All the key stats and talking points from a record-breaking Round 24 of the National Youth Competition.
Flanagan sets NYC record
We've been tracking it for the past few weeks and on Saturday night Sharks halfback Kyle Flanagan finally broke the record for most points in a single season. Flanagan's 12-point haul against the Cowboys took him to 326 for the season and saw him go past Jake Mullaney's 322 points for the Tigers in 2009. The talented No.7 will undoubtedly feature in the Holden Cup Team of the Year; his next challenge is to try to single-handedly beat the Warriors who have managed 368 points as a team in 2017.
Rabbitohs set club record
Speaking of the Warriors, their season from hell just got worse with the New Zealanders going down 68-10 to the Rabbitohs. They've conceded 68, 70, 70 and 58 points in their last four trips to Australia and are almost guaranteed to claim the wooden spoon. As bad as they are, a lot of credit has to go to the Bunnies whose 58-point win was their biggest in NYC history, bettering their 54-6 win over Parramatta in 2012.
Snakes and ladders
If you think the battle for places in the NRL top eight is heating up then you haven't been paying attention to the Holden Cup. While the top two and bottom five stayed put, the nine remaining sides either moved up or slid down the ladder after a hectic week in the 20s. The Eels were the big winners as they jumped from fifth into third spot while Newcastle's 36-point loss at home saw them from drop from sixth to ninth.
Players of the Round
We're tracking the best performances every round this year with a good old-fashioned 3-2-1 points system.
3 – In a week featuring some truly absurd attacking stats, we landed on Storm skipper Harry Grant as our player of the round given his all-round performance against the Knights. The impressive No.9 scored a double and set up a try but also ran for 127 metres and made 44 tackles in a tireless display around the ruck.
2 – Broncos hooker Tristan Hope went agonisingly close to claiming the three points after he scored a hat-trick, busted 11 tackles and made 46 tackles in his side's massive win over the Dragons.
1 – There were 29 guys who could have claimed the point but we couldn't go past Eels centre Emosi Alamoti for his four-try haul against the Titans that also featured eight tackle breaks and 148 running metres.
Results
Broncos 46 – Dragons 12
Bulldogs 6 – Sea Eagles 36
Eels 38 – Titans 16
Knights 18 – Storm 54
Rabbitohs 68 – Warriors 10
Roosters 60 – Wests Tigers 18
Cowboys 12 – Sharks 36
Raiders 28 – Panthers 48
