We’re already one-third of the way through the 2018 NRL premiership, so we thought it was time to bring you an update on who is leading the race to become the inaugural This Warriors Life Player of the Year award!
Fashioned on now-defunct Rugby League Week‘s system of giving every player a rating out of 10 for every game, the TWL POTY gong will go to the Warriors player with the most accumulated points at the end of the season. To give players that miss a few games with injury an opportunity to still vie for the honour, we’ll eliminate every player’s four lowest scores at the end of year.
Brilliant fullback and captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – who is also the Warriors’ highest-polling player in the Dally M Medal count after eight rounds with eight votes – holds a handy three-point lead with a total of 62.5, an average of 7.8 per game. But reborn hooker Issac Luke, who sits in outright second on 59.5 points, could well have been in front if he hadn’t exited the game early on Anzac Day.
Luke has earned the only ‘9’ rating of 2018 so far for his virtuoso display against St George Illawarra, while Tuivasa-Sheck has received an 8.5 rating in three games.
Tyros Bunty Afoa (58 points) and Ken Maumalo (54), both under pressure to hold their first-grade positions at the start of 2018, are surprise top-five entries after super-consistent campaigns to date. Outstanding recruit Blake Green (57.5) is fourth, while Tohu Harris (53) sits sixth despite missing a game and a half; Harris averaged 7.9 across the first six rounds.
Only eight players have appeared in all eight games for the Warriors so far this season, which skews the results so far somewhat. For instance, Shaun Johnson (36.5 points) is averaging a rating of 7.3 from his five appearances to date and can come into contention if he can put his injury problems behind him for the rest of the year. Likewise, Simon Mannering missed the opening four rounds but is averaging 7.25 since coming back into the team and is more than capable of making a late charge.
We hand out our first '9' of the season for a very special No.9 #WarriorNation #ThisWarriorsLife #NRLWarriorsDragons #KingIssac https://t.co/idPvrP7urS
— This Warriors Life (@thiswarriorslyf) April 20, 2018
TWL 2018 WARRIORS PLAYER OF THE YEAR LEADERBOARD
62.5 – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
59.5 – Issac Luke
58 – Bunty Afoa
57.5 – Blake Green
54 – Ken Maumalo
53 – Tohu Harris
52.5 – David Fusitu’a
51.5 – Peta Hiku
49.5 – Adam Blair
43.5 – Sam Lisone
Categories: Team News + Stats, WARRIORS NEWS
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