McInnes also racked up 132 metres from his 13 runs.
13. Josh Curran: Club: New Zealand Warriors. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
Curran’s work rate was impressive against the Cowboys on Friday night with a game-high 54 tackles, but he still had enough in the legs for a sublime right-foot step to score his first try for the year just before halftime.
He made 10 runs for 97 metres and played all 84 minutes in the Golden Point thriller.
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