Show the numbers
| Round | Jenkins | Jenkins total | Johnston | Johnston total | Marzhew | Marzhew total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| R2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| R3 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| R4 | 2 | 10 | bye | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| R5 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| R6 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| R7 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| R8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 9 | did not play | 5 |
| R9 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 8 |
| R10 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 13 |
| R11 | 2 | 18 | did not play | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| R12 | bye | 18 | 1 | 15 | bye | 14 |
| R13 | 0 | 18 | bye | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| R14 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| R15 | bye | 20 | 4 | 19 | bye | 15 |
| R16 | 0 | 20 | bye | 19 | 0 | 15 |
| R17 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 15 |
| R18 | 3 | 25 | did not play | 19 | 0 | 15 |
| R19 | bye | 25 | did not play | 19 | 0 | 15 |
| R20 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 17 |
| R21 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 17 |
| R22 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 19 |
| R23 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 19 |
| R24 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 21 |
| R25 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 22 |
| R26 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 29 | 2 | 24 |
| R27 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 30 | bye | 24 |
| FW1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 24 |
Why?
Thomas Jenkins was ahead of Alex Johnston after every round from 1 to 24, and the two still finished Finals Week 1 level on 30 tries. I wanted to see, round by round, how a lead of nine disappeared.
Jenkins out of the blocks
Jenkins scored two or more tries in each of Penrith's first seven games, four of them in Round 3, and had by Round 7. Johnston had seven. Then Jenkins went three games without a try, Rounds 8 to 10, while Johnston scored seven in the same three rounds. A lead of nine was down to two.
- tries by Jenkins, Rounds 1 to 7
- 16
- two or more in all seven
- the largest lead in the race
- 9
- after Round 7 · 16 to 7
- after Finals Week 1
- 30–30
- Jenkins 25 games · Johnston 22
From there Jenkins stayed in front without pulling clear. The lead was back to six after Round 18, when Jenkins scored three and Johnston did not play, and six again after Round 22.
Johnston's run home
Johnston scored in each of Rounds 23 to 26, seven tries in four games, and Jenkins scored in none of them. After Round 25 the two were level on 28. After Round 26 Johnston was ahead, to 28: the only round all season in which Jenkins was neither in front nor level. In Round 27 Jenkins scored twice and Johnston once, and neither scored in Finals Week 1. Thirty each.
Two ways to 30
The totals match; the games behind them do not. Jenkins scored in 14 of 25 games, and 13 of those 14 were two tries or more. Johnston scored in 19 of 22, and 12 of those were a single try. Counted as tries a gameTries divided by games played, where a game is one with minutes above zero. Byes and missed rounds are not games. Derived: the feed records the tries in each game, not a rate., Johnston comes out ahead.
| Player | Tries | Games | Tries a game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Johnston | 30 | 22 | 1.36 |
| Thomas Jenkins | 30 | 25 | 1.20 |
| Greg Marzhew | 24 | 24 | 1.00 |
Marzhew had the biggest single game of the three: five tries in Round 10.
And the rest of the finals?
These numbers were read on 15 September 2026 and stop at Finals Week 1. Finals Week 2 was scheduled for 19 and 20 September, after that, and nothing on this page says who scored in it. I want to add the rest of the finals next, to see who ends the whole year with the most tries.
Summary
- After Finals Week 1
- 30–30Jenkins v Johnston24Marzhew
- Thomas Jenkins
- R1–24ahead, by up to 9R25Johnston level
- Tries a game
- 1.36Johnston, 22 games1.20Jenkins, 25
The working
Definitions, sources and when the numbers were read
- Tries
- The feed's tries key on each player's game row, every completed 2026 game from Round 1 to Finals Week 1: 208 games and 1,749 tries. No row was missing the key.
- The race
- Tries added up round by round. A bye or a round not played adds nothing. Finals Week 1 is included; neither leader scored in it.
- Games
- A game counts when the player's row shows minutes above zero. Tries a game is tries ÷ those games, and is derived.
- Leaders
- The ten highest totals: Alex Johnston 30, Thomas Jenkins 30, Greg Marzhew 24, Dominic Young 21, Jamayne Isaako 21, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 20, Lehi Hopoate 19, Selwyn Cobbo 18, Sione Katoa 18, Sualauvi Faalogo 18. The next best is 16.
- Read
- 15 September 2026, from Punt's database. Completed games only; Finals Week 2 is not in it.
- Not in this article
- Who finishes the season with the most tries, or anything about prices.
- Sources and terms
- Every source Punt uses, with its licence, is on Credits. The terms are defined in the Glossary, and the methodology page sets out where every number comes from and the rules it follows.