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. Clinton Gutherson (c). Club: Parramatta Eels. SOO appearances: 3. TOTW appearances: 2.
The Parramatta captain is the heart and soul of the Eels and had a field day putting a major dent in the finals hopes of the Brisbane Broncos. King Gutho scored two tries, ran for 189 metres, made a line break, had two try assists, a line break assist, five tackle busts and six offloads. That’s not bad form to be taking into the Eels’ final match of the regular season against Melbourne Storm.
2. Taylan May. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW appearances: 4.
May has had a breakout season at the foot of the mountains and was too strong for the Warriors. The young Panthers flyer scored two tries, ran for 171 metres, had three line breaks, a try assist and six tackle busts.
3. Stephen Crichton. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 3. TOTW appearances: 5.
Crichton has been one of several Panthers to step up in the absence of suspended halfback Nathan Cleary and turned in another eye-catching performance against the Warriors. The Penrith centre had a haul of 18 points from a try and seven conversions, ran for 78 metres, had two try assists, two line break assists, a line break and six tackle busts.
4. Zac Lomax. Club: St George Illawarra Dragons. SOO appearances: 3. TOTW appearances: 0.
The Dragons had to dig deep to overcome a spirited Wests Tigers outfit that was looking to rebound from their embarrassing loss to Melbourne Storm. Lomax answered the call with a strong game that included a try, a try assist, a line break assist, 153 running metres, six tackle busts, a one-on-one steal and a clutch penalty from the sideline at the end to secure a thrilling win.
5. Brian To’o. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 6. TOTW appearances: 4.
To’o has always been a metre-eater for the Panthers and was back to his barnstorming best against the Warriors. He scored two tries, ran for 199 metres, had two line breaks and seven tackle busts in a nice tune-up for the final game of the regular season against North Queensland Cowboys.
6. Matt Moylan. Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. SOO appearances: 3. TOTW appearances: 3.
Moylan has turned back the clock at the Sharks this season and his combination with new recruit Nicho Hynes has been a huge part of their success this season. Against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs he two try assists, two line break assists, a line break, 137 running metres and a one-on-one steal.
7. Sean O’Sullivan. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW appearances: 2.
O’Sullivan has done a sterling job stepping in for the suspended Nathan Cleary at halfback and had a crucial role in keeping the Panthers’ Minor Premiership charge on track. He was at his scheming best against the Warriors. He scored a try, had a try assist, two line break assists, 121 running metres, five tackle busts, 20 tackles without a miss and 358 kicking metres.
8. Junior Paulo. Club: Parramatta Eels. SOO appearances: 9. TOTW appearances: 4.
For a player who makes an average 11 hit-ups a game, he had 18 runs against the Broncos on Suncorp Stadium for 160 metres – 88 of those post-contact.
In his 49 minutes he had a line-break assist, a try assist, two tackle-busts, two off-loads, and made 16 tackles without missing any. You’d think Paulo was celebrating a milestone game – well he will be during the first week of the NRL finals as he currently sits on game No.198.
9. Tom Starling. Club: Canberra Raiders. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW appearances: 1.
It’s never too late to impress and make it on the NSW TOTW list – even in the second last game of the club season. But to be fair, Starling has been constantly worrying defences all year.
He just comes up against hot competition in the No.9 role with the likes of Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues hookers Damien Cook and Api Koroisau.
But he scored just his second try of 2022 in the Raiders’ 42-point win over Manly – he’s only scored eight in five seasons of NRL – but ran for 78 metres in his 55 minutes on the field, while creating his seventh try assist for the year. He also made 22 tackles for a 100 per cent efficiency rate and gave away no penalties.
10. Blake Lawrie. Club: St George Illawarra Dragons. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW appearances: 3.
Lawrie earns his third TOTW nomination in helping the Dragons turn around a 16-6 halftime deficit into a 24-22 win over the Wests Tigers at CommBank Stadium.
Firstly, he made 34 tackles – the highest of any of his teammates – while making 19 runs for 186 metres, 79 of which were kick-return metres and 54 post-contact. He also had a tackle bust and an off-load for his 57 minutes’ work.
11. Shaun Lane. Club: Parramatta Eels. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW appearances: 4.
Lane is becoming a familiar face on our list and it’s hard to argue he’s not the form second-rower in the competition at present with 12 line-break assists, 29 off-loads… and counting.
Against the Broncos, Lane had 14 runs for 153 metres, 50 pot-contact, 1 line-break, 1 line-break assist, a try assist, four off-loads and 13 tackle-busts.
12. Hudson Young. Club: Canberra Raiders. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW appearances: 4.
Someone who is giving Lane a run for his money is Young, who began work early against Manly by scooping up a loose ball, breaking out of a couple of tackles before Xavier Savage finished things off for the Raiders second of nine tries.
Then he scored two of his own off the back of two line-breaks, 13 runs for 122 metres, breaking out of five tackles and making 17 himself.
13. Cameron Murray. Club: South Sydney Rabbitohs. SOO appearances: 10. TOTW appearances: 5.
In the absence of Damiek Cook, Murray took over the role as the Rabbitohs’ highest tackler (37), missing just one. But he also made the most runs of all his teammates, with 24 for 161 metres.
Add into the mix three tackle-busts and two off-loads and you can see why Murray is not only a most valuable member of the Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues, but the captain of such a revered and historic club like South Sydney.
