The results from part one of the annual player survey are in.
While the results will be released on Monday, the player’s choice for best second rower and best halfback has been announced on Channel Nines The Sunday Footy Show.
Penrith giant Viliame Kikau was voted best game second rower. He beat Roosters captain Boyd Cordner, who finished second, Broncos cannon David Fifita, who finished third, Cronulla skipper Wade Graham, who finished fourth, and Dragon Tyson Frizell, who rounded up the top five.
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“That is interesting” Sydney Morning Heralds Michael Chammas said.
“There’s been a lot of talk about David Fifita asking for $ 1.25 million, but it’s Viliame Kikau. I think he ended with 28 percent of the vote and Fifita didn’t even make it into the top two. Boyd Cordner finished second.
“It is interesting to see that Fifita didn’t play. With these surveys, you are often out of sight and understanding when you are injured. “
The great rugby player Peter Sterling was not too surprised that Kikau took first place after being impressed with his development at the Panthers.
“Kikau, he caused a sensation at Penrith,” he said.
“I liked yesterday that they once played it on the right side, took it over from the left, which I think makes it even more dangerous.
“It’s a pretty elite group, isn’t it?”
Veteran No. 7 Mitchell Pearce was voted best halfback by his colleagues.
The Knights playmaker ousted second-placed Nathan Cleary. Male captain Daly Cherry-Evans finished third, while reigning Dally M center-back of the year Mitchell Moses finished fourth.
Interestingly, Ben Hunt was chosen fifth by St. George Illawarra despite his bumpy season so far and his move to hooker.
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“I thought Nathan Cleary could get the nod if he started the year so well,” Chammas admitted.
While New South Wales coach Brad Fittler was not surprised that Pearce got the most votes.
“I think Mitchell Pearce has an incredible amount of respect from many of his colleagues,” he said.
“He got hit sometimes for various reasons, but he showed a lot of control and deserves this top position.”
The players were also asked if they thought the NRL should introduce an independent country of origin in the middle of the season.
It was a close result, but interestingly, 59 percent of the players voted yes.
But Fittler disagrees.
“I like the way it works right now,” he said.
“The intrigue surrounding the players, their availability, there is so much in the news because there are games this weekend.
“I don’t know why we want to keep changing Origin when it was the most successful part of our game.
“People always have answers and I don’t know if there is a question.
“If the original motto was buddy against buddy where teammates compete against each other, you start to put that time out and you take that away a lot.
“Because part of Origin I remember when I played was that you played with someone on Wednesday and then played against them on Saturday, and that’s part of the beauty of State of Origin and how you are dealt with it.
“Obviously the clubs don’t want it because they lose their players at this time … but I don’t know why the question is asked.
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“It was an incredible competition that everyone takes part in and I just wonder why they keep trying to tinker with it.
“They tinkered with it when they brought the middle game to a Sunday, which reduced it by a couple of weeks. I think it’s almost faltering to prepare players for what they’re going to have for a week, not necessarily 10 days.
“You start week after week and that’s a really big question about the intensity with which it is played.”
Results released on Monday include the game’s best player and best purchase of the year. The best player nominees are: Tom Trbojevic; James Tedesco; Jason Taumalolo; Cameron Smith and Mitchell Moses.
Over the past 14 days, 150 players from all 16 clubs have participated in the survey, with the answers remaining anonymous.
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