Tireless Twal tops Round 8 VB Hard Earned Index

A tireless performance from Alex Twal wasn't quite enough to get his side over the line against the Dragons, but it did see him top the VB Hard Earned Index for all players in Round 8.

Having produced a strong effort in last week's win over the Rabbitohs, the Wests Tigers prop increased his output even further this week — racking up an incredible 110 points against the Dragons to sit well clear as the top score of the round.

Twal's effort was again underlined by his strong defensive work, making 33 tackles without missing, while the 25-year-old also made 14 runs of eight-plus metres en route to his team high 186 running metres.

Melbourne forward Josh King also continued his finest season to date with another quality performance in his team's big win over the Knights — posting exactly 100 points courtesy of his eye-catching 24 runs and 21 tackles.

No player made more tackles in Round 8 than Cowboys utility forward Reuben Cotter, whose 49 tackles at 100 percent completion rate saw him finish third among all players in the VB Hard Earned Index.

Cotter ended the round with his highest score of the year, adding in 11 runs of eight-plus metres to finish with 97 points.

Roosters duo Angus Crichton and James Tedesco performed strongly despite their side's defeat to the Bulldogs — posting 89 and 85 points respectively — while Adam Elliott's surprise start at hooker saw the Raiders forward earn 87 points to round out the top five players of the round.

Overall, Cameron Murray (658 points) remains on top of the VB Hard Earned Index leaderboard with the Rabbitohs skipper still narrowly leading from Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo (647).

The pair are well clear of Eels forward Isaiah Papali'i (619 points) with Payne Haas' shoulder injury seeing the Broncos forward slip down to fourth.