NRL 2023 Dally M Predictor - Round Five

More than a month of the NRL season is now in the bag and it's getting clear which players are going to be in the votes this year.

Round five of the NRL saw massive blowouts, one-point finishes and surprisingly a draw. There were plenty of storylines to come out of this round.

The Edge of the Crowd writers have come together to review each match and have submitted their votes for the Dally M predictor for the 2023 season.

Sydney Roosters 28 Parramatta Eels 20

3. Sam Walker

2. Lindsay Collins

1. Ryan Matterson

In the battle of East v West, it was the Wast that ran home victors by eight points on Thursday night. Sam Walker was the best of the night with four goals to go alongside 29 run matres and 23 tackles. A solid performance across offence and defence for the up-and-coming superstar.

Lindsay Collins picks up two points in this fixture after a massive running effort gaining 125 metres. Most impressively 63 of those were post-contact. The Eeels' defensive effort largely rested on the shoulders of Ryan Matterson who laid 38 tackles as well as running for 99 metres.

Canberra Raiders 12 Penrith Panthers 53

3. Izack Tago

2. Nathan Cleary

1. Issah Yeo

There is no other way to describe the Canberra effort from Friday night than pathetic. Just two tries were scored by the Raiders compared to a massive nine-try effort from Penrith. With two tries of his own Izack Tago was dominant all across the field running 123 metres and laying 19 tackles.

Nathan Cleary had another great kicking game, he seems to be building to his 2021/22 form once again. He slotted eight conversions while kicking 410 metres on the field in a 14-tackle effort. Issah Yeo gets in the votes for the defensive effort that saw him lay 33 tackles and run 98 metres from 10 attempts.

South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 Melbourne Storm 18

3. Harry Grant

2. Cameron Murray

1. Cody Walker

It feels like the Storm are finally starting to settle into the season after a slightly slow start. But a big win over one of the competition favourites will certainly keep the fans happy going into Week Six.

Harry Grant was a beast on the defensive end and gets the three votes for it. He laid a massive 46 tackles while kicking for 189 metres in an effort that kept the Bunnies' defence at bay.

It's another big defensive effort that gets Cameron Murray in the votes. He laid 37 tackles while going on 13 runs for 89 metres, throwing in a try assist also helped his cause. Cody Walker gets the final vote in this match after scoring himself while laying 27 tackles alongside 229 kicking metres.

Manly Sea Eagles 32 Newcastle Knights 32

3. Dominic Young

2. Lachlan Miller

1. Greg Marzhew

A draw? Yes, that's right, after 90 minutes neither side could be separated on Saturday afternoon. Two different reactions from the teams though with Manly happy with the performance and the Knights extremely disappointed.

Dominic Young gets the three points in this match after scoring on four occasions, a massive effort alongside running for 193 metres from 18 attempts.

It's another Knights player in the votes with Lachlan Miller getting the two. He kicked successfully on two occasions while running for 223 metres with 51 of those being post-contact. The Knights get the clean sweep with Marzhew getting the final vote after scoring once in a performance that saw him lay three tackles and run for 199 metres.

St George Illawarra Dragons 38 Dolphins 12

3. Ben Hunt

2. Jamayne Isaako

1. Blake Lawrie

It's been somewhat of a comeback to Earth for the Dolphins after their 3-0 winning start to the season. Ben Hunt gets the three votes once again after a massive performance that saw him score once, lay 15 tackles assist in one try and get a line break to top it all off.

The Dolphins aren't without a vote in this match as Isaako was dominant in what was largely a single-player performance. He scored once before converting twice as part of a 177-metre run effort. The final vote goes to Lawrie after he scored, as well as laying 29 tackles in a good all-round performance.

Brisbane Broncos 46 Wests Tigers 12

3. Payne Hass

2. Reece Walsh

1. Isaiah Papali'i

The form team of the completion have continued their amazing run this season with another massive win over the Tigers, it's hard to see the Broncos being stopped at this point. Payne Haas was the best on the field scoring a try of his own while running for 121 metres amongst the 14 tackles he laid.

Reece Walsh has hit the ground running ever since leaving the Warriors for the Broncos and continued that run in round five. He ran for 183 metres while giving away three try assists amongst a couple of line breaks. Papali'i was the best of the Tigers with 25 tackles on the defensive end as well as running for 93 metres. He did about as much as he could in a side that was outclassed, and soundly beaten.

Cronulla Sharks 30 New Zealand Warriors 32

3. Shaun Johnson

2. Nicho Hynes

1. Jesse Ramien

The Warriors are putting together a nice little first half of the season grabbing the win in a high-scoring match in Sydney. Johnson has had a very consistent year for the Warriors having scored a try in this match as well as converting on six occasions. He was also very good on the defensive end, tackling 24 times as well as kicking for 669 metres. Perhaps the best player of the round.

Hynes gets the two votes in a losing side after laying 16 tackles in a good defensive effort. In the forward half, he ran for 46 metres while successfully kicking on five occasions amongst 486 kicking metres. Ramien gets the final vote after a 20 tackle, 188 run metres performance that kept Crounlla in the match during crucial stages.

Canterbury Bulldogs 15 North Queensland Cowboys 14

3. Jacob Preston

2. Matt Burton

1. Reece Robson

No better way to finish the round than a golden point finish by the Dogs at home on Sunday night, the win finally gets them back into the top eight. Preston scored on two occasions as well as being excellent defensively by laying 45 tackles. It was the performance that separated the two teams.

Matt Burton has had a great start to the season for the Dogs in an organisation that seems to be on the way up. They kicked successfully on one occasion while laying 23 tackles amongst 81 run metres. The final vote of the round goes to Robson from the Cowboys after he laid 50 tackles while running for 72 metres from seven attempts.

Leaderboard

1. Harry Grant (12)

2. Payne Haas (10)

3. Shaun Johnson (9)

4. Reece Walsh (8)

5. Adam Reynolds (6)