North Queensland Cowboys star Scott Drinkwater continues to control Zero Tackle's NRL MVP at the end of Round 9, with most of his gap maintained to Jackson Ford, Latrell Mitchell and Nathan Cleary.
Drinkwater wasn't the man of the match for any of our judges on Friday evening against the Canterbury Bulldogs, but did claim 16 votes.
Jackson Ford closed in by a single vote, while Latrell Mitchell is sitting equal third alongside Nathan Cleary who was one of five players to claim a perfect 20 during Round 9.
Cleary was joined in the perfect 20 stakes by Jason Taumalolo, Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Kalyn Ponga and KL Iro, while the other three games saw a mix of Matthew Timoko, Kaeo Weekes, Erin Clark, Jackson Ford, James Tedesco and Naufahu Whyte votes as player of the match by at least one judge.
Of the perfect 20s, only Cleary features in the top ten, with Finefeuiaki the closest on the outsider, holding 13th spot, however, most of the top ten scored points, with James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards holding spots in the top six from last week, while Haumole Olakau'atu, Tolutau Koula and Tanah Boyd have all advanced their causes with decent point totals.
As a reminder of how this works, our panel, comprising Zero Tackle founder Matt Clements, journalist Leo Twemlow, and writer Dan Nichols, alongside myself as editor, will cast votes on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis from each game of the premiership season.
Here are the Round 9 votes.
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Jason Taumalolo | Jason Taumalolo | Jason Taumalolo | Jason Taumalolo |
| 4 | Scott Drinkwater | Scott Drinkwater | Scott Drinkwater | Scott Drinkwater |
| 3 | Braidon Burns | Thomas Mikaele | Reed Mahoney | Reed Mahoney |
| 2 | Thomas Mikaele | Reed Mahoney | Thomas Mikaele | Tom Dearden |
| 1 | Reed Mahoney | Tom Dearden | Braidon Burns | Thomas Mikaele |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Kulikefu Finefeuiaki | Kulikefu Finefeuiaki | Kulikefu Finefeuiaki | Kulikefu Finefeuiaki |
| 4 | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth | Jack Bostock |
| 3 | Jack Bostock | Jack Bostock | Jack Bostock | Herbie Farnworth |
| 2 | Isaiya Katoa | Isaiya Katoa | Isaiya Katoa | Isaiya Katoa |
| 1 | Sua Fa'alogo | Sua Fa'alogo | Sua Fa'alogo | Sua Fa'alogo |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Matthew Timoko | Kaeo Weekes | Kaeo Weekes | Matthew Timoko |
| 4 | Kaeo Weekes | Ethan Sanders | Ethan Sanders | Kaeo Weekes |
| 3 | Simi Sasagi | Simi Sasagi | Simi Sasagi | Simi Sasagi |
| 2 | Corey Horsburgh | Matthew Timoko | Matthew Timoko | Corey Horsburgh |
| 1 | Joseph Tapine | Phillip Sami | Joseph Tapine | Phillip Sami |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Erin Clark | Erin Clark | Jackson Ford | Erin Clark |
| 4 | Jackson Ford | Jackson Ford | Erin Clark | Jackson Ford |
| 3 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Tanah Boyd | Tanah Boyd | Tanah Boyd |
| 2 | Tanah Boyd | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck |
| 1 | Ronald Volkman | Chanel Harris-Tavita | Chanel Harris-Tavita | Chanel Harris-Tavita |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | James Tedesco | James Tedesco | Naufahu Whyte | James Tedesco |
| 4 | Naufahu Whyte | Naufahu Whyte | James Tedesco | Naufahu Whyte |
| 3 | Patrick Carrigan | Xavier Willison | Reece Walsh | Reece Walsh |
| 2 | Daly Cherry-Evans | Sam Walker | Xavier Willison | Sam Walker |
| 1 | Daniel Tupou | Reece Walsh | Nat Butcher | Daniel Tupou |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Kalyn Ponga | Kalyn Ponga | Kalyn Ponga | Kalyn Ponga |
| 4 | Latrell Mitchell | Latrell Mitchell | Latrell Mitchell | Latrell Mitchell |
| 3 | Greg Marzhew | Trey Mooney | Trey Mooney | Greg Marzhew |
| 2 | Trey Mooney | Greg Marzhew | Greg Marzhew | Alex Johnston |
| 1 | Alex Johnston | Bradman Best | Alex Johnston | Bradman Best |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | KL Iro | KL Iro | KL Iro | KL Iro |
| 4 | Nicho Hynes | Nicho Hynes | Nicho Hynes | Nicho Hynes |
| 3 | Braydon Trindall | Braydon Trindall | Jesse Colquhoun | Braydon Trindall |
| 2 | Addin Fonua-Blake | Blayke Brailey | Blayke Brailey | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| 1 | Blayke Brailey | Addin Fonua-Blake | Braydon Trindall | William Kennedy |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Nathan Cleary | Nathan Cleary | Nathan Cleary | Nathan Cleary |
| 4 | Haumole Olakau'atu | Haumole Olakau'atu | Dylan Edwards | Haumole Olakau'atu |
| 3 | Dylan Edwards | Dylan Edwards | Haumole Olakau'atu | Dylan Edwards |
| 2 | Brian To'o | Brian To'o | Brian To'o | Brian To'o |
| 1 | Blaize Talagi | Blaize Talagi | Tolutau Koula | Blaize Talagi |
Top ten
| RANK | PLAYER | LAST ROUND | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Drinkwater |
16 | 113 |
| 2 | Jackson Ford |
17 | 107 |
| 3 | Nathan Cleary |
20 | 100 |
| 3 | Latrell Mitchell |
16 | 100 |
| 5 | James Tedesco |
19 | 97 |
| 6 | Dylan Edwards |
13 | 95 |
| 7 | Haumole Olakau'atu |
15 | 76 |
| 8 | Tolutau Koula |
1 | 70 |
| 9 | Tanah Boyd |
11 | 68 |
| 10 | Adam Doueihi |
0 | 66 |
| 10 | Nicho Hynes |
16 | 66 |
Click here to view the full leaderboard.
