Penrith Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards has used his demotion as NSW fullback in the State of Origin series to continue putting in strong performances for the Penrith Panthers, taking back control of Zero Tackle's NRL MVP after Round 16.
The Penrith star landed 12 votes in their loss to the Gold Coast Titans on the weekend, jumping a vote clear of teammate Nathan Cleary, while Scott Drinkwater, who polled three votes, sits in third spot.
Both Haumole Olakau'atu and James Tedesco scored strongly to move into fourth and fifth, while Tolutau Koula, Herbie Farnworth and Sua Fa'alogo also scored in the top ten.
Outside of the top ten, Naufahu Whyte, Keano Kini, Cameron Munster and Mark Nawaqanitawase were the biggest movers.
It was a round where agreement between our judging panel wasn't overly forthcoming, with only Zane Harrison, who kicked a winning golden-point field goal for the Titans, and Connor Tracey earning a perfect 20.
In the other five games, Dylan Brown, Fletcher Sharpe, Brad Schneider, Kodi Nikorima, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Wayde Egan, Te Maire Martin, Will Warbrick, Sua Fa'alogo, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Naufahu Whyte were all awarded five votes by at least one judge.
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 all the Round 16 votes across the 7 games played.
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Dylan Brown | Dylan Brown | Fletcher Sharpe | Fletcher Sharpe |
| 4 | Fletcher Sharpe | Kyle Flanagan | Setu Tu | Dylan Brown |
| 3 | Dylan Egan | Dylan Egan | Dylan Brown | Kyle Flanagan |
| 2 | Ryan Couchman | Fletcher Sharpe | Kyle Flanagan | Daniel Atkinson |
| 1 | Kyle Flanagan | Trey Mooney | Ryan Couchman | Toby Couchman |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Brad Schneider | Kodi Nikorima | Brad Schneider | Brad Schneider |
| 4 | Tevita Naufahu | Tevita Naufahu | Tevita Naufahu | Kodi Nikorima |
| 3 | Kodi Nikorima | Trai Fuller | Trai Fuller | Tevita Naufahu |
| 2 | Herbie Farnworth | Jarome Luai | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth |
| 1 | Trai Fuller | Brad Schneider | Jarome Luai | Trai Fuller |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Zane Harrison | Zane Harrison | Zane Harrison | Zane Harrison |
| 4 | Dylan Edwards | Lindsay Smith | Dylan Edwards | Keano Kini |
| 3 | Keano Kini | Keano Kini | Keano Kini | Dylan Edwards |
| 2 | Jayden Campbell | Moeaki Fotuaika | Lindsay Smith | Jayden Campbell |
| 1 | Lindsay Smith | Dylan Edwards | Jayden Campbell | Arama Hau |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Connor Tracey | Connor Tracey | Connor Tracey | Connor Tracey |
| 4 | Haumole Olakau'atu | Haumole Olakau'atu | Haumole Olakau'atu | Lachlan Galvin |
| 3 | Tolutau Koula | Stephen Crichton | Lachlan Galvin | Stephen Crichton |
| 2 | Lachlan Galvin | Reuben Garrick | Tolutau Koula | Haumole Olakau'atu |
| 1 | Luke Brooks | Lachlan Galvin | Reuben Garrick | Luke Brooks |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Wayde Egan | Te Maire Martin | Te Maire Martin |
| 4 | Wayde Egan | Te Maire Martin | Wayde Egan | Wayde Egan |
| 3 | Te Maire Martin | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad |
| 2 | Taine Tuaupiki | Scott Drinkwater | Mitchell Barnett | Mitchell Barnett |
| 1 | Mitchell Barnett | Mitchell Barnett | Taine Tuaupiki | Taine Tuaupiki |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Will Warbrick | Will Warbrick | Sua Fa'alogo | Sua Fa'alogo |
| 4 | Sua Fa'alogo | Cameron Munster | Cameron Munster | Cameron Munster |
| 3 | Cameron Munster | Sua Fa'alogo | Will Warbrick | Will Warbrick |
| 2 | Stefano Utoikamanu | Stefano Utoikamanu | Stefano Utoikamanu | Matthew Timoko |
| 1 | Matthew Timoko | Matthew Timoko | Matthew Timoko | Stefano Utoikamanu |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Leo Twemlow | |
| 5 | Mark Nawaqanitawase | Naufahu Whyte | Mark Nawaqanitawase | Mark Nawaqanitawase |
| 4 | Naufahu Whyte | Daly Cherry-Evans | Naufahu Whyte | James Tedesco |
| 3 | Lindsay Collins | James Tedesco | James Tedesco | Daly Cherry-Evans |
| 2 | James Tedesco | Mark Nawaqanitawase | Lindsay Collins | Naufahu Whyte |
| 1 | Daly Cherry-Evans | Lindsay Collins | Daly Cherry-Evans | Lindsay Collins |
Top Ten
| RANK | PLAYER | LAST ROUND | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Edwards |
12 | 147 |
| 2 | Nathan Cleary |
0 | 146 |
| 3 | Scott Drinkwater |
2 | 135 |
| 4 | Haumole Olakau'atu |
14 | 131 |
| 5 | James Tedesco |
12 | 129 |
| 6 | Jackson Ford |
0 | 121 |
| 7 | Tolutau Koula |
5 | 110 |
| 8 | Harry Grant |
0 | 102 |
| 9 | Latrell Mitchell |
0 | 100 |
| 10 | Sua Fa'alogo |
17 | 95 |
| 10 | Herbie Farnworth |
6 | 95 |
Click here to view the full leaderboard.
