GOOD NEWS: Sydney Roosters top profile player returns after long time.
Both coming off big wins, the Roosters and Storm will welcome a chance to flex their premiership muscles when the two competition heavyweights kick off Round 7 at Allianz Stadium.
Melbourne are sitting pretty at second on the ladder after stealing another narrow victory off the Bulldogs on Friday to boast a 4-1 record after the first six rounds.
With all four of those wins coming out of AAMI Park, Thursday night’s showdown will come as a big opportunity for Craig Bellamy’s side to prove they can carry their winning form on the road after going down to the Knights in Newcastle in Round 3.
The Roosters, meanwhile, will be hot off a morale boosting win over Newcastle, overcoming the absence of several big names to claim their fourth victory for the season.
The performance of Joey Manu was a bright spot for the Roosters and Trent Robinson will be hoping the Kiwi superstar will continue to get plenty of opportunities and space with the football when James Tedesco and Sam Walker return from concussions.
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There were some ridiculous performances across the weekend in Round 6.
Roosters star Joey Manu showed he’s one of the NRL’s best fullbacks, but doesn’t even wear the No.1 regularly in his own team.
Meanwhile, a Dragons flyer starred once again and a Raiders star steered his side to victory.
FULLBACK
Joey Manu — 326 running metres, 11 tackle busts, 1 try assist, 2 linebreak assists
What a game from the Kiwi international.
Standing in for regular No.1 James Tedesco, Manu looked like he was going to create chances every time he touched the ball.
Will be a sad day if he does confirm he’s leaving the NRL, because he is a pleasure to watch.
WINGERS
Josh Addo-Carr — 3 tries, 221 running metres, 9 tackle busts, 6 linebreaks
A winger’s job is to score tries and ‘The Foxx’ got three of them in impressive fashion in Round 6.
A great all-round performance from one of rugby league’s genuine speedsters, running for 221 metres.
He broke the line a ridiculous 6 times to give his old team, the Storm, nightmares.
Zac Lomax — 1 try, 131 running metres, 1 try assists, 3 offloads
Lomax was arguably the best player on the park against the Tigers on Sunday.
Scored an early try before it was skills in the air that caught the eye.
He set up another try after reeling in a Ben Hunt bomb and his form will catapult him into the Origin conversation.
CENTRES
Selwyn Cobbo — 2 tries, 187 running metres, 6 tackle busts, 1 linebreak assist
A huge performance from the Broncos hulking centre.
Cobo makes rugby league look easy and scored a double, but his ball-running was the highlight of his performance.
His switch to the centres looks to be a huge success so far this year.
Bradman Best — 1 try, 223 running metres, 3 tackle busts, 1 linebreak
A very impressive display from the one-game Origin star.
He scored an impressive four-pointer after a Kai Pearce-Paul break and consistently threatened the line.
Best will be desperate to continue this form to force his way into the Origin equation.
FIVE-EIGHTH
Cameron Munster — 2 try assists, 84 running metres, 23 tackles, 5 tackle busts
Munster is once again proving he’s one of the game’s premier playmakers.
In his best performance yet since returning from a groin injury, he assisted two tries and broke five tackles.
If this Maroons star catches fire, he will be hard to slow down in weeks to come.
HALFBACK
Jamal Fogarty — 678 kicking metres, 4 forced drop outs, 4 tackle busts, 1 try assist
The Raiders don’t win on Sunday without Fogarty.
The gun halfback pulled the string in impressive fashion for Ricky Stuart’s men, ultimately kicking the winning field goal to down the Titans.
He record 678 metres off the boot and an impressive four forced drop outs.
PROPS
Joseph Tapine — 272 running metres, 113 post-contact metres, 2 offloads, 29 tackles
Tapine was a man on a mission against the Titans.
He continually put his hand up in the middle of the park and ran for a ridiculous 272 metres.
What’s more is 113 of those were with players hanging off him.
Terrell May — 137 running metres, 2 tackle busts, 1 try assist, 2 linebreak assists
Does Terrell May moonlight as a playmaker?
Trent Robinson’s bench weapon was excellent against the Knights and tallied a try assist for Daniel Tupou.
He also used his playmaking skills in the middle of the park to orchestrate a key line break and also did the hard work in the middle.
HOOKER
Brandon Smith — 2 secondary try assists, 5 tackle busts, 35 tackles
Smith’s running game was clear to see against the Knights.
He consistently schemed in the middle and had a hand in two tries.
He also made 35 tackles and broke 5 tackles in a very impressive performance in the No.9.
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