James Tedesco - Easy choice here as Tedesco has been the most threatening fullback in a league stacked with killers in the No.1 jersey. Tedesco is joint leading try-scorer with 8 tries but most importantly we have seen Tedesco show off his slick hands, usually in the form of a tip-on pass or a pass that needs to be made swiftly to beat the winger. This ensures that Tedesco has 6 try assists to his name, the same as Mitchell Moses and almost as many as Luke Brook's 7.

Jordan Rapana - The former Gold Coast Titan and Cook Island international has 6 tries to his name and has consistently been one of Canberra's best this season so far. Rapana doesn't appear to have anything special about his game but it's a nightmare to tackle thanks to subtle swerves, steps and a range-y fend which has him breaking tackles with ease each week. Rapana is ranked 6th in tackle-busts with 37 this season, the most of any Raiders player.

Will Chambers - Despite being currently injured, Chambers was easily one of the NRL's best centres before getting injured and offers a strong all-round game. Chambers is still ranked 19th in offloads - he's actually tied for 12th as Chambers has 12 offloads this season, the same number as Greg Bird. 

Solomone Kata - Toss up here between Kata and James Roberts, no shame in saying that I'm rocking with Kata 'cos he's the Warriors homie. Kata edges out Roberts in tackle-busts (Kata has a game to play this round) with 32 vs 31 but what strikes me about Kata, besides his nuggety frame that makes him a tough bloke to wrap up, is his try-scoring ability from centre. Kata has 7 tries this season and along with Michael Jennings, they are the only centres with more than 5 tries.

Semi Radradra - It's a given that Radradra is nicely ranked in all the stats, however what I love about Radradra this season has been the improvements in his game and how he has gone to a new level with greater involvement. Radradra is far more active through the middle of the field this season, sniffing around for an opportunity where he can use his speed and size to pounce. Then if he gets the ball one-on-one, anywhere on the field, he's dangerous.

Corey Norman - There's a little No.6 from Brisbane who deserves plenty of love (and he gets in) but Norman is a bloke who rarely gets a nod of approval in the NRL's upper echelon. Like that little No.6 from Brisbane, Norman has all the skills, like he very literally does. He can execute any kick, long, short and funky. He's got all the passes, tools in his toolbelt where he can disguise a short-ball and then throw a beauty of a cut-out ball into the bread-basket of a winger. What I love about Norman is those play-making skills and the efficiency in which he uses them comes with the running game of fullback. Oh, and Norman doesn't just sit out on the left edge, he'll jump across and combine with Kieran Foran anywhere on the field.

Jonathan Thurston - The OG, the best player in the game, the lad who is leading the Cowboys as they get off to a great start in their pursuit of back to back Premierships. Thurston leads the try assists with 11 and he leads line break assists with 10, it's Thurston's ability to still be at the top of his game, to still be getting better at his current age that smacks you in the face though. Thurston was known as the best player in the game before he won last year's NRL title and here he is, playing the leading hand in a Cowboys team that keeps getting better.

Matt Scott/James Tamou/Jason Taumalolo (Middle forwards) - Of course, the Cowboys' strength is through the middle of the field where their trio of all-representative forwards simply dominate. Taumalolo averages 10.54m every time he carries the footy, Tamou averages 9.32m and Scott averages 9.39m; the Cowboys love to get these three taking carries one after the other and the are basically guaranteed 30m from three carries. I've got these three as a package deal which means I need all three in my team and that's because they all offer something slightly unique. While Scott and Tamou have widely been known as the best front-row in the NRL for a while, Taumalolo's move to the middle has coincided with the Cowboys dramatic rise to the top of the NRL and his speed/footwork/size combo is borderline unstoppable.

Josh Hodgson - Where do we start with the English hooker? First and foremost it has to be noted how cool it is to have an Englishman dominating the NRL, it's great for international rugby league and I can't wait to see England in action with Hodgson pulling the strings, as he does for the Raiders. Hodgson has 6 try assists (same as Tedesco) and has a couple 40/20 kicks to his name as well, he's always darting out of dummy half and I'd suggest that Hodgson is one of a very small group who's absence would have an immense impact on their team. 

Gavin Cooper - If we've got Thurston at halfback, we need Cooper on the edge running of him. Cooper rarely puts a foot wrong and does his job clinically, however that combination with Thurston pushes Cooper to greater heights.

Manu Ma'u - I love Ma'u, so there's some personal bias at play here, however Ma'u certainly deserves to be in th conversation about the NRL's best edge forwards. Like Cooper, Ma'u can easily roll through 80 minutes which is mind-boggling given how physical Ma'u is in his work; Ma'u has played 80 minutes in all but one game this season (68 mins vs Raiders). Along with that ruthless touch to his game, Ma'u averages 7.8m per-carry, has offloaded in all but one game this season and only has 2 missed tackles in 8 games.

Anthony Milford - The Milf must be in this team, obviously, but he's had to slide to the bench utility spot as this is an All-Star cast after all. Milford is sublime and while Norman has all the skills, Milford does as well which is often slept on as many people only notice his running ability without paying too much attention to his kicking and passing. Milford is 3rd in try assists with 8, he's 5th in tackle-busts with 38 and is tied with Tedesco as the leading try-scorer with 8. Sure, Milford should start but Norman is in sublime touch and imagine Milford coming off the bench with all the freedom he can handle.

Jesse Bromwich - Like Milford, Bromwich should start but the Cowboys one/two/three punch combo trumps Bromwich ... who is the best prop in the NRL. Bromwich leads the NRL with offloads, having at least 2 offloads in every game this season while also averaging 9.13m per-carry. Bromwich has played less than 50 minutes only once this season and has ran for 100m in every game this season and his growth into the NRL's upper echelon has been crucial in the Storm continuing to be a very competitive NRL team.

Corey Parker - There's young props with plenty of impact who will take Parker's position in this team at some stage, however Parker consistently rolls through incredible production for the Broncos and when you're doing so for one of the best teams in the NRL at Parker's age, you'll get the nod every day of the week. Parker averages 8.25m per-carry which is alright and when it comes with 26.25 tackles a game, plus a few cheeky offloads, Parker guarantees you with a strong presence in the middle. Also worthy of note is that Parker hasn't run for less than 130m in his past five games.

Josh McGuire - Also getting the seal of approval from the Broncos is McGuire who simply serves up freaky numbers each week. McGuire is 3rd in run-metres this season and averages 9.06m per-carry, running for at least 140m in his past five games and also like Parker, he does an impressive double as he also averages 25.75 tackles. With regards to Parker and McGuire, we need to keep in mind that other NRL teams have beastly packs of forwards, forwards who are either bigger, more ruthless and/or more skillful than the Broncos forwards, however the Broncos are awesome and consistently get the edge over opposition forward packs. That's thanks to the work of Parker and McGuire, their effort and enthusiasm through the middle.