Wednesday 20 April 2016 16:46, UK
The half-time hooter sounds this week on the first phase of the Super League season and I thought it was a good time to look at the standout performers so far.
It is not easy to recall all of the action from the 66 games we have had so far, so I have chosen to look at the Opta scoring system as a guide. I will begin by saying that it is not perfect, but I would be interested to meet anyone in the world who has a better way of objectively measuring the performance of the players in our top league.
The people at Opta watch every match and record every action, good and bad. They award points to each player for the positive things he does and take then off him for any obvious mistakes or errors.
They then add a weighing to this dependent on the time in the game, the position on the pitch and the score at the time. Scoring a 50-metre try under the post in the 50th minute when your team are already 50 points in front does not earn you as many points as it would if you were five points behind with 50 seconds remaining.
"He is fit, fast and a tough competitor. More than anything else, he knows how to play, and would be my tip for Man of Steel at this stage."
The scoring system does not have any favourites or bias and is done the same for every game. So unlike the voting system for the Man of Steel, it is consistent and happens after every match.
So, which players rank the highest at the half-way point? Some of the names might surprise you, you may disagree with it, but this is the team of the year so far according to Opta's scoring.
The Rhinos have clearly struggled in 2016 and their full-back has not played as well as he did 12 months ago, but he is still up there as one of the best players in the competition.
His three closest contenders are Tony Gigot from the Dragons, Matt Russell at Warrington and Dan Sarginson for the Warriors.
Not only is the Tigers left winger one of my favourite players, he is also one of the most improved players competition.
On the other wing is a man who is perhaps the most enthusiastic player when it comes to returning kicks from his corner of the field.
Matt Russell is probably the only player who is more difficult to stop and put down than the lad from Leigh who plays for the Cherry and Whites.
Ranking just behind these two with a slightly lower average game score are Jermaine McGillvary at the Giants, Corey Thompson at Widnes and a possible contender for Young Player of the Year, Tom Johnstone from the Wildcats.
It may come as a big surprise to many that the player with the highest game score after Round 11 is the Giants right centre. He has played in every minute of every match and been better this year than in 2015, according to the stats. I cannot wait to see him play against Wigan on Thursday night, especially if he is opposite Anthony Gelling.
The next three players to rank below were Kallum Watkins, Josh Griffin at Salford - who has played both centre and wing this season - and Kirk Yeaman at Hull.
Some might question how he has made it into this team when his side are at the bottom of the table. Well, his runs, passes, tackles and kicks have earned him more points than any other stand-off.
Surprisingly Kurt Gidley ranks second and Kevin Brown sits just below.
At 25 years of age, the Vikings No 7 is peaking. He has not missed a Super League game for over a year and is one of the main reasons why Widnes sit in fifth spot.
The second highest ranked scrum-half is Richard Myler. His move to France seems to have helped him kick-on with his career, and he looked fantastic last week at St Helens.
Luke Gale never fails to impress me and demonstrates a level of intelligence and understanding that is greater than most players in the sport.
The fourth ranked player will surprise most people, but perhaps not Chris Chester. Liam Finn does not have the speed of his rivals but has set up lots of tries for the Wildcats and made many kicks which have helped his team to win almost half of their games.
The job description for most front rowers is quite straightforward but these two add a level of subtlety that sets them apart - the Wolves front rower is certain to be a candidate for Man of Steel.
Adam Cuthbertson has tried as hard this year as last but it makes a huge difference when you're not on the winning side. He has not caught the eye as much as he is more closely monitored by his opponents but he is still the stand-out front rower in the Opta ranking.
Four other big men who have done well in the first half of Super League XXI are Craig Kopczak of Salford, Castleford's Andy Lynch, Adam Walker of Hull KR and Kyle Amor from St Helens.
Some teams ask their hooker to do different things and as a result may not spend as long on the field or make as many runs and metres, which will obviously affect their ranking. However, if we consider them all to have the same time to attack and defend then it gives us a level field from which to compare them.
James Roby - It is perhaps as well that the Saints No 9 has not been one of their injured players in 2016, as they would have struggled without him.
Just behind him sit Daryl Clark from Warrington, who has looked great for most of the season and has an incredible strength that allows him to push defenders away.
Danny Houghton is Mr Consistency at Hull and deserves to be in a top four team. Will this be the year?
In the absence of Paul Aiton, Eloi Pellisier has been given greater time and looked great in most of it.
Wigan used ex-Bulls back rower Bateman as a centre last week and he could almost get selected in any position - he is that good. He is fit, fast and a tough competitor. More than anything else, he knows how to play, and would be my tip for Man of Steel at this stage.
Glenn Stewart might just be the most important player Catalans have ever recruited. They have had loads of attacking player, but none who seem as determined to defend as he does.
The next three players were Liam Farrell, Ben Currie and Brett Ferres.
The veteran Rhino has missed four of their matches, but performed well in the others.
His three closest competitors are Michael Lawrence at Huddersfield, Ukuma Ta'ai also from the Giants and Atelex Vea in the six games he has played for the Saints.
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