Leagueunlimited.com player and team
of the year!

CONGRATULATIONS TO BRETT FINCH & MATT ORFORD!

In a sensational finish to this year?s Leagueunlimited.com player awards, Brett Finch and Matt Orford have both finished on 28 points to take out joint first place. After 26 rounds of rugby league, our live updaters were unable to split the two half backs as being the most consistent players of 2004.

2003 winner Matt Orford tops the leader board for the second time. The Storm playmaker was in front after round 25 and was a certainty to take the award for the second year running. Roosters half Brett Finch then scored three points in round 26 to make it a dead heat for first spot.

Third place-getter and half back Mathew Head (Dragons) finished on 27 points while forwards Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels) and Steve Price (Bulldogs) finished on 26 points.

Cowboys front rower Paul Rauhihi was leading the field for several rounds and held a handy lead in round 23. But injury saw him temporarily sidelined, giving the opportunity to the halfbacks to surge forward.

The full leader board is listed below along with the Leagueunlimited.com Team of the Year as well as your club's best players of 2004.

Leagueunlimited.com players of the match are decided by our live score updaters and tallied here each week on Mondays Expert?s League wrap.

League wrap round 26

PANTHERS 46 Tries: Lewis 2, Gower 2, Rooney 2, Roberts, Waterhouse Goals: Girdler 7/8, Roberts 0/1 defeated BRONCOS 20 Tries: Tupou 2, Costigan Goals: Parker 4/4 Penrith Football Stadium, Crowd: 20,043 Referee: Paul Simpkins Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - C Gower (Panthers) 2 - T Waterhouse (Panthers) 1 - J Clinton (Panthers)

KNIGHTS 26 Tries: Hall 2, Perry, K Gidley. Goals: Gidley 5/5 defeated WESTS TIGERS 16 Tries: Galea, Senter, Harrison Goals: Hodgson 2/3 EnergyAustralia Stadium, Crowd: 20,439 Referee: Tim Mander Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - R O'Davis (Knights) 2 - B Hodgson (Tigers) 1 - B Kennedy (Knights)

COWBOYS 36 Tries: Jensen 2, Williams, Payne, Bowen, Hannay Goals: Hannay 6/8 defeated SHARKS 20 Tries: Rieck 2, Hilder, Simmonds Goals: Hilder 1/3, Bird 1/1 Dairy Farmers Stadium, Crowd: 21,674 Referee: Sean Hampstead Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - M Bowen (Cowboys) 2 - S Tronc (Cowboys) 1 - N Fien (Cowboys)

RAIDERS 62 Tries: Chalk 4, McLinden 2, Crocker 2, Drew, Mogg, Schifcofske Goals: Schifcofske 8/10, Crocker 1/1 defeated RABBITOHS 22 Tries: Minichiello 2, Watts, Bell Goals: Williams 3/4 Canberra Stadium, Crowd: 10,839 Referee: Tony Archer Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - M Chalk (Raiders) 2 - M McLinden (Raiders) 1 - T Thompson (Raiders)

WARRIORS 10 Tries: Martin 2 Goals: Jones 1/1, Faumuina 0/1 defeated by BULLDOGS 54 Tries: M Utai 4, M O'Meley, S-B Williams, H El Masri, L Patten, W Tonga, T Grimaldi Goals: H El Masri 7/9, Thurston 0/1 Ericsson Stadium Referee: Jason Robinson Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - M Utai (Bulldogs) 2 - S Price (Bulldogs) 1 - T Grimaldi (Bulldogs)

SEA EAGLES 30 Tries: Torrens 2, G Stewart, B Stewart, Donald, Menzies Goals: Walker 2/4, Williamson 1/2 defeated STORM 28 Tries: Bell 2, Hill 2, Cronk Goals: Smith 4/5 Brookvale Oval, Crowd: 9,790 Referee: Steve Lyons Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - D Heckenberg (Sea Eagles) 2 - M Monaghan (Sea Eagles) 1 - C Cronk (Storm)

