Round 12: Man of the Match

Trailing and with time ticking in the second half it was going to take a big play to turn the tide in the Sharks favour and that’s what they got from inspirational skipper Wade Graham.

Showing never-say-die attitude and will to win, Graham pounced on the ball following a short drop out and the Sharks never looked back, three tries in the final 10 minutes seeing them come from eight points down to record a morale-boosting 36-26 win.

But that was far from Graham’s only contribution in what was a classy Captain’s knock in the Round 12 match in Brisbane.

And you the fans have recognised the efforts of Graham who is this week’s Fan Poll Man of the Match from Round 12.

Graham polled 31 percent of the vote to come out on top from one of the Sharks classy young guns in Siosifa Talakai (23%) who is certainly making his presence felt with consistently high standard performances.

Talakai scored a barnstorming try and was in the thick of the action throughout the match, with his clash with opposite Kotoni Staggs a feature of the game.

Third in this week’s poll in what was an endorsement of his debut effort in the NRL was Braydon Trindall, the youngster earning 14 per cent of the fan vote.

The 20-year-old half back was rock solid in defense and did everything required in attack in the Sharks win in an indication of depth of talent coach John Morris has at his disposal.

Others to catch the eye of the fans were the likes of Shaun Johnson, Tony Rudolf and Blayke Brailey, with all three playing a major role in the Sharks victory.

With three points in the year-long Fan Poll Player of the Year race Graham makes up some ground on the leaders, but at this point in the year, with eight games remaining, Johnson and Josh Dugan remain the front runners.

Current Standings - Fan Poll Player of the Year