St George Illawarra Dragons captain and halfback Ben Hunt has taken the lead in Zero Tackle's NRL MVP race after Round 16.

The star claimed 14 votes out of a possible 20 on a wet and windy afternoon in Wollongong, to now have opened up a ten-point lead over Melbourne Storm halfback Cameron Munster and Sydney Roosters fullback James Tedesco, with the duo now tied after Tedesco managed to pick up a couple of votes during Round 16s loss to the Penrith Panthers.

Munster, on the other hand, who led after Round 15, didn't play as he sat out with injury.

Further down the top ten, Joseph Tapine has claimed another 17 votes to move into fourth spot, while a perfect 20 from Nicho Hynes has him back into the top five.

Scott Drinkwater is the week's other big mover, while Joseph Manu, Daly Cherry-Evans, Haumole Olakau'atu and Ryan Papenhuyzen all claimed double-digit tallies to move to within striking distance of the top ten.

Here are all the Round 16 votes.

Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm

The Manly Sea Eagles were almost brought undone by a second straight fadeout. Round 15 saw the club crash and burn to lose to the Cowboys, and a number of tries in the final ten minutes for the Melbourne Storm almost saw them fall short despite holding a big lead. Despite the fade out, Daly Cherry-Evans was still their best on ground, with Ryan Papenhuyzen leading the way for the Storm.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Ryan Papenhuyzen Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans
4 Daly Cherry-Evans Ryan Papenhuyzen Ryan Papenhuyzen Haumole Olakau'atu
3 Haumole Olakau'atu Haumole Olakau'atu Haumole Olakau'atu Ryan Papenhuyzen
2 Nelson Asofa-Solomona Tolutau Koula Nelson Asofa-Solomona Tolutau Koula
1 Tolutau Koula Justin Olam Tolutau Koula Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Newcastle Knights vs Gold Coast Titans

In what was a surprising turn of events, the Knights thumped the Titans on Friday evening with Edrick Lee (five tries) and Dominic Young (three tries) combining for a total of eight on the wings. Both players were unanimously voted as number one and two for the game.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Edrick Lee Edrick Lee Edrick Lee Edrick Lee
4 Dominic Young Dominic Young Dominic Young Dominic Young
3 Adam Clune Anthony Milford Adam Clune Anthony Milford
2 Anthony Milford Adam Clune Anthony Milford Adam Clune
1 David Klemmer David Klemmer David Klemmer David Klemmer

Penrith Panthers vs Sydney Roosters

A bruising, frenetic, fast-paced Friday night encounter saw the Panthers manage to keep their heads above water against the Sydney Roosters. Despite the best efforts of Joseph Manu and James Tedesco, it was Apisai Koroisau, Izack Tago, Dylan Edwards and James Fisher-Harris who ultimately led the way for the men from the foot of the mountains.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Apisai Koroisau Apisai Koroisau Apisai Koroisau Apisai Koroisau
4 Joseph Manu Joseph Manu Izack Tago Izack Tago
3 James Fisher-Harris Izack Tago Joseph Manu Joseph Manu
2 Izack Tago Dylan Edwards James Fisher-Harris James Fisher-Harris
1 Isaah Yeo James Tedesco James Tedesco James Tedesco

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Cronulla Sharks

The stadium resembled more of a lake than a football ground by the time this one was done and dusted, but the Sharks handled the conditions better to ultimately get the better of the Bulldogs, with Nicho Hynes leading the way.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Nicho Hynes Nicho Hynes Nicho Hynes Nicho Hynes
4 Briton Nikora Jeremy Marshall-King Jeremy Marshall-King Jeremy Marshall-King
3 Jeremy Marshall-King Siosifa Talakai Matt Moylan Briton Nikora
2 Siosifa Talakai Jesse Ramien Toby Rudolf Siosifa Talakai
1 Sione Katoa Matt Moylan Siosifa Talakai Toby Rudolf

North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos

The Cowboys got the better of the Broncos in the Queensland derby on Saturday evening, with Scott Drinkwater again showing just how undroppable he is in the Cowboys' number one jersey. Reece Robson also proved why he has been called into the New South Wales Blues' squad for Game 3.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Scott Drinkwater Scott Drinkwater Scott Drinkwater Scott Drinkwater
4 Reece Robson Reece Robson Reece Robson Reece Robson
3 Selwyn Cobbo Valentine Holmes Valentine Holmes Valentine Holmes
2 Murray Taulagi Murray Taulagi Selwyn Cobbo Selwyn Cobbo
1 Valentine Holmes Corey Jensen Murray Taulagi Murray Taulagi

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Parramatta Eels

Latrell Mitchell is back, and what a difference it made for the Rabbitohs as they went flying past the Parramatta Eels on Saturday evening, with plenty of big name performances from Alex Johnston, Thomas Burgess and Jai Arrow leading the way.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Alex Johnston Thomas Burgess Alex Johnston Thomas Burgess
4 Jai Arrow Jai Arrow Thomas Burgess Alex Johnston
3 Thomas Burgess Alex Johnston Isaiah Tass Isaiah Tass
2 Isaiah Tass Isaiah Tass Jai Arrow Latrell Mitchell
1 Latrell Mitchell Latrell Mitchell Latrell Mitchell Jai Arrow

New Zealand Warriors vs Wests Tigers

The Warriors' homecoming couldn't have gone any more to script for the Auckland-based club. Despite the game itself being on the dour side, the occasion wasn't, with Tohu Harris and Wayde Egan leading the Warriors home, while Shaun Johnson also had arguably his best game of the year.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Tohu Harris Tohu Harris Wayde Egan Tohu Harris
4 Wayde Egan Wayde Egan Addin Fonua-Blake Wayde Egan
3 Shaun Johnson Shaun Johnson Shaun Johnson Addin Fonua-Blake
2 Euan Aitken Addin Fonua-Blake Tohu Harris Shaun Johnson
1 Addin Fonua-Blake Chanel Harris-Tavita Luke Garner Chanel Harris-Tavita

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders

Controversy was the order of the day in Wollongong on Sunday afternoon as the Raiders fell short by just two points against the Dragons despite calls for a penalty to be awarded to the green machine directly in front of the posts in the dying seconds. Despite that, the Dragons game away with the two competition points as Joseph Tapine and Ben Hunt both polled big votes.

Matt Clements Scott Pryde Dan Nichols Jack Blyth
5 Joseph Tapine Ben Hunt Ben Hunt Joseph Tapine
4 Moses Suli Joseph Tapine Moses Suli Ben Hunt
3 Talatau Amone Moses Suli Joseph Tapine Moses Suli
2 Jack Bird Talatau Amone Talatau Amone Talatau Amone
1 Hudson Young Adam Elliott Jack Bird Jack Bird

Top ten

Click here to view the full leaderboard