NRL Round 25: Five standout performers from NSW Cup and QLD Cup

Joshua Mayne

NRL Round 25: Five standout performers from NSW Cup and QLD Cup image

Burleigh Bears have leapfrogged Souths Logan Magpies to take out the Queensland Cup minor premiership. 

Sunshine Coast Falcons and Northern Pride also locked in their finals spots in an eventful closing weekend.

South of the border, there is still one round remaining in the NSW Cup. 

North Sydney Bears have an unassailable lead at the top of the ladder, while Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles have moved themselves into the top five.

The Sporting News have found five standout performers from the weekend's reserve grade fixtures below.

Clayton Faulalo - Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles

The Sea Eagles have put themselves in NSW Cup finals contention following a 32-12 victory over the Warriors.

Faulalo was the star of the show for the visitors, bagging an impressive hat trick. 

The versatile back ran for a relatively modest 96 metres but was potent close to the line.

He also didn't miss a single one of his 10 tackles.

Ky Rodwell - Parramatta Eels

The Eels are out of the finals hunt in reserve grade but put on a strong team performance regardless.

Their hard-fought 22-12 win over the Roosters was characterised by Rodwell's efforts.

The lock's 198 run metres were the most of any player on the field, with 90 of those metres post-contact.

He was solid defensively too, tackling at 90.63 per cent efficiency.

Xavier Savage - Canberra Raiders

Savage's performance against the Bulldogs was all about efficiency.

The young gun only made eight runs, but finished the match with three tries and one try assist to help the Raiders secure a 40-12 win. 

If Canberra's first grade side are looking for some extra explosiveness coming into finals, he's definitely a plug-and-play option.

Tyran Wishart - Sunshine Coast Falcons

It wasn't a flashy showing, but Wishart was at his impactful best as the Falcons secured a finals berth in the Queensland Cup.

Playing 80 minutes at hooker, he made a game-high 40 tackles and picked up 113 run metres.

He also contributed with a try assist and linebreak assist in a complete performance.

Brandon Russell - Mackay Cutters

Beginning the match on the bench, Russell ended up playing for 59 minutes in the Cutters' 38-18 win over Clydesdales. 

The forward got through a mountain of work, running for a game-high 217 run metres - 110 of which were post-contact. 

He also scored a well-earned try to cap off his performance. 

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and journalist at Ministry of Sport. While Joshua’s main passions are football, rugby league, basketball and F1, he will watch any sport that's on. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.