Brits Down Under: Williams scores first NRL try, Burgess racks up metres & Sutton shines

We have taken a look at how the British contingent got on in round eight of the NRL season.

George Williams

Another game and another chip over the top try assist for the 25-year-old as a perfectly timed kick allowed Bailey Simonsson to score great try in a 22-16 victory over the Dragons on Friday. Overall, Williams notched his eighth try assist of the year along with a line break while showcasing his running skills to find his way through the St George Illawarra defence and score his first ever try in the NRL. The former Wigan half-back proved once again how well he is adjusting to the NRL competition and in total Williams now has the joint second most try assists in the league (8) as well as the joint second most line breaks by a Canberra player this year (4).

Tom Burgess

After a disappointing loss to Penrith the week before, Souths bounced back to winning ways with victory over Canterbury in the last game of round eight. The 28-year-old even continued his fine form as he made the most metres by a Rabbitohs forward throughout the game with 148. The hard-running prop forward continued his great work in defence after recording the fourth most tackles by a member of South Sydney with 28 to his name. Altogether, Burgess is the leading metre maker for the Bunnies so far this year with 1,034 alongside making the third most tackles with 211.

Elliott Whitehead

The former Bradford and Catalans again showed his tenacity, creativity and strength as the Raiders held on to beat a valiant St George Illawarra side. The 30-year-old was able to read the game brilliantly and just like last week against Parramatta, he showed his silky ball handling skills after pulling out another dummy pass to break the Dragons defensive line as Canberra piled on the pressure in the first half. In doing so, the exceptional back-rower recorded his eighth line break of the season and overall, he stands as the Raiders’ leader in that category for the year.

There was a slight scare for Whitehead during the game though as he would depart the field with an apparent injury in the second half but was cleared to return late on in the game. As the Raiders face the Storm next week, Ricky Stuart will no doubt he hoping Whitehead is back at 100% fitness and at his high quality best once more.

Josh Hodgson

The 30-year-old was again the leading tackler for the Raiders in their win over the Dragons after totalling 41 throughout the game. Over the course of eight rounds, Hodgson’s 325 tackles easily make him Canberra’s leading tackler as well as placing himself inside the top 10 for the entire league. The dynamic dummy half also continues to pull the strings in attack as his partnership with halves duo Jack Wighton and George Williams has certainly become a joy to watch when the Raiders click offensively.

Herbie Farnworth

The Broncos torrid start to the year continued Saturday after suffering their sixth straight defeat with a tough loss to the Warriors despite leading 10-0. The 20-year-old does keep making a name for himself in the Brisbane set up though as he scored the Queensland side’s third try of the game, making it two tries in two games for the rising star. The Lancashire-born speedster has the seventh most metres by a Brisbane player this year with 604.

Ryan Sutton

The 25-year-old made his way from the bench into the Raiders starting 13 this time round and altogether Sutton probably put forth his best game for Canberra since the league got back underway at the end of May. Overall, the former Wigan man put in plenty of effort on the defensive side of the ball with 37 tackles as well as showing his hard-running qualities with 109 metres from 16 carries. Since making his return to the squad, Sutton continues to put forth some solid and impressive displays from both an attacking and defensive standpoint, averaging 85 run metres and 27 tackles per game.

Watch NRL and live stream every NRL game to keep up with how Tom Burgess, John Bateman, Ryan Sutton, Elliott Whitehead and George Williams and all the others are getting on Down Under.

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