The Super League Team of the Week is in for Round 13, and Wigan Warriors dominate after a strong showing in Paris.
Matt Peet’s men backed up their Wembley victory with two points over Catalans Dragons, doing so in quite incredible fashion.
Racing to a 30-6 lead at the break, the Challenge Cup holders would eventually come away with a 40-16 win, with plenty of their stars on full show.
Elsewhere, Leeds Rhinos broke their nine-year home hoodoo against St Helens, whilst Warrington Wolves, Leigh Leopards and Castleford Tigers all picked up wins on Friday night.
Saturday saw Toulouse Olympique defeat Huddersfield Giants and Wakefield Trinity seecure a vital win over Hull KR before that game in the French capital rounded off the weekend.
Following the conclusion of the round, here is our Round 13 Team of the Week.
Super League Round 13 Team of the Week
Full-back: Jai Field (Wigan Warriors)
Having arguably his best game since returning, Field was electric in France, and took just minutes to cross for the opening try of the game.
Adding an assist to his stats as well, Field also came away from that game with 125 metres and eight tackle busts.
Wingers: David Nofoaluma (York Knights) and Innes Senior (Leigh Leopards)
Of the 51 tries scored this weekend, only 12 of them were scored by wingers, which is quite a low stat given you expect the wingers to be the ones to be converting most of the opportunities – back rowers scored 10 of the tries.
Three of the 12 came from York’s David Nofoaluma, who didn’t deserve to be on the losing side on Friday evening.
The Leopards’ Innes Senior joins him in this week’s TOTW, after he not only scored the win over Castleford, but got the bragging rights over twin brother Louis.
Centres: Josh Smith (Warrington Wolves) and Jake Wardle (Wigan Warriors)
Warrington took a scrappy 12-4 win over Hull FC, with both of their tries coming from centre Smith, who also ran for 120 metres.
Is there a better English centre in Super League than Jake Wardle right now? It’s hard to argue against that feat, with the Wigan man putting in another stellar showing this week. Scoring a try and running for 99 metres, you would think that the former Huddersfield back will be on the plane for this year’s World Cup.
Halves: Jack Farrimond (Wigan Warriors)Â and Jake Connor (Leeds Rhinos)
A worldie of a try was only part of Farrimond’s game on Saturday, with the half-back following up his Lace Todd Trophy-winning display with another masterclass. The 20-year-old scored one, assisted another, and guided Wigan around the park like he was a Super League veteran.
After a tense first half at Headingley that saw Leeds trail 16-8 at the break, Connor stepped up and showed why he was the Man of Steel, effectively winning the game for Leeds on his own. Not only did his three penalty goals come at crucial periods of the game, but a monster 40/20 kick got Leeds right back into the ascendancy, which they then capitalised on.
Mason Lino can feel hard done to not make this week’s team, but the fact he was sin-binned just gives Connor the edge.
Props: Mike McMeeken (Wakefield Trinity) and Joe Ofahengaue (Leigh Leopards)
McMeeken was the spearhead of a very dominant Wakefield pack, in which he, Caleb Hamlin-Uele and Caius Faatili all made over 100 metres. The former Castleford and Catalans man ran the most of any Wakefield player with 176, and he also made 28 tackles with zero missed.
Ofahengaue had an absolute stormer of a game against Castleford, playing around 70 minutes, making 171 metres, 36 tackles and three tackle busts. He also produced four offloads which were key to Leigh gaining territory, with Castleford failing to nullify the second-phase threat.
Hooker: Brendan Hands (Toulouse Olympique)
Super League’s top tackler extended his lead at the helm as he made another 34 in the win over Huddersfield. He also produced an excellent 40/20 at a pivotal moment in the game.
Back Row: Mathieu Jussaume (Toulouse Olympique) and Junior Nsemba (Wigan Warriors)
This position could have been taken by a number of candidates, with Henry O’Kane and Dan Russell very lucky to miss out on selection.
However, Jussaume crossed for two tries and make 38 tackles, as well as five tackle busts, for the French side. He continues to be one of Toulouse’s top performers.
Nsemba meanwhile continued his incredible form, scoring one and assisting another. He also ran for 144 metres and made five tackle busts.
Loose Forward: Joe Mellor (Bradford Bulls)
Making his mark with a try on return to the side, Mellor lost his spot as the competition’s top tackler when he picked up an injury. With 41 tackles and zero misses, the ex-Salford man is coming back for top spot.
