The second week of the Telstra NRL Premiership finals series delivered two outstanding contests, with 61 points scored between the Roosters and Cowboys and a golden point thriller between the Sea Eagles and Bulldogs, allowing Fantasy coaches the opportunity to squeeze an extra few minutes out of their charges.
Let's take a look at who performed and who didn't in each of the Holden NRL Fantasy semi-final match day games.
Roosters 31 def. Cowboys 30
Coming out on top was the match-winning James Maloney (70), who slotted the decisive field goal to accompany his two line breaks, try and two try assists. Matt Scott (68) was immense, running for 157 metres, making 28 tackles, a line break, two offloads, scoring a try and setting up another. Johnathan Thurston (65) was at the heart of the Cowboys' efforts, while Sam Moa (58) and Mitchell Pearce (54) performed admirably for the Tricolours. Reverting to his role on the bench, the enigma that is Mitchell Aubusson managed just 10 in limited minutes, likewise Glenn Hall (7). Michael Morgan (19) would've also disappointed those that picked the North Queensland fullback, who had an off night.
Best possible team: Jake Friend (40), Matt Scott (136, VC), Gavin Cooper (53), James Maloney (210, C), Michael Jennings (36), Daniel Tupou (46).
Bulldogs 18 def. Sea Eagles 17
Field goals are the flavour of the month, but unlike Maloney, Trent Hodkinson (38) kicked two but finished well below his Roosters counterpart. Of course he spent some time off the field with a suspected knee injury, but was thankfully able to return later in the contest. His teammates were fairly prolific, however.
Aiden Tolman (75) ran for 222 metres and made 43 tackles to top the scoring for this fixture, beating out front-row partner James Graham (63). Not far behind Tolman was Sam Perrett (74), with the fullback heavily involved throughout the match. Josh Reynolds (57), Tony Williams (52), and Corey Thompson (45) were also good selections. Reni Maitua could manage just a single point after spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.
Best for the Sea Eagles was Tom Symonds (58), who was also available to be selected in the centres. Peta Hiku (50) was an excellent choice at WFB, while Josh Starling ran for 196 metres, spent 10 minutes in the sin bin and still managed 44, one point more than Daly Cherry-Evans (43) collected. Steve Matai (12) and Kieran Foran (18) didn't really trouble the scoring.
Best possible team: Jayden Hodges (45), Aiden Tolman (225, C), Tony Williams (52), Josh Reynolds (57), Tom Symonds (58), Sam Perrett (148, VC).
