Workhorse Watch: Rd 6
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The Broncos’ game against the Roosters produced the most number of workhorse tries in a match since Round 12 last year when the Storm played the Cowboys. That game saw 14 workhorse tries. Friday night’s encounter contained 12 workhorse tries including Andrew McCullough who scored his first double workhorse of the season (46 tackles, 8 hit ups).
Equally impressive was the return of Jake Friend (54 tackles, 4 runs). The Roosters co-captain started off the bench but still finished with more tackles than any other player. Friend’s return winds up any potential value Matt McIlwrick might have offered. Not that the former Raider delivered much during his stint as a starting hooker. McIlwrick has scored just one workhorse try this season having shared the minutes at dummy half with Mitch Aubusson. Only an injury to Aiden Guerra in Round 5 allowed McIlwrick enough minutes on the park to secure a four pointer.
The rise of Martin Taupau continues with the explosive forward scoring another workhorse try on the weekend. Used purely as an impact player last year, the Tiger’s forward is averaging 48 minutes and 42 involvements per game this season. He currently has four workhorse tries to his name. Last year he didn’t score one all season!
Nigel Plum scored his first workhorse of the season after being promoted to the run on side against Manly. Plum finished with 33 tackles and 12 hit ups. His elevation to the starting 13 came at the expense of Isaah Yeo. Had Yeo started it would have been his third consecutive game in the back row and a positional update would have been in order. Not that it would have been worth much. Yeo is listed on the Panthers website as a second rower but based on current numbers, looks to be at least a season or two away from being any sort of workhorse threat.
One player who has been on a skids after starting the season with a workhorse try is Dale Finucane. Finucane played 63 minutes in the opening round but since then his minutes have dropped to 49 per game and going into Round 6 was averaging 39 involvements a game. What a horrible number! Finucane arrested that slump on the weekend with a workhorse against the Canberra Raiders. The former Bulldog finished with 31 tackles and 12 hit ups.
WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK:
Aiden Tolman
Tolman is fast emerging as the best workhorse in the game. That’s three straight weeks of double workhorse tries and whilst he trails Paul Gallen for total workhorses (Gallen 9, Tolman 8), owners who have him will be relishing the fact that he doesn’t have Origin commitments luming, even though he probably should considering the numbers he’s posting.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Aiden Tolman: 41 tackles + 23 hitups = 64
- Issac Luke: 43 tackles + 13 hitups = 56
- Josh McGuire: 38 tackles + 19 hitups = 57
- Tohu Harris: 39 tackles + 19 hitups = 58
- Simon Mannering: 48 tackles + 9 hitups = 57
- Corey Parker: 38 tackles + 15 hitups = 53
14. Andrew McCullough: 46 tackles + 8 hitups = 54
15. Cameron Smith: 50 tackles + 9 hitups = 59
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Amazing! Last week I suggested Tim Mannah might lose his title as King of the Close But No Cigar Club. And what does the Eels captain do? He may have a fight on his hands though with teammate David Gower on 39 for the second straight week.
Kevin Proctor: 34 tackles + 5 hitups = 39
David Gower: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Tim Mannah: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
With a rising injury toll in the NRL, the burning question for every NRLCEO coach is who is going to replace him? A number of players were out last weekend so let’s take a look at their replacements fared.
Aiden Guerra’s injury yielded immediate results for Mitch Aubusson. Aubusson scored his first workhorse of the season in Round 5 after Guerra went off and backed it up against the Broncos with 47 involvements in 85 minutes (0.55SPM). But Stats Per Minute is about identifying players who may be on your free list and there’s no chance of that when it comes to a player like Aubusson. With that in mind, it might be worth considering Siosiua Teukeiaho. The rookie’s minutes have been steadily rising over the last few weeks and on the weekend he had 42 involvements in 41 minutes (1.02SPM). So should you recruit him? You’ll have to weigh up what kind of rotation we’ll see now that Jake Friend is back against the fact that Teukeiaho’s workhorse came in golden point extra time.
Capitalising on Beau Scott’s replacement is also easier said than done. With Scott out, Chris Houston was a natural fit to come into the starting side but with 4 workhorse tries in the opening 5 rounds there’s no way he could have been available in your league. Houston’s promotion to the starting line doesn’t make a huge difference to his overall potency. In the two games he has started this year Houston has played the full 80 minutes and averaged 60.5 involvements. Coming off the bench he averages 44 minutes and 44 involvements (1.00SPM). Unfortunately his extra involvements when starting does not include the 125 metres required to register a double workhorse.
Although suspended rather than injured, James Graham is as big a name as they come and it was over to Tim Browne who was pencilled in as his replacement. Browne’s potential suffered a setback when he was relegated to start the game off the bench but the bigger setback came in the 51st minute when he was hit high by Tyson Frizell. Browne was laid out in the middle of ANZ Stadium for several minutes before being stretchered off which ended his afternoon. Up until that point Browne had been tracking really well, making 22 tackles and 8 hit ups in 35 minutes (0.85SPM).
The other player I kept my eye on was Jason Clark after he came into the starting side last weekend at the expense Tim Grant and in place of a couple of players that have occupied the #13 for Souths this year. Amazingly, Clark also got knocked out and did not return. He had 22 involvements in 30 minutes (0.73SPM) and has been named again this week. However the real winner out of the reshuffle at Souths is Chris Grevsmuhl who was elevated into the starting side against the Cowboys and has retained his place this week. The Indigenous All Star scored the first workhorse try of his career with 43 involvements in 64 minutes. (0.67SPM).
JUST QUICKLY:
It may just be talk but how is that Paul Gallen has to live in hope that the Sharks will offer him one more year? I’ve been critical of Gallen at times this year but it’s only been for trying to do too much.
It’s not worth thinking about how bad Cronulla would be without Gallen. So why is he thinking he may need to look elsewhere to run around one more season? Yes he may be a banned substance taking, “C-bomb” dropping grub, but he’s Cronulla’s banned substance taking, “C-bomb” dropping grub.
Hard to imagine him running out for anyone else.
Geoff Adams
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