Zero Tackle's NRL MVP is in for Round 12, with James Tedesco taking over as the leader after an 18-vote performance.
Tedesco, who won the MVP race last year by two votes on Zero Tackle, has got his 2025 campaign off to a superb start, polling at least ten votes in seven games so far.
It's the first time since the first month of the campaign however that the lead has changed hands, with Terrell May on a bye over the weekend just gone and slipping a vote behind the star Roosters' fullback.
Elsewhere, Herbie Farnworth has moved to within striking distance on the back of his third strong game on the trot, polling 16 votes to move into fifth spot, while Isaiya Katoa and Joseph Tapine have both moved into the top ten.
Katoa was one of three players to claim a perfect 20 votes across the five games in Round 12, with the Dolphins' halfback joined by Parramatta fill in Dean Hawkins and Newcastle youngster Fletcher Sharpe.
In the other two games, Tedesco split top spot with Hugo Savala, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Tapine shared the maximum votes in the final game of the round as the Raiders surprised the Warriors in Auckland.
During every round of the 2025 NRL season, four judges from Zero Tackle's team (founder Matt Clements, writers Ethan Lee Chalk and Dan Nichols, and myself as editor), will assign votes on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis for every game during the season, with results to be published each week here on Zero Tackle.
Without any further ado, here are the votes from Round 12.
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Isaiya Katoa | Isaiya Katoa | Isaiya Katoa | Isaiya Katoa |
| 4 | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth |
| 3 | Francis Molo | Francis Molo | Francis Molo | Kurt Donoghoe |
| 2 | Kurt Donoghoe | Oryn Keeley | Oryn Keeley | Francis Molo |
| 1 | Oryn Keeley | Kurt Donoghoe | Kurt Donoghoe | Oryn Keeley |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Dean Hawkins | Dean Hawkins | Dean Hawkins | Dean Hawkins |
| 4 | Isaiah Iongi | Isaiah Iongi | Isaiah Iongi | Isaiah Iongi |
| 3 | Junior Paulo | Lehi Hopoate | Jack Williams | Junior Paulo |
| 2 | Jack Williams | Jack Williams | Junior Paulo | Lehi Hopoate |
| 1 | Lehi Hopoate | Junior Paulo | Lehi Hopoate | Jack Williams |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Fletcher Sharpe | Fletcher Sharpe | Fletcher Sharpe | Fletcher Sharpe |
| 4 | Dylan Lucas | Dylan Lucas | Dylan Lucas | Dylan Lucas |
| 3 | Tyson Gamble | Tyson Frizell | Tyson Gamble | Tyson Gamble |
| 2 | Dane Gagai | Tyson Gamble | Tyson Frizell | Dane Gagai |
| 1 | Tyson Frizell | Jack Cogger | Jack Cogger | Tyson Frizell |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Hugo Savala | James Tedesco | James Tedesco | Hugo Savala |
| 4 | James Tedesco | Hugo Savala | Hugo Savala | James Tedesco |
| 3 | Blake Steep | Blake Steep | Daniel Tupou | Daniel Tupou |
| 2 | Dominic Young | Daniel Tupou | Victor Radley | Victor Radley |
| 1 | Daniel Tupou | Dominic Young | Blake Steep | Blake Steep |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Joseph Tapine | Joseph Tapine | Joseph Tapine |
| 4 | Joseph Tapine | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Jackson Ford | Savelio Tamale |
| 3 | Savelio Tamale | Erin Clark | Erin Clark | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck |
| 2 | Jackson Ford | Jackson Ford | Savelio Tamale | Erin Clark |
| 1 | Erin Clark | Savelio Tamale | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Luke Metcalf |
Top Ten
| PLAYER | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Tedesco |
18 | 128 |
| 2 | Terrell May |
0 | 127 |
| 3 | Payne Haas |
0 | 111 |
| 4 | Hudson Young |
0 | 105 |
| 5 | Herbie Farnworth |
16 | 92 |
| 6 | William Kennedy |
0 | 86 |
| 7 | Clinton Gutherson |
0 | 85 |
| 8 | Joseph Tapine |
19 | 84 |
| 9 | Isaiya Katoa |
20 | 82 |
| 10 | Keaon Koloamatangi |
0 | 80 |
