Super League Team of the Week including Hull FC trio, Warrington Wolves & Leigh Leopards stars
From left to right: Jack Walker, Luke Yates & Lachlan Lam all feature in our Team of the Week from Round 18
After much debate at Love Rugby League HQ, we’ve settled on our Super League Team of the Week from Round 18.
There was a whole host of top performers over the weekend with some absolutely thrilling games, so this was a difficult week in terms of our selection!
Here are our picks, with no fewer than seven of the 12 Super League clubs represented this week…
1. Jack Walker (Hull FC)
Through a combination of injury and not being selected, Walker had gone over two months without playing a game at senior level when he was recalled by Hull for the visit of world champions Wigan. He delivered with a try, making 103 metres and six big tackles in defence to help the Black and Whites to a memorable 24-22 victory.
2. Ryan Hall (Hull KR)
Crossing over to the other side of the city, and KR also picked up a win this weekend – beating Leeds 20-12 at Headingley. Veteran winger Hall, who will re-join the Rhinos in 2025, put on a terrific performance against his future (and former) employers as he scored a try and made 152 metres. Only one man on the pitch, Leeds centre Harry Newman, made more ground.
3. Sam Halsall (Huddersfield Giants)
Halsall had a big hand as Huddersfield picked up a first win in five with their 16-8 victory at home against Salford, making a whopping 189 metres – the most of anyone on the field – and coming up with a try. The youngster has slotted in at centre effortlessly in recent weeks following Esan Marsters’ injury, and also chipped in with 19 tackles in defence.
4. Ed Chamberlain (Hull FC)
Back to Hull, and to centre Chamberlain, whose defensive efforts in his first game back at the MKM Stadium as a loanee contributed heavily to their win against Wigan. The Ireland international delivered with 23 tackles, including three on the marker to halt attacks before they’d got started. He also made six clean breaks in attack to help FC up the field, too.
5. Liam Marshall (Wigan Warriors)
Marshall is the only man in this Team of the Week who ended up on the losing side, but his stats back up exactly why he deserves his spot. He sped over for two tries to extend his lead at the top of the charts this year, and looked like he’d sparked a comeback with the latter of those. In addition, his return of 192 metres made was comfortably the most of anyone on the field.
6. Lachlan Lam (Leigh Leopards)
Lam’s name had been on everyone’s lips leading up to Leigh‘s Round 18 clash with London, and continues to be so, but he showed no sign of letting transfer talk play on his mind with a man of the match showing as the Leopards beat the Broncos 36-6. The Papua New Guinea international scored a try, got two assists, and made everything look effortless. A man in demand.
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7. Mikey Lewis (Hull KR)
Lewis also got over for a try – and kicked two goals – as KR won away against Leeds, and is another playmaker who simply oozes quality. Kicking one 40/20 in a game is a rarity, but kicking two is just superb, and he did exactly that to get the Robins on the front foot. Officially 95 metres made by Lewis on the day, but so many more were earned through him.
8. Luke Yates (Warrington Wolves)
It was a whirlwind week for Yates, whose move to Warrington was fast-tracked and he was thrown straight in at the deep end by Wolves boss Sam Burgess having trained just twice alongside his new team-mates. You wouldn’t have known that as he put in a man of the match performance as Wire won 24-10 at St Helens despite an early red card. 29 perfectly executed tackles. Beast!
9. Liam Horne (Castleford Tigers)
Hull FC’s Denive Balmforth had this spot until Sunday, when PNG ace Horne put in a man of the match performance to help Castleford pick up a 24-18 win at home against Catalans. The hooker scored two first-half tries, including an opportunistic first, and delivered 28 tackles in defence to help them get over the line.
10. Chris Hill (Huddersfield Giants)
In Huddersfield’s win against Salford, 36-year-old Hill made a whopping 104 metres in the space of 14 carries, the second-highest return of anyone in the Giants’ forward pack. But it’s his 25 tackles in a contest which had little in it for most of the 80 minutes that have earned him his spot in this Team of the Week.
11. Adam Holroyd (Warrington Wolves)
It feels criminal to say young gun Holroyd didn’t do *that* much in attack for Wire given he scored an absolutely pivotal try in their win at Saints, but we’ve thrown him in this Team of the Week for his ridiculous efforts in defence.
An hour with a man less on the field, and 10 minutes with two fewer following fellow back-rower Matty Nicholson’s sin-binning, and Holroyd delivered a mammoth performance. 31 tackles made, including three on the marker, was the joint-highest of anyone in primrose and blue alongside Ben Currie.
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12. Alex Mellor (Castleford Tigers)
We’ve all been sleeping on Alex Mellor these past few weeks. It can’t be underestimated just how much him stepping up his own game has elevated Cas’ overall performance and with that has come results. He made 177 metres as they beat Catalans, and helped them over the line with a lung-busting effort to pin Arthur Mourgue in his own in-goal area late on. So good from the big man!
13. Yusuf Aydin (Hull FC)
Aydin took on a new role as he slotted in at loose for Hull, and put in another really high quality performance as they beat Wigan, making 21 tackles including five on the marker. More impressive was his lung-busting run upfield which resulted in Balmforth’s try that proved decisive in the end. The big man is loving life in West Hull, that’s for sure!