It helps when we’re talking about a superb week for English players: alright, Lewis Dodd barely touched the footy as Souths were smashed by Newcastle, but we have a full back row of England players to pick from – and that doesn’t even include the excellent Morgan Smithies.
Beyond that, there was a lot of good news for NSW selections, with an old stager in James Tedesco and newcomers Jacob Kiraz and Terrell May (again) putting the hand up at the right time.
Oh, and that Cleary bloke goes alright too. The iceman cometh, at exactly the right time for his state.
1. James Tedesco (Roosters)
The Roosters fullback came back with a bang at Magic Round, bouncing off defenders like it was 2019 as he inspired his side to what was, in the end, a quite comfortable victory over the Dolphins.
Teddy’s form has been questioned a fair bit over the last 18 months, sometimes fairly and sometimes unfairly.
On one hand, he’s much older than the average fullback and time waits for no man, but on the other, he played more footy than just about anyone – captaining NSW and Australia – as the overall quality of the Roosters team around him diminished.
Now, he’s arguably back to his best – and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him named in the 1 jumper for Origin in a few weeks’ time.
2. Jacob Kiraz (Bulldogs)
Also on Laurie Daley’s shortlist will be Doggies’ winger Kiraz, who is tough as all hell and plenty skilful too. His offloading, once seen as a flaw under previous custodians, is unbelievable for a guy who plays on the wing and his yardage is as good as it gets.
He’s all elbows and knees – every bit of him looks like it hurts to tackle, and while it’s not often graceful, it’s very effective. A back three of Dylan Edwards or Tedesco, Brian To’o (if he’s ever fit again) and Kiraz would be a real handful out of the backfield.
3. Robert Toia (Roosters)
Trent Robinson does not lightly chuck in debutants, and when Robert Toia was named to start the year, it was taken by many as a sign of decline at Easts.
Toia did a fair bit to prove that wrong in his first appearance, making a key break despite the Roosters’ defeat to Brisbane in Round 1, and has grown from strength to strength since.
Friday night at Magic was his best showing yet: two tries, an assist and a general bullying of the Redcliffe edge defence.
4. Stephen Crichton (Bulldogs)
It’s less of a wrap to say that someone bullied the Titans’ edge defence, especially when it contains Brian Kelly, who inexplicably closes in on 200 games of first grade despite a proven inability to make decisions in the centres.
Stephen Crichton can only play what is in front of him, and he had a field day with it on Sunday. The NSW star was majestic in setting up two tries – three if you include the support line he ran to get Jacob Preston over – and flawless with the boot.
5. Murray Taulagi (Cowboys)
Murray Taulagi owns a particular corner of Magic Round, both metaphorically and literally.
There’s an area of the Suncorp turf – actually beyond the corner post – where he produced the greatest pass in Magic Round history, and one of the best in NRL history, from well off the field, circumventing the flag en route to Scott Drinkwater for the 2022 Try of the Year winner.
He was back at it this time, with his fullback repaying the favour. Two tries for the Samoa international were the result – and they were well earned, too, with more than 200m and a huge ten tackle breaks from the bustling winger.
6. Fletcher Sharpe (Knights)
Whatever you were doing on your 21st birthday, assuming you’ve had one, probably wasn’t as good as Fletcher Sharpe’s.
The mulleted five eighth romped in a hat trick against South Sydney has Newcastle finally remembered how to attack, with Sharpe the beneficiary.
His main outlet is his pace, and many have suggested the youngster might be better off back on the wing finishing rather than in the middle creating, but there might be logic to Adam O’Brien’s plan.
Sharpe has a bit of the Danny McGuire about him, a superb back-up merchant who turns half breaks into full tries. For a side like Newcastle, who struggle even to make half breaks at times, he can be deadly.
7. Nathan Cleary (Panthers)
Why did we ever doubt him? Even when the Panthers weren’t that good, their star man usually was, but lacked the cattle to go with him.
Nathan Cleary is good against everybody, but he seems to take particular delight in facing the Broncos, who were left wondering what happened to them just like they were after the 2023 Grand Final.
Cleary’s try was like going back in time to that sultry night in Homebush, stepping against the grain of Brisbane jerseys and sliding in behind the posts. Even the celebration was almost identical.
8. Terrell May (Tigers)
If the Love Rugby League team of the week had a car park, Terrell May would have his own spot. Every week he makes the cut, and there was no doubt about Magic Round.
It was actually a slack performance for May, the lazy so-and-so, who only played 77 minutes in the front row rather than his standard 80.
Benji Marshall eventually spelled his prop with three minutes to play, but only after another 146m – a third of which post-contact – and 34 tackles in the middle.
9. Reed Mahoney (Bulldogs)
Reed Mahoney is, erm, polarising. He’s the sort of niggly character that makes old blokes lament the no punching rule, a symbol that you can be a little guy with a big mouth and get away with anything these days.
That didn’t happen last week, when Mahoney was hooked after a horrendous showing against Brisbane, provoking much amusement from his legion of detractors.
Undeterred, the hooker bounced back with a typically combative performance to help down the Titans, even crossing for a try alongside the usual 40+ tackles.
10. Mitch Barnett (Warriors)
The Warriors love to have one manic Australian in the pack: it was a job performed by Steve Price once upon a time, then Jacob Lillyman and latterly Mitch Barnett, who looks a certainty to retain his place in the NSW team when it is named in the coming weeks.
Barnett produced a ludicrous 42 tackles in 57 minutes in the front row in the Wahs’ win over the Cowboys, creating the sort of platform on which Luke Metcalf was able to build a performance and win the game for his team.
11. Matty Nicholson (Raiders)
The first of an all-Pommy backrow this week, Matty Nicholson has been a revelation since arriving in Australia.
For Raiders fans, he’s like John Bateman reborn, except replacing the naked aggression with real footy smarts. Nicholson is a perfect complement to Hudson Young on the other edge and is providing a dual threat that few in the NRL can live with.
His pass to get Kaeo Weekes through was not only timely, but also super skilful. It only confirmed Nicholson as one of the standout players of the season so far – and a regular in this team.
12. Kai Pearce-Paul (Knights)
If it’s outstanding offloads by English backrowers that you like, then this week is a double helping after perhaps Kai Pearce-Paul’s best game in a Newcastle jumper in their thrashing of Souths.
The Londoner has flashed his skills at times, but he has also struggled to impact games the way he was able to at Wigan.
That might be down to coaching, too: Adam O’Brien prefers a more conservative style than that in which KPP flourished in England, forcing him to put away his killer offload.
The version of Pearce-Paul that turned up at Magic Round was the one that the Knights were sold: hard-running, high skill level and plenty of power.
Jye Gray mightn’t be the biggest, but nobody has manhandled him the way Kai did. Hopefully the backrower will get this sort of freedom again, because it’s a lot of fun to watch.
13. Victor Radley (Roosters)
It’s an all-England backrow – well, if you include the part of Clovelly that is forever Sheffield.
Victor Radley was back in the middle for the Roosters after a sojourn on the edge, and back playing as the link man too.
He scored twice, but the highlight was a superb pass out inside his own half that resulted in Connor Watson’s try. It was Isaah Yeo-esque: close to the line, well-weighted to draw out the defence and long enough to get the footy into space.
Radley has had a strange old year, in that he’s mostly been good when on the field but his kamikaze tackling technique has seen the lock forward spend a lot of time off it, usually with a headache.
If he can stay on, this is a great starting point for Victor.