I think that nearly teeters on taking away that being able to prepare players for what they’re up to, having a week and not necessarily 10 days.“You start doing week on week and that’s a really big ask for the level of intensity it’s played at.”Included in the results revealed on Monday are the game’s best player and the best buy of the year. W
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Boyd Cordner finished second.“It’s interesting to see, I guess Fifita hasn’t been playing.
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Players were also asked if they believe the NRL should introduce a stand-alone State of Origin period in the middle of the season. Biography: Growing up playing Rugby Union in his native Fiji, Kikau was scouted by North Queensland and made a name for himself by setting try-scoring records in the Cowboys NYC side. I think he finished with 28 per cent of the votes and Fifita didn’t even finish in the top two.
Viliame Kikau (Fiji) A powerhouse forward on the rise, Kikaurepresents a more talented Feleti Mateo - giant in size, a slick flick pass and damaging running game. W
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He subsequently signed with Panthers in 2016 and scored a try on NRL debut in Round Two of the 2017 season. W
Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans came in third, while reigning Dally M halfback of the year Mitchell Moses placed fourth.Interestingly, St George Illawarra’s Ben Hunt was voted fifth, despite his bumpy season so far and his move to hooker.“I thought Nathan Cleary might get the nod given he started the year so well,” Chammas admitted.While New South Wales coach Brad Fittler wasn’t surprised by Pearce getting the most votes.“I think Mitchell Pearce has got an incredible amount of respect from a lot of his peers,” he said.“He cops a battering sometimes for different reasons but he’s shown a lot of control and deserves that top position.”Players were also asked if they believe the NRL should introduce a stand-alone State of Origin period in the middle of the season.It was a close result but interestingly 59 per cent of players voted yes.“I sort of like the way it works at the moment,” he said.“The intrigue around players, their availability, there’s so much in the news because there’s games that weekend.“I don’t know why we keep wanting to change Origin when it’s been the most successful part of our game.“People have always got answers for it and I don’t know if there’s a question to ask.“When the initial motto was mate vs mate where teammates are aiming up against each other, you start bringing that period out and you take that away a lot.“Because part of Origin from what I remember when I was playing it was you played with someone on the Wednesday and then played against them on the Saturday and that’s part of the beauty of State of Origin and how you dealt with that.“Clubs obviously don’t want it because they lose their players throughout that period... but the thing is I don’t know why the question is being asked.“It’s been an incredible competition that everyone gets into and I’m just wondering why they keep trying to tinker with it.“They tinkered with it when they brought the middle game to a Sunday, which reduced it by a couple of weeks. With these polls a lot of times if you’re out injured you’re out of sight, out of mind.”Rugby league great Peter Sterling wasn’t too surprised to see Kikau take the top spot after being impressed by his development with the Panthers.“Kikau, he’s made a huge splash at Penrith,” he said.“I liked yesterday they actually played him over on the right side on one occasion too, took him over from the left, which I think makes him even more dangerous.Veteran No.7 Mitchell Pearce was voted as the best halfback by his peers.The Knights playmaker edged out second-placed Nathan Cleary. Kikau carried that form into 2018, established himself as a mainstay of the Panthers NRL side and re-signed with the club until the end of 2022.Parental advice not enough for Kikau with 'squidgy mop' here to stayBilly the bully stars in Panthers' big win against Roosters
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(Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images). He finished the year as a member of the club's premiership-winning ISP side, which went on to claim the State Championship title, while also making his mark for Fiji at the Rugby League World Cup.