What do you do when you’re the only player from the starting 13 not involved in representative round?
For Penrith Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards, he took the chance to spend time with family.
“He’s also one of the first people to send out a message wishing us all luck,” said Panthers and NSW No.7 Nathan Cleary.
“That’s the best thing about Dyl - it’s never about him, it’s all about the team and his teammates and that’s why everyone loves playing with him.”
The in-form custodian has been one of the best for the reigning premiers in 2022 but stuck behind a plethora of quality No.1s he had the rare opportunity to have a rest last week while his teammates played for New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji before a heavy contingent featured for New South Wales.
Cleary at the top of his game
Heading into the weekend, Edwards, who has a loyal band of followers on social media, led the NRL in four statistical categories: runs (321), metres (3297), kick-return metres (1409) and support plays (109).
His jinking running style is a throwback to Clinton Schifcofske but he is more than a metre-eater; his creativity is something that often gets overlooked and he forms part of the sometimes overlooked right edge that includes NSW pair Stephen Crichton and Brian To’o. His much improved passing game was on show for To'o's first try.
In game 96, Edwards did what he has done in the previous 95 and spent the majority of time around the ball and waited for an opportunity.
Api and his bag of tricks
Every forward run, invariably is accompanied by Edwards running on his shoulder.
His statistics were what you have come to expect in the past 18-months: 22 runs for 211-metres, 10 tackle breaks, 124 kick-return metres and 54 post-contact metres.
Most importantly in the driving rain and when the opposition was surging, he only made one error.
What most fans don’t see is his defensive work and his resemblance to a traffic cop waving his arms telling his teammates where to go in the defensive line. The best defence in the league doesn’t just happen; it happens because Edwards plays a vital role in counting numbers from the back.
“He’s a freak. I can never speak highly enough of Dyl; he gets through so much work and is so reliable,” said Cleary of Edwards who famously battled through the last month of last season on a broken foot.
“He really sets our defensive line well too.
"He’s just so unfortunate there are so many good fullbacks at the moment — I’d love to see Dyl play rep footy eventually but I love what he is doing for us.”