World Cup Round 3: Team of the Week

Love Rugby League have selected their Team of the Week from the third round of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (NEW ZEALAND)

The 28-year-old was loverugbyleague.com’s man of the match in the game between New Zealand and Tonga last weekend. He didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.

SULIASI VUNIVALU (FIJI)

Well, what more can be said about the 21-year-old? He is one of the best wingers in the world right now and he makes scoring tries look easy. He grabbed eight-minute hat-trick in Fiji’s win over Italy. He has scored eight tries in three group games so far.

CAMERON MUNSTER (AUSTRALIA)

The 23-year-old is a well decorated player already in his career. He won the NRL Premiership in 2017 with Melbourne while also making his State of Origin debut for Queensland. He scored two tries in Australia’s 34-0 win over Lebanon and looks a great player for the future.

LACHLAN STEIN (SCOTLAND)

The Penrith Panthers starlet has been one of the most underrated players in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The 21-year-old is a hard-working centre and even though Scotland haven’t had the best of tournaments, Stein has enjoyed a fine couple of weeks and was great in their 14-14 draw with Samoa.

DAVID FUSITU’A (TONGA)

The 23-year-old has been a star player for New Zealand Warriors in the NRL since 2014 and has been remarkable for Tonga this tournament. He was one of the players to switch his allegiance from New Zealand to Tonga and he came to haunt the Kiwis at the weekend. The winger scored a hat-trick as Tonga beat New Zealand 28-22 in Hamilton.

DANNY ADDY (SCOTLAND)

The 26-year-old will be back in the Betfred Super League next year and rightly so, because he is a really good player on his day. He filled in at stand-off in the absence of Danny Brough and did a great job. He was the best player on the park in Scotland’s draw with Samoa and controlled the game excellently with his kicking.

LACHLAN LAM (PAPUA NEW GUINEA)

Lam, the son of former Wigan Warriors star Adrian Lam, is only 19 years of age and is one of the most promising players in the game. The Sydney Rooster made his international debut for Papua New Guinea at the weekend and scored two tries in the Kumuls’ win over USA. He controlled the game and the Queensland Academy representative looks to be a future star.

JARED WAEREA-HARGREAVES (NEW ZEALAND)

The 28-year-old is still one of the best props in the world and has been since making his Sydney Roosters debut back in 2010. He wound Tonga up last weekend and caused them a lot of problems with his powerful carries through the middle.

JAMES ROBY (ENGLAND)

The St Helens star has left people scratching their heads as to why he has been out of the England set up for the two years prior to the 2017 Rugby League World Cup because he has simply been sensational. He turns 32 a week today but he made 51 tackles in England’s win over France.

LUKE PAGE (PAPUA NEW GUINEA)

The 26-year-old has been brilliant for Papua New Guinea so far in the World Cup and had his best game yet as the Kumuls thrashed USA in Port Moresby. The prop made his NRL debut in 2015 for St George Illawarra but has been playing for Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup since 2016. He would be a great coup for a Super League side.

OLIVER ROBERTS (IRELAND)

The 22-year-old has gone under the radar in Super League this season but has been a consistent performer for Huddersfield Giants. He made loverugbyleague.com’s Team of the Week for Round 2 and has made it again after a strong performance for Ireland in their 34-6 victory over Wales. He also crossed the whitewash twice.

JOE PHILBIN (IRELAND)

The 22-year-old made his debut for Warrington Wolves back in 2014 and has flourished ever since. He made his Ireland debut last year and was one of their best forwards in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Alongside Roberts, he was a stand-out in their win over Wales and he is an explosive player who causes problems for defences with his strong carries.

JASON TAUMALOLO (TONGA)

The 24-year-old is the best forward in the world and has been the player most talked about at the World Cup so far, purely for the fact that he switched allegiance from New Zealand to Tonga. He helped Tonga create history as they became the first second-tier nation to beat a tier-one side at the weekend as they edged past New Zealand 28-22 and Taumalolo was simply brilliant.

Do you agree with our Team of the Week? Or should someone else be in the list? Let us know in the comments below.