NRL 2022, Joseph Manu, Sydney Roosters, Fresh face lights up VB Hard Earned Index

Author: NRL.com
Timestamp: Mon 6 Jun 2022, 06:57 PM

Joseph Manu's 127-point effort might not have been enough to help the Roosters over the line against the Raiders, but it was more than enough to see him dominant the VB Hard Earned Index in Round 13.

Filling in at fullback with captain James Tedesco away on Origin duties, the Kiwi international produced a relentless 80 minutes with the ball in hand to earn not only the highest score of the round but the highest individual score this year with 127.

Running for just shy of 300 metres, Manu had a total of 31 carries of the ball — 19 of which went for more than eight metres — while also producing seven offloads, four line engagements and a staggering 17 tackle breaks.

For context, the next closest to Manu in terms of tackle breaks was Titans fullback Jayden Campbell, who had less than half of his Roosters counterpart with eight.

Despite his epic individual performance, Manu wasn't the only player to crack the century in the bye-affected Round 13 with Cowboys lock Jason Taumalolo and Panthers prop James Fisher-Harris both posting eye-catching numbers as they stood up for their respective Origin-affected sides.

Taumalolo made 21 runs (16 of which went for eight-plus-metres), five tackle busts, three offloads and 25 tackles in his side's big win over the Titans on Thursday, while Fisher-Harris made 19 runs and 38 tackles — at a percent 100 completion rate.

With several players missing to the Blues, Fisher-Harris wasn't the only Panther to step up — Apisai Koroisau (who was named in the extended Blues squad) and Matt Eisenhuth made the second and third most tackles of any players in the round, with their 44 and 42 tackles bettered only by Titans forward Sam McIntyre.

Joseph Tapine's rich run of form continued on Sunday as he helped his side over the line against Manu's Roosters; he had the third most runs of eight-plus-metres of any player across the weekend (15) to produce a 95-point effort that saw him climb into third on the VB Hard Earned Index behind Isaah Yeo and Isaiah Papali'i.

Both Yeo (973 points) and Papali'i (957 points) did not feature in Round 13 with Origin and bye-round commitments respectively, and the duo still hold a commanding lead on the likes of Tapine (892 points), Fisher-Harris (871 points) and Payne Haas (843 points).

With that trio all facing either bye-round or Origin commitments ahead of them in the coming months, it's shaping as a race in two for the overall VB Hard Earned Index title as we move past the halfway point of the year!