Round 25 Team of the Week

We saw some great footy last week with several emotional farewell?s and players strutting their stuff in front of packed houses. With positions 3-7 still to be decided, there was plenty of club?s displaying their wares for all to see.

Fullback: Justin Hodges (Broncos) ? Hodgo is playing like an animal right now and it?s no surprise to see him hold the custodial role over Hunt for the past fortnight. Scored a fantastic try and will be important come semi-finals time.

Wing: Patrick Ah Van (Warriors) ? Has been improving with each week and played a top hand against the Roosters, bagging a double. Looks to have all the makings of a first grader and should progress well in 2007.

Centre: Greg Inglis (Storm) ? What can you say about this guy that hasn?t already been printed? He made 8 runs with 4 line breaks last week, scoring a try and setting another up. Absolute gun.

Centre: Matthew Gidley (Knights) ? Had one of his better night?s out against the Panthers, scoring a double as Newcastle shoot for a home semi. A forgotten man in some respects but he?ll be another key figure in the semis.

Wing: Anthony Quinn (Knights) ? Also played well for the Knights with a strong try and several powerful bursts. He?s coming into some good form and has his mouth under control now as well.

Five-eighth: Jerome Ropati (Warriors) ? Boy o? boy! Jerome went berserk against the Chooks, running, passing, backing-up and crossing the stripe an incredible four times! He?s another Warrior with a bright future and has plenty to look forward to in 2007.

Halfback: Matt Orford (Sea Eagles) ? Stood up to the Doggies and played a great game, solidifying claims for a Green and Gold jersey. Orford is going to be crucial in Manly?s hopes and if he can stay fit they might just press for their first title in a decade.

Lock: Alan Tongue (Raiders) ? This bloke backs-up like Terry Lamb and has a work ethic similar to Wayne Pearce. He scored another two tries for the year and looks set to break the all-time tackling record of Richard Swain?s. Surely rep honours can?t be too far away.

Second-row: Steve Menzies (Sea Eagles) ? Beaver was back to his best against some stiff opposition in the Doggies. He tackles all night long and takes it up relentlessly, getting involved whenever he can.

Second-row: Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels) ? Hindy completes an awesome backrow, with the type of flamboyance required in this mix. He tried his guts out against the Broncos and took a hard knock as well.

Prop: Luke Bailey (Dragons) ? Ran at the line all night and was the Dragons? star forward as usual. They?re gonna miss him next year. Should be the first bloke selected for the Kangaroos come October.

Hooker: Simon Woolford (Raiders) ? The veteran had a great game for the Green Machine as they just went down to the Storm. Played well out of dummy half and kept the niggle out of his game, which is good to see.

Prop: Carl Webb (Cowboys) ? Big, bad Carl came back to some form against the Rabbitohs, bustling his way through their feeble defence. It?s hard to see him in the frame for a Test jersey but a solid off-season will do this big bopper some good.

Interchange: Justin Smith (Cowboys), Ruben Wiki (Warriors), Lance Hohaia (Warriors), Jarrod Mullen (Knights).

Solid bench here with Smith and Wiki providing plenty of guts up the middle and some good ball movement through the forwards.

Mullen has been stepping up lately and he got a meat pie against the Panthers. Hohaia has re-invented himself in the centres and it doing well with the boot also.

Merkin of the Week Award for Stupidity: The Roosters get our vote for the coveted Merkin this week, showering themselves in elegance with the sacking of Ricky Stuart. They?ve missed the semis for the second year in a row and a clean-out at Bondi is probably for the best.