ROOSTERS 48 Tries: Wing 3, Walker, Crocker, Cross, Catic, Minichiello, Hegarty Goals: Fitzgibbon 3/5, Walker 3/4 defeated EELS 10 Tries: O'Dwyer, Peterson Goals: Witt 1/2 Aussie Stadium, Crowd: 24,114 Referee: Stephen Clark Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - B Finch (Roosters) 2 - A Minichiello (Roosters) 1 - N Hindmarsh (Eels)

THE LEAGUEUNLIMITED TEAM OF THE YEAR Fullback: B Hodgson (Tigers) Wingers: A Roberts (Panthers), M King (Storm) Centres: M Cooper (Dragons), W Tonga (Bulldogs) Five Eighth: A Walker (Sea Eagles) Half back: B Finch (Roosters) or M Orford (Storm) Prop forwards: S Price (Bulldogs), P Rauhihi (Cowboys) Hooker: D Buderus (Knights) Second row forwards: N Hindmarsh (Eels), R Wiki (Raiders) Lock forward: S Sattler (Tigers) Interchange: M Head (Dragons), D Lockyer (Broncos), D Nutley (Sharks), M O'Meley (Bulldogs) (best ?other? back, best utility, + best 2 ?other? forwards)

Best club players: Roosters: B Finch Bulldogs: S Price Broncos: D Lockyer Panthers: C Gower Dragons: M Head Storm: M Orford Cowboys: P Rauhihi Raiders: R Wiki Tigers: B Hodgson Knights: D Buderus Sharks: B Kimmorley Eels: N Hindmarsh Sea Eagles: A Walker Warriors: S Jones Rabbitohs: J Williams

THE FULL LEADER BOARD Leagueunlimited.com Player of the Year Tally

28 points B Finch (Roosters), M Orford (Storm)

27 points M Head (Dragons)

26 points N Hindmarsh (Eels), S Price (Bulldogs)

23 points P Rauhihi (Cowboys)

20 points D Buderus (Knights), B Hodgson (Tigers)

19 points A Walker (Sea Eagles)

18 points B Sherwin (Bulldogs)

17 points B Kimmorley (Sharks), D Lockyer (Broncos)

16 points C Gower (Panthers), D Nutley (Sharks)

15 points P Campbell (Panthers), A Roberts (Panthers)

14 points M O'Meley (Bulldogs)

13 points M Bowen (Cowboys), M Monaghan (Sea Eagles)

12 points S Berrigan (Broncos), R Wiki (Raiders)

11 points R Cross (Roosters), K Gidley (Knights), R Kearns (Storm), B Kennedy (Knights), M McLinden (Raiders), J Williams (Rabbitohs)

10 points M Sullivan (Sharks)

9 points P Civoniceva (Broncos), C Fitzgibbon (Roosters), L Priddis (Panthers), S Prince (Tigers), L Thompson (Dragons)

8 points N Fien (Cowboys), P Gallen (Sharks), S Sattler (Tigers), C Schifcofske (Raiders), W Tonga (Bulldogs)

7 points T Barrett (Dragons), L Burt (Eels), M Cooper (Dragons), A Dykes (Eels), J Hannay (Cowboys), K Hunt (Broncos), A Minichiello (Roosters), A Morley (Roosters), A Ryan (Bulldogs), J Ryles (Dragons), J Skandalis (Tigers), B Slater (Storm), G Tallis (Broncos)

6 points B Fittler (Roosters), B Fletcher (Rabbitohs), A Harrison (Rabbitohs), S Hill (Storm), S Jones (Warriors), M King (Storm), B Kite (Dragons), S Menzies (Sea Eagles), T Norton (Cowboys), R O'Davis (Knights), T Puletua (Panthers), S Tronc (Cowboys), S Webcke (Broncos), A Woolnough (Knights)

5 points M Gasnier (Dragons), D Heckenberg (Sea Eagles), W Mason (Bulldogs), J Morris (Eels), I Paleaaesina (Warriors), S Timmins (Dragons), SB Williams (Bulldogs)

