During the 2023 NRL regular season, nswrl.com.au selects the round’s best 13 of New South Wales eligible players from each round. These selections are based on the writers’ opinions and do not reflect the views of the NSWRL or the selection process for the Westpac NSW Blues.
1. Tolutau Koula. Club: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 2
Another outstanding performance has Koula earning back-to-back TOTW selections.
The fullback ran for 300 metres – 40 post contact – had three line breaks, two line-break assists, one try assist and two tries of his own – one that was scored from the kick off. He also amassed 16 tackle busts and defused five kicks.
2. Jason Saab. Club: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 3.
Similar to his fullback, Saab has earned himself a selection in TOTW for the second week in a row.
Picking up where he left off last week, the winger scored his third double of the season, had a try assist, four line breaks and ran for 267 metres off 16 runs in the win over the Wests Tigers.
3. Jesse Ramien. Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 3.
Ramien had an impressive performance for his team in their win over the Canberra Raiders on Sunday.
Running for 200 metres – 63 post contact – Ramien scored a try, had 11 tackle breaks, one line break and an off load.
4. Stephen Crichton. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 6. TOTW selections: 4.
Helping his team bounce back after a disappointing loss in Round 26 against Parramatta, Crichton was back to his attacking best.
The high-flying centre scored a four-pointer, had a try assist, line-break assist and line break all to his name along with running for 230 metres – 69 post contact.
5. Sunia Turuva. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 3.
Finding himself back in TOTW, Turuva was a standout in the Panthers convincing 44-12 win over the Cowboys on Saturday night.
He scored two tries, had three line breaks, nine tackle busts and ran for 210 metres – his sixth game this season to run for more than 200 metres.
6. Jack Cogger. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 1.
Filling in for an injured Jarome Luai, Cogger took his opportunity with both hands to steer the Panthers to a Minor Premiership win and find himself on debut in TOTW.
Playing at his attacking best, the No.6 was everywhere on the night having three line-break assists, and three try assists to his name.
7. Nicho Hynes. Club: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. SOO apearances: 1. TOTW selections: 6.
Hynes played an instrumental role in helping secure the Sharks' spot in the finals with a strong win over the Canberra Raiders in the last regular game of the 2023 competition.
The halfback had four try assists, three line-break assists, two tackle breaks and kicked for 302 metres.
8. Jacob Saifiti. Club: Newcastle Knights. SOO appearances: 2. TOTW selections: 2.
It took 19 matches but Jacob Saifiti finally got his first try for 2023 in the Knights 20-point win over St George Illawarra on Saturday.
He had other highlights during 52 minutes on the field with 15 runs for 126 metres, a line break, three tackle busts, two off loads and 28 tackles missing just one.
9. Damien Cook. Club: South Sydney Rabbitohs. SOO appearances: 17. TOTW selections: 6.
The fiercely determined hooker went down fighting in the loss to the Sydney Roosters, with a line-break assist, a try assist, five tackle busts, an off load and 45 tackles (missed one) – which was the highest among the Rabbitohs.
He also made seven runs from dummy-half alongside handling the ball 121 times as he looked to create opportunities.
10. Tevita Tatola. Club: South Sydney Rabbitohs. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 3
Knee and neck injuries have limited his season to 15 games but Tatola gave glimpses in his 54 minutes on Friday night of what the Rabbitohs have been missing.
He had 18 runs for 153 metres – 71 post-contact which was the most for his team – along with a tackle bust, an off load and 32 tackles (missing one).
11. Haumole Olakau’atu. Club: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. SOO appearances: 0. TOTW selections: 6
It’s not hard to see why Olakau’atu has made the TOTW six times if you watched him manoeuvre his way around and through Wests Tigers players on Friday night.
He had 16 runs for 159 metres, broke out of eight tackles, had a line break, four line-break assists, two try assists and scored his 10th four-pointer for the season.
12. Liam Martin. Club: Penrith Panthers. SOO appearances: 9. TOTW selections: 3
Alongside Isaah Yeo, Martin is one of the most reliable in the Panthers forward pack by working hard every week.
Against the Cowboys Martin had 11 hit-ups, a line break, three tackle busts, two off loads, scored a try himself and made 27 tackles (missing one).
13. Cameron Murray. Club: South Sydney Rabbitohs. SOO appearances: 11. TOTW selections: 3
Another fine captain’s knock had Murray run the furthest (178 metres off 26 runs) for his team, with 59 post-contact metres, a line break, six tackle busts, a one-on-one steal, an off load and 41 tackles.
He also scored his fourth try of the season from 21 games for the Rabbitohs.
