Round 22 Team of the Week

Another huge round of NRL action has put forth a team bursting with talent. There?s speed, there?s skill, there?s grunt and you need to look no further than the Round 22 League Unlimited Team of the Week to find the most complete outfit running around right now.

Fullback ? B Hodgson (Tigers) Had another pearler for the Tigers, coming alive in the second half to score two tries and kick three goals along the way.

Wing ? L Burt (Eels) Burt has come back to form since his return to the top grade and he starred for the Eels in Auckland. He bagged a double, kicked five goals and set-up the try of the match for centre Ben Smith.

Centre ? B Smith (Eels) It?s no surprise to see this fella here after the wrap we just gave Burt. Ben Smith offers plenty of support and good variety to the Eels backline, popping up unexpected at times. Also bagged a double and played hard.

Centre ? P Graham (Raiders) Whilst in a losing team, Graham was a shining light for the Raiders, showing a clean pair of heels and good skills to score during proceedings. He has the tendency to create something out of nothing.

Wing ? B Tate (Broncos) Another player in a losing team, but Tate also had a strong game, setting up a good try for Justin Hodges and menacing the Sea Eagles out side all day long.

Five-eighth - P Campbell (Panthers) Presto had his best game for a while against their 2003 Grand Final opponents, and I?m sure he enjoyed it. Scoring two tries and kicking five goals helped his team to a narrow victory and they keep the spoon at bay for another week.

Halfback ? A Johns (Knights) Joey is in stellar form right now and it?s hard to stop him all across the park. He gives enormous confidence to his younger players and is simply a class above all others on the field. He also kicked five goals in a dominant display.

Lock ? P Gallen (Sharks) Wow, this guy can really play. Hitting back at recent speculation, the Sharks tore into the Storm and Gallen was in the thick of things. At one point he had claret flowing like Niagara Falls from his noodle and simply applied the tape and got back into the thick of things.

Second-row ? N Hindmarsh (Eels) Hindy is in unstoppable form right now, running the ball like a man possessed, tackling as though it?s his last and off-loading at will. He is the complete package in the back-row and a coaching delight.

Second-row ?S Menzies (Sea Eagles) It wasn?t a pretty game for Beaver, but he just rolled up the sleeves and got stuck it. He does get a lot of wraps but deserves them all and he played the way Manly needed him to in order to win.

Prop ? C Smith (Knights) The veteran prop has been doing some great things up at Newcastle this season, helping the younger folk along in their game and the results are beginning to show. Good stuff, let?s hope he keeps the knees down.

Hooker ? R Farah (Tigers) Another sparkling contribution from the most promising young hooker in the game. Robbie makes plenty of tackles and picks the right time to dart out of dummy half, scoring a good try at the weekend.

Prop ? L Bailey (Dragons) Best prop in the game at the moment, putting a disappointing Origin series behind him and really firing for the Dragons as they approach the semis. Bull is hitting the line harder than ever right now and deserves plenty of praise.

An interesting bench, with our speedy fullback Stewart getting over the stripe along with Dykes who has shown a big form turnaround. Monaghan provides some added creativity and kicked the match-winning field goal for Manly, whilst Roosters workhorse Fitzgibbon is back to his best ? making tackles, taking it up and potting four goals for good measure.

Interchange: B Stewart (Sea Eagles), A Dykes (Sharks), M Monaghan (Sea Eagles), C Fitzgibbon (Roosters).