SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 20: Apisai Koroisau of the Panthers looks on during a Penrith Panthers NRL training session at Panthers Stadium on October 20, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Last week might have seen 11 teams’ players included in the team of the week, but that isn’t the case in Round 15 as the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers dominate.
The Panthers have five inclusions, while the Storm have four in this week’s side, taking nine spots in total between them.
With more than half the team selected out of two clubs under our stats-based algorithm, and that being followed up by the selection of three Canberra Raiders’ players, as well as two Canterbury Bulldogs, the entire team is made up out of only seven clubs.
The remaining players are from the North Queensland Cowboys, Parramatta Eels and Cronulla Sharks.
A reminder that the team of the week is picked completely objectively, all based on an algorithm that calculates each player’s stats and generates a total score.
The interchange players must also play from the bench.
Here is the Round 15 team.
1. Dylan Edwards (Penrith Panthers)
Dylan Edwards has returned to the team after playing a leading role for the Panthers as they demolished the Warriors to the tune of 40 points to 6 in Redcliffe.
He made 209 metres, scored a try, added four tackle breaks and a line break, and was solid in defence all afternoon.
2. Brian To’o (Penrith Panthers)
To’o is recapturing his best-form as the NRL’s best metre-eater after returning from that early-season injury, and has been picked in the team for the second time in a row.
He made 217 metres, scored a double and added two tackle breaks and two line breaks, to go with 88 of his metres being the post-contact variety.
3. Valentine Holmes (North Queensland Cowboys)
Valentine Holmes recorded this week’s highest score, scorching the Sea Eagles in a stunning comeback.
He at times appeared to be single-handidly keeping his team in the game, scoring the Cowboys’ first try and running for a staggering 270 metres before scoring the match winner just minutes before fulltime.
4. Stephen Crichton (Penrith Panthers)
Crichton was part of an all-conquering backline against the Warriors, and will now go into NSW Blues camp for Game 2 with a starting spot after playing Game 1 from the bench.
He managed 193 metres, two try assists, two line breaks, a tackle break and was widely thought to be the best player on the park in the clash.
5. Jacob Kiraz (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Kiraz continues to stamp his authority on a permanent starting spot in Mick Potter’s side, scoring a try and playing a strong game against the Tigers.
He also had 77 metres, a line break, a try assist, five tackle busts, an offload, and more importantly for the winger, 17 tackles without a miss.
6. Cameron Munster (Melbourne Storm)
Both Melbourne halves were phenomenal against the Broncos in getting the Storm to come back from an early scare.
Munster’s running game has gone to another level this season, and he continued that form on Friday, making 157 metres with the ball in hand , to go with a try, 15 tackles and 125 kicking metres.
7. Jahrome Hughes (Melbourne Storm)
Hughes had his best game in a number of weeks as the Storm overcame the Broncos, scoring a double to take this week’s second highest score on the algorithm, just a single point behind Valentine Holmes.
Edging out Nathan Cleary and Nicho Hynes for the number seven jersey in this side, he added to his double with a try assist, 91 metres, two tackle breaks, a line break and 226 kicking metres.
8. Tui Kamikamica (Melbourne Storm)
A late promotion to the starting team, Kamikamica is this week’s leading prop, and with good reason.
He was electric with the ball in hand, with the Fijian representative scoring a try, running for almost 140 metres and adding a couple of tackle breaks to go with 26 tackles without a miss.
9. Apisai Koroisau (Penrith Panthers)
Koroisau has put an excellent performance in the bag before he takes Damien Cook’s starting role for the Blues in Game 2. While his running game was strong, it was a pair of try assists and 47 tackles against the Warriors which has him taking this week’s nomination in the hotly-contested number nine jersey.
10. Joseph Tapine (Canberra Raiders)
Tapine continues to be a regular feature in this team, and if there is a more in-form prop in the competition at the moment, he’d have to be playing incredibly good football.
Tapine notched up another 200 metres to go with three tackle busts, but also threw a freakish pass for a try assist.
11. Hudson Young (Canberra Raiders)
Young scored the match-winning try for the Raiders on Sunday afternoon against the Knights, but also came up with a staggering nine tackle breaks from his 17 runs.
They brought with it 139 metres and an offload to go with 33 tackles.
12. Shaun Lane (Parramatta Eels)
The Eels managed to put away the Roosters on Saturday evening, bouncing back from their horror show against the Bulldogs just five days earlier, and Shaun Lane, in an 80-minute performance, could not have played any better than he did.
He had 155 metres, 17 hit ups and was heavily involved with two try assists, two offloads and three line break assists, to go with 25 tackles.
13. Isaah Yeo (Penrith Panthers)
Yeo just continues to go from strength to strength at Penrith. Scoring a try, he was heavily involved on the ball in a complete performance, running for 156 metres.
He added to that with a line break, four tackle breaks and 44 tackles.
14. Corey Horsburgh (Canberra Raiders)
Horsburgh has become a real force off the bench for the Raiders during their resurgence playing in the middle third, and did more of the same against the Knights with 137 metres, of which 57 were post-contact, to go with 3 offloads and 28 tackles.
15. Teig Wilton (Cronulla Sharks)
Wilton being bounced back to the bench at the Sharks may be one of the more surprising storylines floating around the competition at the moment, but the Cronulla edge forward put in another strong performance on Sunday with a try assist, a trio of tackle breaks and a strong defensive performance.
16. Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Canterbury Bulldogs)
If there is a better news story than Raymond Faitala-Mariner’s return to the NRL, I’m yet to hear about it, and now he has made the team of the week.
Playing almost an hour from the bench, he ran for 165 metres and made two offloads.
17. Josh King (Melbourne Storm)
King might have been demoted to the bench for the Brisbane clash, but he simply got on with the job at hand once he came onto the field, running for 99 metres in 42 minutes, to go with 25 tackles at 100 per cent to sneak into this week’s team with the final spot on the bench.
Source:: ZeroTackle
