Another fine fine week of NRC this weekend past with another to come in Week Five. But before we get ahead of ourselves, here is the GAGR NRC Team of Week Four.
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1. Allan Alaalatoa (UC Vikings) – 2 weeks in the team
Back in the TOTW for the 2nd week running for Alaalatoa as he lead a powerful Vikings pack performance in a tight win over the Perth Spirit. Became the fourth prop forward in four weeks to score two tries in a match. [/one_third]
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2. Anara Rangi (Perth Spirit) – 1
Rangi seems to be sharing the hooking spot with the in-form Heath Tessman, having started the last two games. Rangi managed to marshal a pretty effective Spirit scrum on the weekend, against the strong Vikings pack and was prominent ball in hand and strong in defense. Luke Holmes was damn good for the Rays and deserves a mention too. [/one_third]
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3. Sam Talakai (Brisbane City) – 1
Only his first appearance in the TOTW which is somewhat surprising as I think he’s been the form Tight Head Prop of the competition. His scrummaging is on point and is as much as an attacking weapon for Brisbane as is any of the all-star backline.
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4. Ben Hyne (Brisbane City) – 1
Cadeyrn Neville was very prominent for Brisbane, running strongly (and effectively) throughout the game, but it was Hyne’s performance that really caught the eye. The Brisbane Brothers lock never shirks the hard work in his couple of appearances this year and was tireless again last Thursday night making key contributions in defense and attack.[/one_third]
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5. Matt Philip (Sydney Stars) – 2
Philip is back for his second appearance in the TOTW as he stepped up to game to compensate for some big name losses from the Stars outfit. His opposite number, Tom Staniforth, was also strong for the Eagles, but Philip just edges him for this spot because of his rugged work in tight. [/one_third]
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6. Dean Oakman-Hunt (UC Vikings) – 1
In a Super Rugby ladden pack Oakman-Hunt, in his NRC run on debut, really caught the eye. He created momentum for his team early on with a big hit and a turnover to set up his scrumhalf, Joe Powell, for the first try of the game. He then proceeded to spend the rest of the day making a general nuisance of himself in a Fardy-like performance.[/one_third]
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7. Liam Gill (Brisbane City) – 3
Gill’s purple patch just continues to grow with yet another outstanding performance in his team’s bonus point win over the North Harbour Rays at Ballymore on Thursday night. His role (multiple) in the 2nd try of the match really needs to be seen to be believed. Cohen Masson for the Rams and Mark Baldwin of the Eagles were very good, but couldn’t match Gill at his best. [/one_third]
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8. Ita Vaea (UC Vikings) – 3
Ok. I’ll say it. Ita Vaea is the best Australian Number 8 at the moment, here and abroad. I respect this is NRC and not the RWC, but Vaea is playing the type of physical footy I think the Wallabies are looking to play. Once again Vaea was almost unstoppable on both sides of the ball against Perth, who had their own bloody good 8 man performance by Angus Cottrell.
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9. Josh Holmes (North Harbour Rays) – 2
Holmes was really the stand out Ray in their big loss to Brisbane City on Thursday night and probably the reason they were still within touch of City in the 2nd half. Holmes scored his team’s first try to stop the flood of Brisbane tries and give his team some hope. He then remained a constant threat throughout the remainder of the match.
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10. Jono Lance (NSW Country) – 2
How do you make this call? Jono Lance or Sam Greene? Both scored two tries and kicked four conversions for their team, setting respective team records for most points in a match (22). Greene was almost a one man show for Country against the Rams, whilst Lance had more support through his Eagles team, but in the end I went for Lance for the bigger role he had in the Eagle’s upset victory over the Stars.
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11. Alex Northam (North Harbour Rays) – 1
Northam set Ballymore alight on Thursday night scoring a brilliant individual winger’s try with sublime speed and balance and proving hard to coral all night. His spark and speed ensured that it wasn’t all one way traffic to Brisbane at Ballymore and ensured that rugby fans (and opposition defense) will be watching Notham very closely for the rest of the tournament. [/one_third]
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12. David Horwitz (NSW Country) – 1
Horwitz has shown for Randwick and the Australian Under 20s that he is a nippy little play maker with plenty of sparkle to his game. However his game on the weekend showed he has a more physical edge to his repertoire as well, as he was more than willing to take on the defense and do a bit of line bending with some direct, physical running.
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13. Charlie Clifton (NSW Country) – 1
The final element of the Eagle connection in the backline is outside centre Clifton. He’s played the first two games of the year on the wing but relished the chance to play a little closer to the action against the Stars, combining well with both of his Eagle TOTW team mates. Samu Kerevi really stepped up in the 2nd half of his game to seal the deal and showed his class, but for his all-game consistency Clifton gets the gong.[/one_third]
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14. Maalonga Konelio (Perth Spirit) – 1
The Spirit love to mix their team up each week which you’d have to think must frustrate the players and limit any combinations forming. Konelio has managed to play three of the four game so far, albeit in a different position each game. Against the undefeated Vikings, Maalonga proved difficult to tackle all afternoon and was rewarded with a try in the closing seconds of the game.[/one_third]
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15. Karmichael Hunt (Brisbane City) – 1
Moved to fulback for the first time this NRC, Hunt seemed to relish the greater space at the back and linked superbly with his outside backs. Hunt threatened the Rays defense constantly, running delightful lines whilst throwing the last pass for three tries and going close himself a couple of times. A confidence building performance by the rugby rookie.
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