Bailey Hepper moved within one try of the competition lead, Trent Griffin produced a 26-point masterclass and North Beach recorded the biggest Val Murphy Trophy victory of Round 16.
The individual races tightened considerably in Round 16 of the Val Murphy Trophy as 266 points and 50 tries were scored across five matches.
The round averaged 53.2 points per game, with an average winning margin of 30.8.
North Beach produced the largest victory, Joondalup ran in nine tries, Willagee demonstrated its attacking depth and one Fremantle player was directly responsible for more than two-thirds of his team’s entire score.
Griffin dominates Fremantle victory
Fremantle Roosters defeated Kwinana Titans 38-24, but the result was dominated by the performance of Trent Griffin.
Griffin scored four tries and kicked five goals.
That gave him 26 individual points from Fremantle’s 38.
In percentage terms, Griffin directly scored 68.4 per cent of the Roosters’ total points.
It was one of the most influential individual performances of Round 16 in either senior competition.
Bjorn-Paul Crotty added two tries and Ethan Hill scored another, but Griffin was clearly the central attacking figure.
His performance also strengthens his position among the competition’s leading point scorers.
Hepper turns the try race into a one-score contest
The largest Val Murphy Trophy victory came from North Beach Sea Eagles, who defeated Kalamunda Bulldogs 58-6.
North Beach scored 11 tries, with Bailey Hepper crossing four times.
Those four tries have dramatically changed the shape of the season’s try-scoring race.
Hepper now has 12 tries – Competition leader Rashim Pearson has 13.
After Round 16, therefore, just one try separates first from second.
Behind them, Te Auturoa Awhitu-Kerei and Archillies Packer sit on 11, meaning four players are separated by only two tries at the top of the standings.
That sets up a potentially fascinating finish to the season.
Hepper also kicked a goal against Kalamunda, giving him 18 points for the match.
Cameron Hoff scored twice, while Juayne Pomare contributed five goals.
North Beach’s 52-point winning margin was the largest of the Val Murphy Trophy round.
Willagee win through balance
Willagee’s 26-8 victory over Rockingham Sharks was statistically interesting for a very different reason.
The Bears scored five tries.
They had five different try scorers.
Lochlan Jackson, Tahupotiki Awhitu-Kerei, Connor Pieters, Ethan Ransfield and Archillies Packer all crossed once.
Unlike Fremantle, where Griffin was responsible for most of the scoring, Willagee’s production was distributed across the side.
That type of spread makes an attack considerably more difficult to contain because there is no single obvious player an opposition defence can focus upon.
Te Putu Huriwai-Brown added three goals and continues to lead the Val Murphy Trophy point-scoring race.
Huriwai-Brown now has 148 points for the season.
Giants spread the scoring
Joondalup produced another major attacking performance, defeating Ellenbrook Rabbitohs 46-6.
The Giants crossed for nine tries.
Even more impressive was the distribution.
Seven different Joondalup players appeared among the try scorers.
Leon White led the way with a hat-trick, while the remaining six tries were shared among six other players.
That type of attacking spread closely resembles what Willagee produced against Rockingham, albeit with a considerably higher total.
James Smith added five goals for Joondalup, contributing another 10 points.
Smith remains second in the Val Murphy Trophy points race on 116, although Huriwai-Brown still holds a substantial lead.
The gap between first and second currently stands at 32 points.
Davids drives South Perth
South Perth completed the round with a convincing 42-12 victory over Alkimos Tigers.
The Lions scored eight tries, with Kee Davids producing the standout individual performance.
Davids scored a hat-trick and kicked three goals.
His 18 points accounted for almost 43 per cent of South Perth’s total.
The Lions also received tries from Dimize Cullen, Willington Richard, Mark Robertson, Kieren Lis and Hamish Roshan, giving them six different try scorers overall.
Again, attacking distribution was a prominent feature.
Point-scoring race remains Huriwai-Brown’s to lose
The Val Murphy Trophy points race currently has a clear leader.
Te Putu Huriwai-Brown sits first on 148 points.
James Smith follows on 116.
Haydyn Wade is third on 112, with Nicholas Prance close behind on 110.
Trent Griffin’s latest scoring explosion has moved him to 78.
Huriwai-Brown’s lead over Smith therefore stands at 32 points, but the battle immediately behind the leader remains tight.
Only six points separate Smith, Wade and Prance.
The race for second could change quickly.
Try-scoring title could go to the wire
The tries leaderboard is considerably tighter.
Rashim Pearson — 13.
Bailey Hepper — 12.
Te Auturoa Awhitu-Kerei — 11.
Archillies Packer — 11.
Jesse Inall — 10.
Five players are separated by only three tries.
Hepper’s four-try performance against Kalamunda has turned what was already a competitive race into one that could potentially change every weekend.
One more productive afternoon could be enough to take the lead.
Round 16 shows two ways to dominate
Perhaps the most interesting statistical feature of the round was the contrast between individual dominance and collective attacking depth.
Fremantle relied heavily on Griffin, who directly contributed 26 of 38 points.
South Perth had Davids account for 18 of 42.
North Beach received four tries from Hepper.
But Willagee had five tries from five different players.
Joondalup had nine tries shared among seven scorers.
Those are fundamentally different attacking models, yet all produced victories.
And with 50 tries scored across only five matches, Round 16 again demonstrated the attacking depth present throughout the Val Murphy Trophy.
The biggest story moving forward, however, may be the individual try race.
Rashim Pearson still leads. But Bailey Hepper is now only one behind.
With Te Auturoa Awhitu-Kerei and Archillies Packer another try back, the Val Murphy Trophy’s leading try scorer is far from settled.