Courageous Cam tops Hard Earned Index as new leader emerges

Author: NRL.com
Timestamp: Mon 11 Jul 2022, 12:30 PM

A courageous effort from Sharks forward Cameron McInnes saw him top the charts for the VB Hard Earned Index in Round 17 with the versatile forward leading the way with a season-high 95 points.

While Jesse Ramien's hat-trick and the interplay of halves Matt Moylan and Braydon Trindall might have dominated the headlines from the game, it was the work of the Sharks middle forwards that ultimately proved the difference against the Storm — led in part by McInnes, who delivered a customary all-round performance.

McInnes made 35 tackles without missing in Cronulla's big win, while also chalking up 17 runs (12 of which went for eight or more metres), two tackle busts and seven line engagements — finishing among the top ten players in all major categories.

On the other side of the border, it was young Brisbane forwards Kobe Hetherington and Zac Hosking who stood up for the Baby Broncos, both finishing inside the top five players for the round with 88 and 82 points respectively.

Match Highlights: Broncos v Dragons

Hosking made a total of 19 runs in his debut game, along with 33 tackles and five tackle busts, while Hetherington had 38 tackles and 11 runs of eight-plus metres.

Despite their teams failing to get the job done in Round 17, Knights duo David Klemmer and Mitch Barnett, along with Wests Tigers pair Joe Ofahengaue and Fonua Pole, also finished inside the top ten players for their continued efforts.

Papali'i all smiles at Leichhardt

Parramatta forward Isaiah Papali'i was granted an early mark with his side comfortably leading late on, with his 75 points seeing him come in 10th. However, with Raiders prop Joseph Tapine on the bye and Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo on Origin duties, it was still enough to see him take the lead on top of the VB Hard Earned Index leaderboard — now holding a seven-point lead over Tapine.

Ofahengaue has quietly moved his way into fifth after a superb last month for Wests Tigers, while Rabbitohs forward Keaon Koloamatangi has become the latest player to top the thousand-point mark, rounding out the top ten.