Wing - Etu Uaisele (Panthers)
Receiving a mid-week call-up to the side, the Tongan international returned to haunt his former club with a hattrick of tries in the 39-00 demolition of the Eels. Not one of the fastest wingers in the competition, what Uaisele lacks in pace he complements in his uncompromising defence and hard-nosed dummy-half runs. Paired with good friend Michael Jennings on the left side of the field, Uaisele went over for his first and second try in the left-hand corner after receiving the final pass before the tryline in the opening stanza. His three-try bag was complete on the stroke of fulltime as he went over again (in the corner of course) before busting out a salsa dance to celebrate.
Five-eighths -Terry Campese (Raiders)
The Canberra captain was the guiding force in their Monday night victory over the Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium. Up against the elite five-eighth of the competition, in Tigers skipper Benji Marshall, his performance was worthy of a State of Origin place after a dominating display. He approached the match with an aggressive swagger in his step, choosing to run at the defence on numerous occasions - an encouraging sight for Raiders fans after his long injury lay-off. His approach set up two tries and then he ran straight over Marshall to seal the match with a try in the 65th minute.
Halfback - Shaun Johnson (Warriors)
Another Warriors player who had been relatively quiet in recent weeks, the young halfback was a constant threat against the bottom-placed Titans side. His two tries topped his best showing of the season so far, with Johnson heavily involved in their best attacking moves all night. His kicking game brought the first try of the match for Elijah Taylor before a pirouette out of dummy-half clinched his first four-pointer before the break. His second came from an intercept, snatching the ball out of the air he was too fast for the Titans cover defence over 50 metres.
Prop - Ben Matulino (Warriors)
Arguably the top performing Warrior over the first four rounds of the competition, Matulino is going from strength to strength. He dominated in both attack and defence with some bullocking runs to put his side on the front foot and a couple of telling hits on opposite Luke Bailey and co. A shoo-in for the Kiwis Anzac test team, he is on his way to cementing his name as one of the premier props in the world. The Wellington product carried the ball 13 times for 109 metres, completing 24 tackles and busted through two tackles.
Hooker - Danny Buderus (Knights)
The Newcastle stalwart rolled back the years with a man of the match display against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium. He was outstanding in securing a desperate win for the Knights, with Buderus upstaging NSW incumbent Michael Ennis on Sunday afternoon. The former Australian rake may have lost a metre of pace but his tidy service and clever darts from behind the play-the-ball had the Doggies on alert. Completed 34 tackles in 74 minutes on the field, he will go up against the number one rake in the competition against Cameron Smith this weekend in a personal duel with the price of admission.
Prop - Kade Snowden (Knights)
One of the big off-season acquisitions for the Knights, Snowden and his teammates finally clicked to secure their second 'W' of the season against the previously unbeaten Bulldogs. A tough defender, he was secure in the tackle with Kasiano and Tolman kept on close watch by the NSW forward. He assisted Richie Fa'aoso for the first try of the game in the 7th minute, breaking through a tackle and dishing off the final pass inside. The former Sharks player covered 162 metres off 17 hitups, a line break and executed 23 tackles.
Second row - Zeb Taia (Knights)
A hard-running secondrower Taia's soft-hands gives the Knights a threat off the back of the scrum with an added ball playing forward. With Snowden providing the go-forward, Taia was behind his big man, running with plenty of purpose for 138 metres off the back of 17 carries and five tackle breaks. An outside chance for the Kiwis test team, he completed 35 tackles, making life difficult for Doggies forwards to get a roll on with only Greg Eastwood making more than a 100 metres.
Second row - Sam Thaiday (Broncos)
The Broncos skipper was at the heart of their second half defensive effort to shut out a tiring Rabbitohs side. Along with Ben Hannant, the pair completed 30+ tackles to hold out their opposition forward pack, who boast Sam Burgess, Roy Asotasi, Michael Crocker to name a few. His work on the right flank to halt their momentum in the redzone was the foundation for his side's thrilling win in a hard-fought encounter.
Lock - Paul Gallen (Sharks)
No surprise that the Cronulla skipper returns to the Team of the Week after another immense display, this time against the Cowboys in Townville. At times it looked as though he was doing it alone, with 248 metres from 25 runs, 11 tackle breaks and a line break. The man mountain's incredible workrate over 80 minutes is inspiring not only for teammates but to opposition players who try to minimise his impact. His try in the 72nd minute clinched the match for the Sharks as he rumbled his through three tacklers to slam the ball ball down. However his most telling play came ten minutes previous as he pulled back Ray Thompson before the tryline when he looked certain to score and the Cowboys were behind by two.
Coach: Wayne Bennett (Knights)
The master-coach finally sealed his second win of the season against Des Hasler's Bulldogs. Two key positional changes were made to his lineup and they both worked like a charm - Jarrod Mullen playing at standoff and Kurt Gidley moving to halfback. Mullen had more space to move at second-receiver and he tested the line throughout the match and scored a try. Gidley's return in the number seven jumper brought composure and experience to control the game which the Knights dominated.
Team:
Billy Slater, Jason Nightingale, Jerome Ropati, Jason Croker, Terry Campese, Shaun Johnson, Ben Matulino, Danny Buderus, Kade Snowden, Zeb Taia, Sam Thaiday, Paul Gallen. Coach: Wayne Bennett.
