Manly claimed bragging rights in the first Northern Beaches derby of the year, while Hunter sent another warning shot to the remainder of the competition, with a dominant win over Norths.

Elsewhere, Randwick, Eastwood, Gordon and Uni all claimed victories in round 7.

1) Andrew Tuala – Hunter

Another two tries off the back of the unbelievably consistent Hunter maul early in the match set up a dominant victory in Newcastle. 

2) Tom Maka – Gordon 

Four tries from the back of the Gordon maul set up the win for the Stags. The accuracy of Maka’s throw and the patience he showed at the back of the maul was super impressive.  

3) Paulo Leleisiuao – Randwick 

The former Manawatu Mitre 10 Cup prop earned several scrum penalties for his side against a Two Blues forward pack that has been solid so far this year at set piece time. 

4) Cormac Daly – Randwick 

Randwick dominated at scrum and maul time and Daly’s big, pasty Irish frame was smack bang in the middle of both as they marched forward all afternoon. 

5) Rob Puli’uvea – Hunter 

Hunter’s captain and the leader of the Wildfire’s lineout and maul, Puli’uvea is one of the most valuable players in the competition and doing a tremendous job in Newcsatle. 

6) Hunter Ward – Manly

Too big and too strong, Ward was brilliant against the Rats and did a mountain of work around the park. 

7) Zac Barnabas – Manly

Barnabas keeps getting better week by week and he thrived again on Derby Day. Five pilfers against the Rats is a stat a lot of very impressive Manly flankers, many who wore gold, would have loved to see next to their name. 

8) Hugh Bokenham – Sydney Uni

Dominated at lineout time for Sydney Uni, particularly in the second half, then peeled off a maul to score a crucial try and swing momentum in his side’s favour. 

9) Ruan Du Plooy – Manly

On the back of a dominant forward pack, Du Plooy organised his side extremely well in his first derby and kept the Marlins rolling forward. 

10) Matt Minogue – Eastwood

Minogue’s best performance since earning the Eastwood No.10 jersey earlier this year. His 16 points, including multiple sideline conversions, proved the difference. 

11) Jackson Mohi – Randwick

While the big men up front deserve a lot of the credit for Randwick’s impressive win over the Two Blues, Jackson Mohi made the most of every opportunity he got. He has to be the quickest player in the competition and used that pace to score one and set up another try. 

12) Enoka Muliufi – Eastwood

In a match that was probably tougher and tighter than the scoreline suggested, Muliufi was at his brutal best, getting his side over the advantage line all afternoon. The tougher it gets, the better he goes. 

13) Angus Bell – Manly

When you’ve got speed and a little bit of space outside of you, the best thing an outside centre can do at times is give quick, early ball and Bell did that brilliantly to set up Yool Yool in the first half.   

14) Yool Yool – Manly 

Two first half tries and another try assist, Yool was brilliant in the opening half. Yool has speed and footwork like few others in the competition and made the Rats’ defenders look silly pretty much every time he touched the ball. 

15) Ben Dowling – Randwick

Another who beat defenders almost every time he touched the ball. Dowling is lightning quick and great in two on one situations in the wide channels.