MLR 2023 – ARN Team of the Week – Round 7

It was an historic weekend for Dallas, who finally got their first taste of victory after 22 straight defeats. Utah edged New England and Seattle did just enough to escape NOLA with their unbeaten record intact. Houston overpowered Chicago, New York overcame ATL, and San Diego showed their class against DC.

1 – Rob Cobb (Houston SaberCats) Chicago’s pack was not having a fun day at the office against a bruising SaberCats outfit. Cobb was a vital part of the steamroller, but he wasn’t a runaway choice. DC’s Jack Iscaro laid some heavy shoulders in San Diego, and a tip of the cap to Liam Murray of Dallas.

2 – Dylan Fawsitt (New York Ironworkers) It’s not every day you see a hooker taking to the air to win a restart. Put boot to ball on one occasion that cost ATL 40 meters of field position. Didn’t score a try for once but seemed to do everything else. On the other side Alex Maughan impressed, as did Seattle’s line-breaking Peter Malcolm.

3 – Juan Pablo Zeiss (Dallas Jackals) It wasn’t his best outing this season but Zeiss was still a critical part of the historic victory. A rock in the scrum, and on any other day his breakdown turnover would have resulted in three points. New England’s Cole Keith was also quality.

4 – Isaac Ross (San Diego Legion) A banker at the bank of the lineout, and disruptor on Old Glory’s throw-ins. Completely stuffed DC’s first attacking maul and he showed his exceptional handling skills as a link man on more than one occasion. His catch-and-pass to set up Blair Cowan’s try was straight off the training ground.

5 – Sam Golla (Dallas Jackals) The best performance of his young pro career to date. Forceful in everything he did, and shook off a Premiership veteran to score as good an individual try as you will see from a second row. Utah’s Onehunga Havili wasn’t far behind, and Houston’s Siaosi Mahoni had probably his best game of the season as well.

6 – Christian Poidevin (San Diego Legion) Made an absolute nuisance of himself for 80 minutes. Rewarded with a try near the death after his constant support play. Charles Elton was a workhorse and saved the day for NOLA with a turnover in the shadow of his own posts.

7 – Blair Cowan (San Diego Legion) An impressive shift from the captain. Won lineouts, scrapped for balls on the deck, linked with his backline, and also grabbed a highlight-reel try. His opposite Lautaro Bavaro was also outstanding for DC.

8 – Wian Conradie (New England Free Jacks) His workrate off the ball is exceptional. Won hard yards, made tackles, and slowed Utah ball at the breakdown. Showed some classic ball control at the back of the scrum to touch down on the end of a rare pushover try.

9 – Connor McLeod (Utah Warriors) Slight of frame but a heavyweight in terms of his influence. Kept the tempo high and his sniping runs kept the defense honest. One of them led directly to a try for Onehunga Havili and another pinned the Free Jacks back in their own end.

10 – Jack Heighton (New York Ironworkers) Yet another tough decision here with NOLA’s Rodney Iona and Utah’s Joel Hodgson also worthy nominees. New York are simply a different team with Heighton on the pitch. The wind made goal-kicking a challenge, but his playmaking skills were there for all to see. Matt Dawson would have approved of the dummy in the lead-up to Andrew Coe’s try.

11 – Gerrie Labuschagne (Houston SaberCats) Having a whale of a season so far. It was his line break up the middle that put Dom Akina away, and he then went looking for work on the far side of the scrum to set up Drew Wild’s try. Put in a couple huge touch-finders with the boot as well.

12 – Ma’a Nonu (San Diego Legion) Sure, he got a yellow card, but he also caused absolute fits just about every time he touched the ball. Won the collisions all day and blasted poor John Rizzo en route to a try for himself, a moment that will not be soon forgotten by the young man.

13 – JP du Plessis (NOLA Gold) His second straight selection after another tremendous all-around effort. Showed his determination to score, and then straight away won a breakdown turnover. Constantly made it over the gainline and gee whiz that forward pass call was tight.

14 – Mikey Te’o (San Diego Legion) Hard luck to Utah’s Mika Kruse, New York’s Andrew Coe, and Seattle’s Conner Mooneyham. Magic Mikey was on another level at Snapdragon Stadium. More than made up for his first half error. Called his shot to put Tomas Aoake away, scored two fantastic tries himself, and then capped it off with a superb offload to Nate Augspurger for the coup de grace.

15 – Dougie Fife (NOLA Gold) Strong game on both sides of the ball. Ran a perfect angle to score in the first half, and limited Seattle’s kicking options throughout. The two fullbacks at Mount Vernon, Nick Feakes and Rewita Biddle, were also in the mix.