With the league leaders and a play-off place being decided in the penultimate round of Super League, there were some key individual displays that have not got the recognition they deserve.
Andy Ackers
There were a number of players who were near faultless in Salford’s win over Castleford, including Watkins, Sneyd and of course Brodie Croft. However, Ackers had a lot to do with the positive things Salford did, he consistently made the right decision and gave Brodie Croft the ball with as much as space as possible. With eight runs from dummy half and over 100 metres made, he made Sneyd and Croft’s job much easier. He has been instrumental to Salford all year and could be the difference in the play-offs.
Josh Thewlis
Despite falling short, Warrington put in a solid effort against Huddersfield despite having nothing to play for. It was another fantastic display from Matt Dufty, who scored four tries. Youngster Josh Thewlis also impressed and looked dangerous in attack. He broke more tackles than any player on the pitch, as well as the second most metres of any Warrington player. With lots of recruitment likely in the off-season, he will need to battle for his starting position.
Joe Chan
The Melbourne bound 20-year-old showed exactly why he’s been picked up by the NRL side as Catalans won a huge game at home to Leeds. He made the second most metres of any forward on the pitch with 132. He was equally impressive in defence as he completed 23 tackles. With bodies coming back at the right time for Catalans, if they can have everyone at the top of their game they will hope to make a statement in the play-offs.
Kyle Evans
Once again Wakefield’s main man Lewis Murphy has stolen the headlines scoring four tries in the win over St Helens. However, Kyle Evans was also brilliant on the other wing. He made more metres than any other player on the pitch, and made six tackle breaks to keep Wakefield on the front foot, and got himself an assist.
Mitieli Vulikijapani
Towards the end of an underwhelming season for Hull FC, there has been some impressive individual performances in the last couple of weeks. One of these came from centre Vulikijapani in their 38-12 win against Toulouse. He scored two tries but was brilliant throughout, as he made 193 metres as well as five tackle breaks.
