MW17 Talking Points: Rockin' Ruben, terrific Toney and NEOM SC's struggles | OneFootball

The pace is relentless in the Roshn Saudi League, as another round of games comes and goes just days before teams turn out again with us officially hitting the halfway point of the season.

Moves are being made at the top of the table, while at the other end the scrap to avoid relegation is heating up.

Here are some of the major talking points from Matchweek 17.

Neves never misses

He has been a regular star performer for Al Hilal - and this campaign Simone Inzaghi himself - so it’s little wonder Ruben Neves is viewed as one of the RSL’s elite.

The true impact of the Portuguese midfielder is sometimes difficult to measure. The numbers tell one part of the story: Neves is ranked second in the league for passes, has seven goals, five assists and 28 chances created. However, they don’t tell the whole story.

The midfielder’s importance was underlined in Al Hilal's 4-1 win against Al Fayha, with another pair of assists in another controlled and classy display. With Neves in the engine room, it’s easy to see why Al Hilal continue to motor along at the top of the table, racking up 13 victories in a row.

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Toney Time

When Ivan Toney arrived in Jeddah, he came with considerable expectations and, while he finished last season in a flurry, it’s perhaps only now we are seeing the best of the Englishman.

Toney’s 18-minute, second-half hat-trick against Al Khaleej turned the game in Al Ahli’s favour - they had been 1-0 down - and continued his rich vein of form in front of goal.

As Al Ahli notched their sixth win on the bounce to jump into third, Toney’s tally in those six games hit nine goals to take him for 14 for the campaign. He’s now only two back and thus hot on the heels of Cristiano Ronaldo (16) in the race for the golden boot.

Can anyone stop the in-form Englishman?

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Missed opportunity for Al Shabab

Having shown improved form in their past two games, with a win against NEOM Sports Club and a narrow loss to Al Nassr, Al Shabab would’ve fancied their chances against rock-bottom Al Najmah.

Victory would’ve taken the 2011-12 champions four points clear of the relegation zone, and with some seemingly winnable fixtures ahead, could’ve built some long overdue momentum.

But that's simply not the tale of their season; it feels like one step forward is followed by two steps back. And, despite 19 shots on goal and generating an xG of 1.53, Al Shabab’s struggles in front of goal this season continued as the match ended 0-0.

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Who can stop Al Qadsiah?

It seems the only question about Al Qadsiah this season is whether they’ve left their run for the title too late. Because, as we seem to say every week at the moment, they appear unstoppable since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers.

The gap from their fifth place to Al Hilal currently sits at eight points, so they’ll need Izaghi’s side to drop points in the run home - and already eyes are turning to the frontrunners' visit to Al Khobar next week.

With six successive wins on the bounce, including successes against Al Nassr and Al Ittihad, victory against Al Hilal next week would cement Al Qadsiah as genuine title challengers.

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NEOM SC need to rise

This is surely not how NEOM SC’s debut season in the RSL was meant to go? Amid much fanfare in the off-season, plenty was expected of the team backed by the NEOM giga-project, who were hoping to follow in Al Qadsiah’s footsteps.

But something has gone awry on Tabuk, with the 0-0 draw with Al Ettifaq the latest in a run of underwhelming results for Christophe Galtier’s side.

NEOM SC have won only two of their past nine, while perhaps the most damning stat is that all their wins have come against teams in the bottom half of the table. And that doesn’t bode well ahead of Saturday’s visit of high-flying Al Ahli.