Team of the Week: Round 2

With a stunning second round of NRL action complete, we have named our Team of the Week in recognition of the standout performers.

1. Anthony Milford (Raiders): A stunning man of the match performance against Newcastle saw the brilliant youngster run 208 metres, make three line breaks and lay on a brilliant try for teammate Paul Vaughan.

2. Pat Richards (Wests Tigers): The veteran reminded everyone of his brilliance with a 22-point haul of two tries and seven goals against the Titans. He also ran 237 metres, made three line breaks and booted an incredible 70-metre dropout.

3. Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Roosters): The grand final hero had a night out against Parramatta. Although he somehow avoided the tryline, he notched two try assists and found plenty of space in running 162 metres.

4. Jarrod Croker (Raiders): Scored a pair of tries, threw a runaway assist and was a constant threat in a win over the Knights, all while carrying a niggling quad injury that stopped him from kicking goals.

5. Brett Morris (Dragons): Scored a sensational length of the field try against the Warriors after collecting the ball on his own tryline, starting the movement with one of his two line breaks.

6. Gareth Widdop (Dragons): Another absolutely lovely hand from the English playmaker, who has early dibs on the Buy of the Year gong. A try assist, perfect five-from-five goal-kicking and a stunning pirouette field goal were the highlights in Auckland.

7. Trent Hodkinson (Bulldogs): Applied the polish as his team destroyed the Sharks, scoring a try, dishing out three try assists and booting a perfect seven from seven with his goal-kicking duties.

8. Jesse Bromwich (Storm): Churned through 178 tough metres and made 23 tackles on a major night for his club, laying the platform for a celebratory win over Penrith for Storm icons Cameron Smith and Billy Slater.

9. Andrew McCullough (Broncos): The Brisbane hooker stamped his class on the Queensland derby, getting through a mountain of work that included 58 tackles. Was rewarded with the winning try in the 74th minute.

10. James Graham (Bulldogs): Celebrated his new contract with a magnificent performance in Monday’s rout of the Sharks, with the Englishman running 200 metres, making 24 tackles and providing his usual threat with the ball – all in 49 minutes.

11. Trent Merrin (Dragons): The NSW Origin forward punched out nearly an entire game and did a truckload of quality work at Eden Park, finishing a win over the Warriors with 137 metres and 50 tackles.

12. Ryan Hoffman (Storm): No surprises that the veteran back-rower turned up with bells on for the milestone match of Smith and Slater, running 164 metres and making 24 tackles in a typically busy and classy performance.

13. Corey Parker (Broncos): A captain’s knock in the derby, in which the Queensland and Test forward churned through 167 metres and 46 tackles while playing in the front row to lay the foundations for a memorable win.

14. Jamie Buhrer (Sea Eagles): Promoted to the starting side at lock, the former NSW utility turned in a sterling effort of 154 metres, 39 tackles and a match-winning try assist during which he showed tremendous speed, hands and footwork.

15. Luke Brooks (Wests Tigers): A stunning performance from the most exciting young prospect in the game. Against the Titans he had a spree of three try assists, three line break assists and a remarkable try of his own linking with James Tedesco.

16. Mitchell Aubusson (Roosters): The underrated Tricolours ace had a tremendous performance against the Eels, filling the starting spot of Sonny Bill Williams with aplomb in scoring two tries and making three line breaks and a try assist in an 80-minute blinder.

17. James Tedesco (Wests Tigers): Scored a tremendous try and terrorised the Titans via his combination with Luke Brooks, for whom he laid on a try with a clever kick. ‘Teddy’ is a genuine livewire with speed to burn and looks set for a breakout season.

We will be naming our Team of the Week throughout the season - join us at 1pm for our Round 3 Teams Live Chat to let us know what you think of the side.