Following on from the introduction of Stats Insider's Team of the Month in June, we're back with the July installment as just one big name remains the same.

How is the Stats Insider Team of the Month Selected?

Based on Stats Insider’s NRL Player Ratings, a player’s game by game ratings (when named to start in each position) are added together for the relevant month. The players with the highest overall rating in each position are then selected in the Team of the Month.

Outside of players named to start on the interchange bench, players are only eligible to score in the position they were named to start the match. That is why you might see someone like Brett Morris, who had a great month of footy in June but played across three different positions, miss out on selection. Halves are also grouped into a single position for selection purposes.

So, who cracks it this month?

Stats Insider's Team of the month (July, 2020)

1. Clint Gutherson

Clint Gutherson has been crowned as the best fullback in July. With two tries, eight try assists and 186.4 running metres per game, the Parramatta Eels captain is in career-best form and led his side through a period without Mitchell Moses. As the fullback position grows in quality across the competition, Gutherson is growing with it as he inches closer to the elite group of number one's.

2. Matt Ikuvalu

While Matt Ikuvalu did most of his try-scoring work in one game, he continued to pile up running metres and played a positive role throughout July.

The five tries against the Cowboys in Round 9 is one of the best stories of the season so far. However, the 200.5 running metres he averaged across his four-game stint in the side has gone unnoticed by most. But not here. Ikuvalu undoubtedly deserves his spot in the Team of the Month.

3. Euan Aitken

It's a name that may surprise people, but Euan Aitken has had himself a nice month. He's returned to form to become one of the first names on the Dragons team sheet at left centre.

Aitken scored three tries in July; he scored just six in all of 2019. But it's his yardage that has really impressed. Through 172.8 total running metres and 73 post-contact metres per game, Aitken is a consistent and powerful ball runner on the edges for the Dragons. He's doing the simple things well and looking a lot better for it.

4. Stephen Crichton

Welcome to the NRL, Stephen Crichton.

A relative unknown before being awarded a start in the centres for Round 3, the 19-year-old is one of the form players at the position this season. 

You can't keep him away from the line. He scored seven tries in July to make that 11 for the season.

Crichton doesn't always need to do a lot on the end of this excellent Panthers left edge, but he's always in position and has already shown a high-level footy IQ.

5. Maika Sivo

It was only a matter of time before Maika Sivo ended up here. The Fijian finisher scored seven tries in five July games including four against the Cowboys - a week before his wing partner in this side put five past them. 

While Sivo's overall running metres are down, he makes every touch of the football count. He broke the line seven times and disposed of 11 would-be tacklers throughout the month. 

6. Nathan Cleary

Well, it's been a quiet month for the Nathan Cleary detractors. Some may have even jumped over to his side with the quality of football the 22-year-old produced in July. 

The Stats Insider Player Ratings don't capture absolutely everything a player does on a football field , but that only makes Cleary's appearance here more impressive. We've considered his two tries, three try assists, two line breaks, eight tackle breaks and 497 running metres (99.4m per game) amongst other things in this side. It's his leadership and the opportunities he creates through subtle variations in attack that don't get picked up in the numbers which are the most impressive aspect of his game right now.

7. Jahrome Hughes

He's not a natural halfback by any means, but Jahrome Hughes has found a home in the Storm number seven jersey. He's absorbed every piece of information Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith have thrown his way. As a result, he knows the system back to front and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

If he wasn't scoring tries in July (4), Hughes was setting up others (3).

8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard

It's one of the comeback stories of the year.

Reagan Campbell-Gillard has gone from a throwaway at Penrith to a key contributor to Parramatta's premiership push. 

Now a high-minute and high-production middle forward, Campbell-Gillard averaged 68 minutes and 236 running metres per game in July.

9. Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith is 37-years-old, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him making a Team of the Month in his 40's. He's still one of the best players in the competition and proved his value to the Storm throughout July. 

Smith tormented the Titans and Broncos edges in Round's 10 and 11 for three try assists while he crossed the line for one himself in Round 12 despite only playing 27 minutes. With a pair of forced drop outs, a line break and 67 running metres per game in his four full games, Smith continues to turn back the clock.

10. Josh Papalii

Josh Papalii is scoring tries (2), breaking tackles (8), running up the field (151.6 metres per game) and making tackles (35.4 per game). He's in the prime of his career and once again proved himself to be one of the best props in the game throughout June. 

It's no wonder defences are struggling to contain Papalii with footwork like this:

11. Luciano Leilua

If Campbell-Gillard is the comeback story of 2020, Luciano Leilua's elevation from bench forward at the Dragons in 2019 to a bonafide starter at the Tigers in 2020 has him eligible for Most Improved. He's been a revelation since joining the club with his last month good enough for Team of the Month Honours.

While his brother Joey sits on the sideline for yet another brain snap, Luciano ticked over almost 100 metres per game with his performance against the Broncos one of the best in 2020. He scored two tries, broke five tackles and ran for 180 metres in the 80-minute outing.

12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner

The Bulldogs need to take every little win they can get in 2020, so here's one: Raymond Faitala-Mariner had an outstanding July.

Despite playing in the worst attacking team in the competition, Faitala-Mariner has quietly scored four tries in his last five games. Kieran Foran deserves a lot of credit for the back rower being in this team. As a tackle breaker (3 per game) and metre-eater (110.8 metres per game), Faitala-Mariner is one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise bleak Bulldogs season.

13. Jason Taumalolo

As mentioned in June, "It's going to take quite the effort for another lock forward to unseat the hulking Tongan as the lock of the month any time soon."

That effort hasn't come in July...

Taumalolo is once again being recognised as the best forward in the game with another appearance in the Team of the Month. In what some will call a quiet five rounds, he averaged 193 running metres and three tackle breaks per game while also adding a try to his tally in Round 12.

THE STATS INSIDER NRL TEAM OF THE MONTH FOR JULY 2020

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