There were five rounds of the NRL Telstra Premiership in July and we've come up with five Mazda BT-50 tough plays of the month.
Morgan and Martin's new Cowboys combo - Round 17
Te Maire Martin scored the try, but it was the tough work from Cowboys half Michael Morgan that set him up for the match-winner against the Raiders in Round 17. Morgan was looking for a hat-trick of tries when he took the ball one off the ruck, stepped off his left foot and broke through the Canberra defence. He drew Raiders fullback Jack Wighton before popping a ball to Martin to send him over for his second try on debut for the Cowboys.
Johnston scores five against Panthers - Round 17
South Sydney winger Alex Johnston equalled the Rabbitohs' club record of five tries in a game against the Panthers in Round 17. His fourth try was perhaps the easiest for him but involved plenty of lead-up work from his teammates. Angus Crichton made a tough break before handing off to Robbie Farah who kicked across for winger Braidon Burns. Burns managed to offload in a tackle to Aaron Gray, who passed to halfback Adam Reynolds. Reynolds put in a cross-field kick to Sam Burgess standing at left centre, who passed to Johnston for his fourth try of the game.
Goodwin's tough run against the Roosters - Round 18
Another Rabbitoh makes the Mazda Tough Plays of the Month for July, with centre Bryson Goodwin getting on the end of some good lead-up work from Angus Crichton against the Roosters in Round 18. The big second-row forward received the ball 40 metres out before heading across field to link up with Goodwin. The Souths centre still had plenty of work to do, but work he did. Goodwin stepped off his left foot and got between two defenders before bumping off Roosters fullback Michael Gordon and sliding over the line to score with two more Roosters in attendance.
Raiders' golden point win against Dragons - Round 19
It was a golden point thriller in the nation's capital in Round 19, with Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer kicking an amazingly tough 40/20 touch-finder to set up the winning try in extra time against the Dragons. The Raiders came from behind thanks to a Sezer intercept try, only to see a Gareth Widdop penalty goal level the scores at 14-14 with nine minutes to play. Extra time ensued, with Sezer kicking a massive 40/20 that crossed the touch line closer to the Dragons 10m line. From the following set of six, big Dave Taylor took the ball one off the ruck and dragged three Dragons defenders towards the tryline before managing to offload to Elliott Whitehead who scored next to the posts.
Radradra sets up Gutherson against the Tigers - Round 20
The local derby between the Wests Tigers and the Parramatta Eels in Round 20 also went to golden point, with Clint Gutherson scoring a try and kicking two goals in his side's eventual 17-16 victory. Just after the hour mark Eels centre Brad Takairangi bounced out of a tackle before handing off a one-armed pass inside to winger Semi Radradra. The Flying Fijian breezed past two Tigers defenders before finding Gutherson inside to score the try.
