Brits Down Under: Farnworth stars, Young scores & Hastings impressive in defeat

We’ve taken a look at the performances of the NRL’s British contingent following round two, including another try-scoring display from Dom Young.

Herbie Farnworth

The Broncos made it two wins from two to start the season after a great win over Canterbury on Sunday. The Queensland side were led by a wonderful two-try effort from Farnworth with the 22-year-old grabbing his first after an exceptional one-on-one ball strip of the Bulldogs’ Braidon Burns to level the game before grabbing the decisive try to seal the win for Brisbane. The Lancashire-born centre had a monster game overall recording 19 carries, 262 metres, 45 post contact metres, three tackles busts and a line break.

Dom Young

The 20-year-old arguably had one of his best performances in a Newcastle jersey on Sunday as the Knights remain undefeated inside the first two rounds after a win over the Tigers. Young, formerly of Huddersfield, was in fine form. Young secured another try to make it two in two for the season and altogether recorded 17 carries, 143 metres, 34 post contact metres, four tackle busts and a line break.

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Oliver Gildart

It was a tough day at office for the Tigers yet again as they faced another defeat but this time to the Knights. Gildart, 25, may not have lit up the NRL over the last couple weeks, but he has still shown glimpses of exactly what he can bring to Michael Maguire’s side. In the loss to Newcastle on Sunday, Gildart again had a solid overall performance despite the loss, taking seven carries for 83 metres, 20 post contact metres and a tackle break.

Jackson Hastings

It may have ended in 26-4 defeat for the Tigers, but it did not stop Hastings from leaving his stamp on the game. The Great Britain international was brilliant with the ball in his hand, leading the Tigers in run metres with 200 from 18 carries on top of 38 post contact metres, three tackle breaks and a line break. Although, the Western Sydney club remain winless after the first two rounds, the 26-year-old has still been one of their most consistent performers.

Luke Thompson

The Bulldogs may not have been able to follow on from their victory in round one, but they still gave a decent account of themselves as they took Brisbane all the way on Sunday. The 26-year-old had a steadier game than what we are used to seeing as he came off the bench to secure seven carries, 69 metres, 18 post contact metres, a tackle break and 29 tackles in 50 minutes of action. Despite a 16-10 loss, Canterbury continue to look towards a new era with Thompson right at the heart of their forward pack.

Tom Burgess

It has been a tough start to 2022 season for South Sydney as after a disappointing loss to Brisbane in round one they found themselves on the end of heartbreaking 15-14 golden point defeat to Melbourne. The Rabbitohs were able to brilliantly overturn a 14-0 deficit, scoring three tries in the last 13 minutes to take the game to golden point.

However, their momentum would not last as Melbourne’s Ryan Papenhuyzen kicked the winning drop goal to condemn Jason Demetriou’s side to a second defeat. Burgess again came off the interchange and despite the loss his work rate was unmatched as he made 22 tackles on top of taking 12 carries for 94 metres, 49 post contact metres and four tackle busts.

George Burgess

After featuring in the New South Wales Cup last week, Burgess went on to make his debut for St George Illawarra in the loss to Penrith. Despite the 20-16 loss, the Dragons still held their own against the reigning champions with Burgess putting in a steady effort of five carries, 58 metres, 23 post contact metres, one tackle bust and 19 tackles.

Elliott Whitehead

The Raiders could not follow on from their victory over Cronulla in week one as they had no answer for North Queensland, suffering a 26-6 defeat. The Canberra captain still showed his toughness though putting in plenty of work defensively as he led his side in tackles throughout the game with 37 to his name.

Ryan Sutton

The 26-year-old featured for Canberra’s NSW Cup side for a second week in a row amidst transfer speculation. The Raiders’ reserve side struggled against their Canterbury counterparts though with a 48-12 defeat. However, Sutton still made a significant impact on both sides of the ball with 13 carries, 120 metres, 46 post contact metres, two tackle breaks and 32 tackles. The former Wigan forward has arguably been Canberra’s most consistent player in the second-string competition over the first two rounds.

Harry Rushton

The 19-year-old continues to make a name for himself in the NSW Cup for Canberra and with his performances he certainly looks ready to make a step up to the NRL given the opportunity. In the loss to Canterbury, Rushton started at loose forward and secured 11 carries, 86 metres, 39 post contact metres, one tackle break and the joint most tackles by a Raiders player with a mammoth 44.

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