Workhorse Watch Round 15

2024 NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 15 – It is elementary Watson!

• Connor Watson is leaving them all behind!
• A Broncos young gun’s form is not transferring to NRLCEO
• Has a former Eels WH gun been reincarnated?
• Does Captain Cook have some tricks left up his sleeve?

In Round 15 there were 58 players who scored a WH, with 1 player scoring a DWH. There are some real consistent WH performers standing out and then there are those pretenders that promised so much early in the season, that have just faded away.

WORKING HARD

Connor Watson (Roosters)

50 tackles, 12 runs for 81m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.78 stats per minute)

Scoring DWH’s certainly seems elementary to Connor Watson, as he saluted for his 3rd DWH of the season. With rumours of the Cheese being off at Bondi, Watson is likely to be the first choice Hooker for the rest of the season. Even if Smith gets a random start or comes off the bench, Watson would likely move into a lock role as Radley has found a homer on an edge. Its a big reward for those CEO’s that picked up Watson mid season as he is now dual Lock/Hooker as well.

Reuben Cotter (Cowboys)

43 tackles, 15 runs for 150m in 70 minutes – WH (0.83 spm)

Cotter is the type of player that every club wished they had. He is all heart and whilst it is not always the best quality, he will never let you down. He has scored a WH in every match he has played this season, sometimes almost by half time. He was only 2 involvements short of a DWH last week. Cotter will likely get a spell at some stage during or after the Origin series but otherwise he is a solid starter for your team.

Patrick Carrigan (Broncos)

44 tackles, 13 runs for 145m in 62 minutes – WH (0.92 spm)

Carrigan has surpassed Payne Haas as the Broncos most important forward this season. He is well on track to post a career best NRLCEO season. Lock isn’t usually the first or second position you fill when drafting but I can see Carrigan going in the 2nd round of drafts next season. He is also a great captain option.

Phoenix Crossland (Knights)

54 tackles, 3 runs for 28m in 60 minutes – WH (0.95 spm)

Phoenix is giving a lot of CEOs head aches at the moment, stealing minutes from Jayden Brailey. I don’t like the bench rotation for the Knights and I think Adam O’Brien needs to make a decision on who is first choice hooker is. Brailey does not look injured at the moment, so it either comes down to lack of form from Brailey or a workload management issue so he doesn’t get injured again. I think Brailey is the Knights best option at Hooker and personally I would like to see Crossland given a chance in the halves at either 6 or 7. I wouldn’t drop Hastings so Cogger would make way. Crossland is one of the hardest working players at their club, they just need to find the best way to use him for the team to succeed.

HARDLY WORKING

Brendan Piakura (Broncos) 

27 tackles, 11 runs for 106m in 69 minutes (0.55 spm)

Piakura doesn’t seem like your typical WH scoring back rower. He has now scored just 2 WH’s from his 10 matches this season which puts him in the spud pool. He runs a good line as seems to have the attributes of a good edge player but that has not transferred into NRLCEO form. If you are holding on to him then you are a bigger believer than me, good luck with that!

Thomas Hazleton (Sharks)

21 tackles, 11 runs for 88m in 36 minutes (0.89 spm)

Hazleton rose to CEO fame early on this season after getting the start in Round 3. He has gone on to score 8 WH’s in 10 matches, along with 5 tries, to be one of the standout props during that period. With Rudolf back as a starter now, it seems Hazleton will once again come off the bench which means his minutes are likely to be limited to 35-40. He has missed a WH in his last 2 matches but I would hold him for a few more weeks to see what happens, as we know what he is capable of now.

Luciano Leilua (Dragons)

21 tackles, 15 runs for 109m in 75 minutes (0.48 spm)

Leilua does not look fit! On paper, having Leilua on one edge and Su’a on the other looks a real win for the Dragons, however they can’t seem to get consistent enough with their football. Leilua plays well in patches but doesn’t have a great work rate at the moment. He missed some time at the start of the year so he is probably a bit underdone. I would bench him for RFM at the moment, who has looked a much improved player under Flanagan. Luckily Leilua has been able to provide some attacking stats to supplement his missing WH’s.

Taniela Paseka (Sea Eagles)

3 tackles, 1 runs for 12m in 7 minutes (0.57 spm)

Tough to kick a man when he is down but even before he got injured his stats have been trending down. After such a positive start to the season, including being 1 involvement away from a DWH in 6, Paseka has now missed a WH in 6 of his last 7 matches. I was on the Paseka train in 2024 but I have handed in my ticket and sent him back to the spud pool. He is now going to miss a few weeks with a fractured thumb so it will be even easier to cut him.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Reuben Porter (Tigers)

34 tackles, 9 runs for 71m in 70 minutes – WH (0.61 spm)

Porter made his debut on the weekend against the Titans, managing a WH in his first match. He did need 70 minutes to get there, which is a concern given he likely won’t play those sort of minutes each week at Prop. The Tigers still have quite a few forwards out injured, which means Porter has a few weeks to impress Benji. Likely a short term bye cover option until Klemmer is back.

