The race to be crowned Zero Tackle's NRL MVP comes down to a final round shootout, with James Tedesco, Jahrome Hughes and Scott Drinkwater all still in the race to take the title.
Hughes was rested from Round 26 against the North Queensland Cowboys, and it saw him lose the lead as Tedesco turned a 15-point gap into a 2-point lead on the back of a 17-vote effort against the Canberra Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
The Roosters' fullback and Storm halfback are in the drivers seat to take out top spot, with North Queensland fullback Drinkwater's 13 votes in Round 26 keeping him a mathematical chance of taking top spot. He is 19 votes behind Tedesco, meaning he would need a full 20 to take the outright lead while Tedesco scores zero and Hughes no more than 2.
Elsewhere, Tom Trbojevic is locked into fourth spot, while a 16-vote effort from Penrith Panthers lock Isaah Yeo moves him into fifth spot, albeit with a logjam of players chasing him.
Addin Fonua-Blake also moves back into the top ten ahead of Ben Hunt after managing five votes.
Arounds the grounds, Luke Brooks, Jarome Luai, Dylan Brown, Herbie Farnworth, Shaun Johnson and Kalyn Ponga were all named unanimous best on grounds in their respective matches, while Tyran Wishart, Valentine Holmes, Scott Drinkwater, James Tedesco and Joseph Tapine all took five votes from at least one judge.
To remind you how this works, each week, our panel - made up of Matt Clements (Zero Tackle founder), Dan Nichols, Ethan Lee Chalk (Zero Tackle writers) and myself as editor will cast votes on each game in a 5-4-3-2-1 scoring system.
The best player on-field receives five votes, the next four, and so on. That means a player could realistically gain 20 votes in a single game.
Here are all the votes from Round 26.
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Tyran Wishart | Valentine Holmes | Scott Drinkwater | Tyran Wishart |
| 4 | Valentine Holmes | Scott Drinkwater | Valentine Holmes | Scott Drinkwater |
| 3 | Sua Fa'alogo | Tyran Wishart | Sua Fa'alogo | Valentine Holmes |
| 2 | Jeremiah Nanai | Griffin Neame | Griffin Neame | Sua Fa'alogo |
| 1 | Cameron Munster | Sua Fa'alogo | Christian Welch | Christian Welch |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Luke Brooks | Luke Brooks | Luke Brooks | Luke Brooks |
| 4 | Reuben Garrick | Haumole Olakau'atu | Haumole Olakau'atu | Reuben Garrick |
| 3 | Haumole Olakau'atu | Reuben Garrick | Reuben Garrick | Josh Addo-Carr |
| 2 | Lehi Hopoate | Taniela Paseka | Jacob Preston | Haumole Olakau'atu |
| 1 | Josh Addo-Carr | Josh Addo-Carr | Josh Addo-Carr | Lehi Hopoate |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Jarome Luai | Jarome Luai | Jarome Luai | Jarome Luai |
| 4 | Isaah Yeo | Isaah Yeo | Isaah Yeo | Isaah Yeo |
| 3 | Paul Alamoti | James Fisher-Harris | Paul Alamoti | Brad Schneider |
| 2 | James Fisher-Harris | Lindsay Smith | Tyrone Munro | Tyrone Munro |
| 1 | Tyrone Munro | Tyrone Munro | Lindsay Smith | Paul Alamoti |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Dylan Brown | Dylan Brown | Dylan Brown | Dylan Brown |
| 4 | Clinton Gutherson | Clinton Gutherson | Tyrell Sloan | Clinton Gutherson |
| 3 | Tyrell Sloan | Maika Sivo | Maika Sivo | Tyrell Sloan |
| 2 | Maika Sivo | Tyrell Sloan | Blaize Talagi | Maika Sivo |
| 1 | Shaun Lane | Blaize Talagi | Clinton Gutherson | Blaize Talagi |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth | Herbie Farnworth |
| 4 | Jake Averillo | Jake Averillo | Jake Averillo | Jake Averillo |
| 3 | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow |
| 2 | Trai Fuller | Trai Fuller | Trai Fuller | Trai Fuller |
| 1 | Payne Haas | Mark Nicholls | Patrick Carrigan | Patrick Carrigan |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Shaun Johnson | Shaun Johnson | Shaun Johnson | Shaun Johnson |
| 4 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Braydon Trindall | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak |
| 3 | Braydon Trindall | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | Braydon Trindall | Braydon Trindall |
| 2 | Taine Tuaupiki | Addin Fonua-Blake | Taine Tuaupiki | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| 1 | Addin Fonua-Blake | Blayke Brailey | Blayke Brailey | Taine Tuaupiki |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | Kalyn Ponga | Kalyn Ponga | Kalyn Ponga | Kalyn Ponga |
| 4 | Fletcher Sharpe | Bradman Best | Bradman Best | Fletcher Sharpe |
| 3 | Bradman Best | Fletcher Sharpe | Fletcher Sharpe | Bradman Best |
| 2 | Dylan Lucas | Leo Thompson | Dylan Lucas | Dylan Lucas |
| 1 | Jayden Brailey | Dylan Lucas | Leo Thompson | Beau Fermor |
| Matt Clements | Scott Pryde | Dan Nichols | Ethan Lee Chalk | |
| 5 | James Tedesco | Joseph Tapine | Joseph Tapine | James Tedesco |
| 4 | Joseph Tapine | Xavier Savage | James Tedesco | Joseph Tapine |
| 3 | Morgan Smithies | James Tedesco | Albert Hopoate | Daniel Tupou |
| 2 | Joseph Manu | Morgan Smithies | Daniel Tupou | Morgan Smithies |
| 1 | Corey Horsburgh | Joseph Manu | Joseph Manu | Corey Horsburgh |
Top ten
| PLAYER | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Tedesco |
17 | 249 |
| 2 | Jahrome Hughes |
0 | 247 |
| 3 | Scott Drinkwater |
13 | 230 |
| 4 | Tom Trbojevic |
0 | 197 |
| 5 | Isaah Yeo |
16 | 155 |
| 6 | Jacob Kiraz |
0 | 151 |
| 7 | Sam Walker |
0 | 148 |
| 8 | Dylan Edwards |
0 | 141 |
| 8 | Daly Cherry-Evans |
0 | 141 |
| 10 | Addin Fonua-Blake |
5 | 136 |
Click here to view the full leaderboard.
Leaderboard correct as at September 3.
