Brits Down Under: Sutton continues to shine, Burgess leads from front & young duo impress in NSW Cup
We’ve looked back at the performances and stats of the league’s British contingent in round four of the NRL season.
Herbie Farnworth
A week after securing their first win in 259 days, the Broncos were brought back down to earth with a shuddering halt as Melbourne took them to the sword in a 40-6 loss. Over the last couple of weeks Farnworth has put together some inspirational efforts for Brisbane as he continues to improve week in, week out, showing his attacking spark and toughness in a struggling side. In the defeat to the Storm though, it was to be a slight step back in production but still a solid and determined effort from the 21-year-old as he had 95 metres, 39 post contact metres and 18 tackles.
Ryan Sutton
The former Wigan man was in fine form over the weekend as he put together another monster effort on both sides of the ball to help steer Canberra to a win over Gold Coast. The 25-year-old again proved to be such an effective weapon with the ball in his hand as he made life difficult for the Gold Coast defenders, posting 163 metres, 45 post contact metres, a line break and another try to his name in an outstanding effort. Defensively, Sutton was just as productive wrapping up 33 tackles and overall, he continues to be integral part of Canberra’s forward pack whilst staking his claim for a future England call-up.
Tom Burgess
The 28-year-old was the beating heart of the Rabbitohs forward pack once more as his side’s impressive start to the season continued after a 38-0 win over Canterbury. The barnstorming prop showed exactly why he is seen as one of the best props in the league as his destructive ball carrying was too hard for the Bulldogs to contain and in total Burgess had 170 metres, 67 post contact metres and 27 tackles in another powerful performance.
George Williams
It was another solid effort from the 26-year-old as the Raiders made it three wins from four games after their victory over the Titans on Saturday. Even though Williams did not register a try assist or a try this time around, he was still in fine form defensively as he secured 31 tackles and a line break assist.
Josh Hodgson
The highly influential dummy half showed exactly why is the ultimate game manager and catalyst for the Raiders. The 31-year-old was vital to the side’s win over Gold Coast after recording a line break assist, a line break, a tackle bust as well as the most tackles in the game by any player with 44. After the first four games of the season, Hodgson leads all Canberra players in tackles with 160 and is joint first alongside Williams in try assists for the Raiders with four.
Elliott Whitehead
The 31-year-old’s dynamism in attack and defence was on show yet again for Canberra as his influence in the side’s back-row should not go unnoticed. In the victory over the Titans, Whitehead had the second most tackles in the game by a Raiders player with 37 to his name whilst also being a key part of the offence as he secured a line break and a try assist.
Dom Young
After making his full NRL debut for Newcastle last week, the 19-year-old was back featuring for the club’s reserve side this week in the New South Wales Cup and was huge part of the side that claimed a dominant victory over the Dragons. The former Huddersfield youngster put together a game of true promise showing brutal finishing to score two tries in five minutes along with racking up 106 metres from seven carries, six tackle breaks, two line breaks, a line break assist and a try assist in a great display. The only downside saw Young forced off the field due to a knee injury seemingly sustained in the process of scoring his second try. However, the powerful centre showed us why exactly he was so highly touted with his classy first half showing one to remember and with that hopefully he can shake off any potential injury issues before the next game.
Harry Rushton
The 19-year-old was back in action for Canberra’s reserve side in the New South Wales Cup over the weekend and showed plenty of promise as the Raiders thrashed the Newton Jets 60-20. The former Wigan youngster posted 109 metres, 48 post contact metres, four tackle breaks, a line break and even got his name on the scoresheet after pouncing on a loose ball and charging over the line.
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