4 points S Bell (Storm), J Cayless (Roosters), L Hookey (Rabbitohs), A Mogg (Raiders), G Morrison (Cowboys), C Parker (Broncos), J Stevens (Sharks), B Stewart (Sea Eagles), J Thurston (Bulldogs), R Villasanti (Warriors), T Waterhouse (Panthers), C Webb (Broncos), R Wesser (Panthers), D Young (Dragons)

3 points B Anasta (Bulldogs), D Abraham (Knights), L Anderson (Warriors), R Asotasi (Bulldogs), B Berrigan (Broncos), T Carroll (Broncos), N Catic (Roosters), M Chalk (Raiders), N Costigan (Broncos), M Crocker (Roosters), J Croker (Raiders), H El Masri (Bulldogs), H Fa'afili (Warriors), S Faumuina (Warriors), C Flannery (Roosters), W Koopu (Warriors), M Lang (Panthers), L Macdougall (Rabbitohs), R O'Hara (Raiders), M O'Neill (Tigers), M Parsons (Knights), L Patten (Bulldogs), A Payne (Cowboys), J Perry (Knights), F Pritchard (Panthers), D Senter (Tigers), C Sheppard (Cowboys), A Sims (Dragons), C Smith (Storm), P Stephenson (Sea Eagles), C Toopi (Warriors), S Turner (Storm), M Utai (Bulldogs), A Watmough (Sea Eagles), M Weyman (Raiders), D Widders (Eels), L Williamson (Sea Eagles), C Wing (Roosters), M Witt (Eels)

2 points L Bailey (Dragons), P Bailey (Sharks), M Beetham (Warriors), R Bell (Rabbitohs), P Bowman (Cowboys), K Campion (Cowboys), N Cayless (Eels), A Chan (Storm), J Clinton (Panthers), L Covell (Tigers), B Creagh (Dragons), De Vere (Broncos), M Ennis (Knights), I Hindmarsh (Raiders), J Hodges (Roosters), L Hohaia (Warriors), L Hopkins (Eels), B Hornby (Dragons), A Johns (Knights), A Laffranchi (Tigers), E Lauaki (Warriors), A Lomu (Sharks), A Macdougall (Rabbitohs), C McGuire (Broncos), R Mears (Tigers), J Monaghan (Raiders), J Mullane (Sea Eagles), W Peters (Rabbitohs), M Peterson (Eels), A Quinn (Knights), L Ricketson (Roosters), D Stagg (Broncos), T Tahu (Knights), D Thompson (Rabbitohs), W Tillott (Rabbitohs), A Topou (Roosters), A Torrens (Sea Eagles), D Wagon (Eels), G Wood (Rabbitohs)

1 point V Anderson (Warriors), D Cooper (Storm), J Crocker (Raiders), C Cronk (Storm), L Davico (Raiders), S Donald (Sea Eagles), B Drew (Raiders), D Fitzhenry (Tigers), M Gafa (Raiders), J Galuvao (Panthers), M Geyer (Storm), R Girdler (Panthers), A Guttenbeil (Warriors), P Graham (Raiders), T Grimaldi (Bulldogs), D Halatau (Tigers), C Hall (Knights), C Hicks (Sea Eagles), M Hilder (Sharks), J Hopoate (Sea Eagles), M Hughes (Knights), S Kearney (Storm), D Kidwell (Storm), J King (Sea Eagles), B Marshall (Tigers), W McKinnon (Eels). V Mellars (Warriors), F Moi Moi (Eels), J Moodie (Tigers), D Peachey (Sharks), K Reynoldson (Storm), M Riddell (Dragons), J Ropati (Warriors), R Simmonds (Dragons), S Simpson (Knights), C Stapleton (Eels), B Stuart (Sea Eagles), N Sweeney (Cowboys), T Thompson (Raiders), M Tony (Broncos), M Vella (Eels), C Walker (Roosters), B Watts (Rabbitohs), B Webb (Warriors), S Webb (Roosters), D Williams (Storm), T Williams (Cowboys)