Jake Simpkin (Sea Eagles)

42 tackles, 3 runs for 26m in 80 minutes – WH (0.56 spm)

Simpkin has made the switch from the Tigers after the Sea Eagles lost Croker due to ongoing issues related to concussion. There is certainly an opportunity there for Simpkin to become the first choice Hooker at Manly if he can play well. Croker is no certainty to return and if he does he may be on reduced minutes as a result of those issues. Manly also have Gordon Tong there he looks to have missed an opportunity himself. It is likely that the Sea Eagles will play with 2 Hookers (1 off the bench) for the rest of the season which makes all three players less appealing.

Nathan Brown (Sea Eagles)

31 tackles, 21 runs for 175m in 66 minutes – WH (0.79 spm)

It was the Nathan Brown of old on the weekend, charging off the back fence from the kick off with as much force as he can muster. Unfortunately he is a risk/reward player to pick up, with the emphasis on RISK. He plays with untamed aggression that usually results in either a sin bin or suspension at some stage. He currently has Lock position only but with Paseka likely out for a month I would say Brown will slot into the starting prop role and he should be able to score a few WH’s during that period. He still needs 2 consecutive matches at Prop to get that position upgrade but if you can find space for him on your bench he might be worth it.

Shawn Blore (Storm)

35 tackles, 9 runs for 67m in 74 minutes – WH (0.59 spm)

Blore has come back into focus with back to back WH’s. Perhaps it has taken him some time to acclimatise to the Storm system and the amount of effort that is expected of him at a club known for its ‘work hard’ expectations. I personally wouldn’t be picking him up just yet but if you are one of those CEOs where every other player in your squad is getting injured, then he might be worth a second look.

WORTH MENTIONING…

Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles)

24 tackles, 14 runs for 149m in 80 minutes – (0.48 spm)

Haumole is having a very mixed season and he looks certain to fall well short of his breakout season last year (170pts). He has looked injured at times as well as being out suspended for 2 weeks and now you can add State of Origin into the mix. All those factors will impact him for the coming weeks and we may not see the best of him until well after the Origin period. He did manage a TRY, TA, LB, 2 x LBA’s and a ME against the Dragons so by no means is he a cut, just something to be wary of moving forward.

Jacob Saifiti (Knights)

30 tackles, 8 runs for 82m in 45 minutes – (0.84 spm)

Jacob is another young Prop who shows a lot of WH promise but just can’t deliver on a regular basis. He has now scored just 2 WH’s in his last 6 matches which is not good enough for starting spot in your CEO squad. His work rate is decent enough at 0.84 spm, but like most middle range Props, he doesn’t get enough minutes to consistently score a WH.

Ryan Matterson (Eels)

20 tackles, 17 runs for 111m in 48 minutes – (0.77 spm)

Matterson looks to have overcome his concussion issues for the moment and produced a decent spell in 48 minutes against the Roosters. With Kelma Tuilagi sidelined for 4 weeks due to a suspension, there will be more minutes for Matterson, potentially even a start here or there. Add to that the injury cloud now hanging over J’maine Hopgood and Matterson might be a decent pick up for a few weeks if he is available.

Damien Cook (Rabbitohs)

38 tackles, 8 runs for 66m in 80 minutes – WH (0.70 spm)

Captain Cook is back baby…..well at least for the rest of this season. Cook has found his mojo, scoring a WH in 4 of his last 5 matches. He has also looked much more dangerous with the ball, scoring a try in 3 of his last 4 matches. CEO’s who have hung on to him, even if just for the nostalgia, can safely place the ‘C’ on him again.

WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK (most involvements by eligible position)

8. Reuben Cotter (8) (Cowboys) – 58

9. Connor Watson (3) (Roosters) – 56

10. Lindsay Collins (1) (Roosters) – 55

11. Alex Seyfarth (2) (Tigers) – 54

12. Connelly Lemuelu (1) (Dolphins) – 52

13. Patrick Carrigan (3) (Broncos) – 57

(1) – number of times featured in the Workhorse Pack of the Week

WH – Workhorse

DWH – Double Workhorse

ME – Metre Eater

DME – Double Metre Eater

SPM – Stats per minute played