For the second week running four One New Zealand Warriors players have made the NRL VB Hard Earned Team of the Week.
Following the team’s superb performance in the 30-8 14th-round win over the Dolphins, captain Tohu Harris and Addin Fonua-Blake make the team after also doing so after the loss to the Broncos a week earlier.
And joining them this week are second rower Jackson Ford and halfback Shaun Johnson.
With the team leading 30-4 after Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s second try, Harris was spared a third consecutive 80-minute effort but in his 72 minutes on the field he was once again outstanding. He made 117 metres from 13 runs including 46 post-contact metres, 40 tackles without a miss and no errors while, as usual, he played a critical role on attack at first receiver.
Fonua-Blake, as he has done all season, was monumental in the middle of the park. In a 65-minute contribution he made 195 metres from 19 runs including 78 post-contact metres (the most runs, metres and post-contact metres of any forward in the game). He backed it up with 30 tackles without a miss.
In his eighth 80-minute effort of the season quiet achiever Ford supplied ample glue with his work including 123 metres from 17 runs, 30 tackles with just one miss and no errors.
Johnson’s show was among the best of his career with his two hot-stepping tries, five goals from five attempts, 127 metres from 12 runs, two line breaks, a line break assist, five tackle breaks, 27 tackles with just one miss, 385 metres from 13 kicks and no errors.
