NRL 2023: Round Three Team of the Week

Despite a few sides dipping in form more than a few players have kept pace with the best in the competition to earn a slot in the Round Three Team of the Week.

After an exciting third round, the Brisbane Broncos and Dolphins continue to dominate while a few incredible performances from losing teams proved the depth of talent still lingering in out-of-form sides.

The Edge of the Crowd Rugby League team put their heads together to put together the best 13 players in this week's Team of the Week.

1. Fullback - Tom Trbojevic - Manly Sea Eagles

They call him Tommy Turbo for a reason and Tom Trbojevic reminded fans why in the opening game of the third round dominating in almost every area on the field. Trbojevic made great use of his 21 runs, running for 204 metres for the match, with one line break, one try assist, a whopping 10 tackle breaks and two crucial tries.

However, defensively the fullback was just as impactful defusing two of Parramatta's kicks, the relentless pressure clearly making the Eels leaders sweat.

2. Wing - Tesi Niu - Dolphins

A key figure in one of the most exciting teams in the competition Tesi Niu nabbed a couple of firsts for the Dolphins' record books against the Newcastle Knights. Scoring the first hat trick for the Dolphins in the NRL Niu has provided a speedy outlet on the Dolphins' wing providing the perfect pairing to Jamayne Isaako on the opposite side of the park.

Niu shattered a second barrier for the Dolphins on Friday night becoming the first player to crack 200 running metres in a single match with 230 metres from 19 runs, with 69 post-contact metres.

3. Centre - Euan Aitken - Dolphins

Euan Aitken was another stable figure in the Dolphins lineup on Friday, taking an opportunity every time the ball was in his hands. Running for 125 metres, with two line-break assists, five tackle breaks and two offloads. Aitken also had his hand in multiple tries with two try assists and wasted no time coming out of tackles with an average play of the ball speed of 2.76 seconds.

4. Centre - Campbell Graham - South Sydney Rabbitohs

Campbell Graham is making a serious case for himself as being the best Centre in the NRL currently and his performance against the Roosters was another one for the highlights reel.

Leading the match for run metres with 194, Graham hardly wasted an inch finding holes in the Roosters' defence to break past the line twice and escape the defenders' tackle on four occasions. Graham continues to settle the right edge and the chemistry seems just right with Izaac Tu'ituopou Thompson and Lachlan Illias who are looking to find a reliable outlet on the right side to compensate for Alex Johnston's regular try-scoring heroics.

5. Wing - Jaxson Paulo - Sydney Roosters

There was a lot of pressure on Jaxson Paulo when he lined up against his former club the South Sydney Rabbitohs but the 23-year-old embraced the relentless pressure on Friday night to put up one of his best performances to date.

Perceived as weak on the kick returns in 2022, a majority of Souths' kicks were sent in his direction and Paulo hardly faltered, picking up 93 or his 192 run metres from the kick returns alone. His efforts extended in attack, however, picking up two tries out on the wing.

6. Five-Eight - Matt Burton - Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

Matt Burton was a key figure in the Bulldogs' win over the Wests Tigers in the heat on Sunday. Averaging 14.1m from his 10 runs was one of the safest pairs of hands on the field, looking for opportunities to attack the Tigers' try line either with his runs or with his impressive kicking game, kicking for 260 metres, hunting tries with multiple grubber kicks.

Burton's crafty attacks picked up a try in the second half for himself but was also able to slip through the defenders' grasp on six occasions resulting in one line break and five tackle breaks.

7. Halfback - Adam Reynolds - Brisbane Broncos

Few other players look more at ease than Adam Reynolds despite being 16-18 down with 10 minutes to go. However, the master halfback came in with a plan and lead his team to victory managing the clock expertly despite missing two conversions.

Kicking 351 metres for the match, Reynolds' bombs were difficult to manage for the Dragon's defenders.

8. Prop - Payne Haas - Brisbane Broncos

Payne Haas has continued to put the work in, in the third round, maximising the reward for an incredible effort. Currently leading the league for post-contact metres, adding 104 more to his massive tally of 273 metres, running for a total of 240 metres for the match from 18 runs.

9. Hooker - Harry Grant - Melbourne Storm

Harry Grant had a hand in everything going right for the Melbourne Storm in their loss against the Gold Coast Titans. Grant ran the ball exclusively from dummy half, running for 63 metres with three try assists and two line-break assists from his 88 passes.

10. Prop - Corey Horsburgh - Canberra Raiders

Coming off the bench Corey Horsburgh got a lot done in 50 minutes of footy, scoring two tries and averaging 8.5 metres from his 10 runs with five tackle breaks for the match. Horsburgh wasn't asleep in defence either tackling at 90 per cent for the match.

11. Second Row - Keaon Koloamatangi - South Sydney Rabbitohs

South Sydney wasn't able to dance away with the win against bitter rivals Sydney Roosters, but Keaon Koloamatangi was on fire once again giving the Roosters grief in all areas of the park.

Instrumental going forward Koloamatangi picked up a try and managed to break through the Roosters' defence multiple times with three tackle breaks and a line break, with two of his three passes, all offloads, resulting in one of his Souths teammates breaking the Roosters' line.

12. Second Row - David Fifita - Gold Coast Titans

David Fifita continues to look relaxed in the Titans' forward line and his ability to keep composed and not give up any errors or penalties in a match where both sides gave away cheap possessions proved vital to the Titans' win.

Electric in attack Fifita lead the Titans for tackle breaks with four, running for a total of 122 metres from 14 runs and winning the Titans much-needed ground in the middle of the park at times.

13. Lock - Tohu Harris - New Zealand Warriors

Week in and week out Tohu Harris has stood up for the New Zealand Warriors and in the Warriors' 26-12 win over the North Queensland Cowboys. A settling force in attack, Harris ran for 142 metres with 14 hit-ups.

The Warriors captain was equally as impressive in defence finishing second in the tackle count for the Warriors with 41, at a 91 per cent tackle efficiency rate.