NRL players take great delight in engaging with the community and boosting spirits.
And while these deeds are not done for praise or attention, the off-field work of 13 players has been recognised with a nomination for the 2021 Ken Stephen Medal, sponsored by Your Local Club.
The nominees, put forward by their NRL clubs as part of the annual NRL Community Awards, are listed below with their junior teams:
Adam Doueihi (Wests Tigers/Strathfield Raiders)
Cody Walker (South Sydney Rabbitohs/Casino Cougars)
Jamal Fogarty (Gold Coast Titans/Beaudesert Kingfishers)
Jamayne Isaako (Brisbane Broncos/Aranui Eagles)
Jarrod Croker (Canberra Raiders/Goulburn Stockmen Juniors)
Eels v Raiders, Thursday 7.50pm at Cbus Super Stadium
Eels: Mitchell Moses has been ruled out of Thursday night s clash against the Raiders due to a back fracture suffered in Origin III so Jake Arthur will play halfback again this week.
Tom Opacic is also out and his place in the centres is taken by Will Penisini on debut, while Blake Ferguson has been recalled for his first game since round 12 at the expense of Haze Dunster.
Joey Lussick and Makahesi Makatoa were the first two players cut 24 hours before kick-off.
The Eels have won their past three games against the Raiders.
Winners
Eels back-rower Isaiah Papali i (98) was a man on a mission with a try and 10 busts in a one-point loss to the Panthers to top the round s scoring and prove easily the best of the possible captaincy choices in round 16 – although only a little more than 1 per cent of coaches went with him.
Ben Hunt (95) was magnificent in a comeback win against the Warriors and while a less likely captaincy choice he rewarded those who punted on giving him the armband this week.
Jamal Fogarty (96) was huge in the Titans win over Canberra while Manly wingers Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab (91) both made hay in the record-breaking win over Canterbury.
Kalyn Ponga hogged the headlines after leading Newcastle to a 38-0 shut-out of North Queensland in his comeback match at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night, and rightly so.
But it was the performance of another former Cowboy against his old club that left long-suffering Knights fans feeling excited about their team’s prospects in the final nine rounds of the season.
Five-eighth Jake Clifford showed touches of class with the ball, and desperation in defence, to suggest coach Adam O’Brien’s 18-month search for a fixture at No.6 might finally be over.
It was only Clifford’s fourth game for the Knights since leaving the Cowboys last month, and his first for Newcastle alongside his great mate Ponga, but O’Brien is convinced those two players plus half Mitchell Pearce and hooker Jayden Brailey will form a spine around which to build a successful team.
Ponga inspires Knights demolition of Cowboys A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Replay A Set the default text size A Set large text size
When Tom Trbojevic returned for Manly a few months ago, he single-handedly turned the Sea Eagles’ fortunes around.
We may have witnessed something similar tonight, with Kalyn Ponga sensational in his return from injury.
The Knights were dominant from start to finish, demolishing the North Queensland Cowboys by 38-0.
Newcastle scored first after just five minutes.
After a Valentine Holmes kick rolled dead, the Knights earned a seven-tackle set. From the resulting Jake Clifford bomb, Dominic Young picked up the loose ball and passed to Kalyn Ponga who was in.