Workhorse Watch Round 19

NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 19 – The Corey ‘DWH’ Hotline!

• Corey Jensen holding the fort with Haas and Carrigan away on Origin duty.
• A Titan is back Fermor in his preferred position
• Is Chee-Kam the man to replace Arrow at the bunnies
• the Bulldogs lose another middle, its time for Sam Hughes to step up

In Round 19 there were 42 players who scored a WH, with 1 player scoring a DWH. That was the final big bye round in 2024, its full steam ahead and onto the CEO finals in a few weeks.

WORKING HARD

Corey Jensen (Broncos)

48 tackles, 15 runs for 152m in 55 minutes – DWH (1.15 stats per minute)

You could have banked on Corey scoring his 2nd DWH for the year when you saw the Broncos bench against the Dragons. In the end he only needed 55 minutes to score a DWH, his 14th WH of the season, which is a career best CEO year for him. He is unlikely to score a DWH when Haas and Carrigan are playing but he will still score a WH most weeks.

Chris Randall (Titans)

53 tackles, 7 runs for 62m in 73 minutes – WH (0.82 spm)

Randall has found a home at lock at the Titans with Des preferring the more attacking Sam Verrills at hooker. Randall is a tackling machine and will score a WH every time he starts and being a dual Hooker/Lock now, he is a valuable player to have in your squad for bye cover.

Keaon Koloamatangi (Rabbitohs)

43 tackles, 15 runs for 145m in 74 minutes – WH (0.78 spm)

Keaon has been in such rare form that he is within striking distance of the NRLCEO MVP title. He is going so well in the middle that the Rabbitohs have shifted Cam Murray to an edge just so Keaon can keep playing lock. He will likely be one of the first forwards drafted in season 2025.

Beau Fermor (Titans)

41 tackles, 14 runs for 118m in 80 minutes – WH (0.69 spm)

CEOs can rest easy now that Fermor is back in the forwards. He is nowhere near his points tally from season 2022 but he has played out of position on multiple occassions. I think he may go under the radar next season, potentially being drafted in the middle rounds, as there are a few back rowers that have gone past him this season.

HARDLY WORKING

Francis Molo (Dragons) 

26 tackles, 10 runs for 90m in 36 minutes (1.00 spm)

His work rate was very good but he only played 36 minutes against the Broncos. Flanno obviously likes what Molo brings as a starter, certainly enough to oust the Dragons player of the year last year in Blake Lawrie. In terms of CEO scoring he doesn’t look like developing into a consistent WH performer, missing a WH in 6 consecutive matches. He has only scored 5 WH’s for the season and doesn’t look like improving on the 9 WH’s he managed last season.

Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles)

26 tackles, 9 runs for 118m in 80 minutes (0.30 spm)

It has been a disappointing season to date for Olakau’atu, despite being selected for NSW for the first time. Suspension and injury have played their part, making it difficult for Olakau’atu to find consistent form. I think he will come good for the rest of this year but he won’t get near his 161 pts from last year.

Teig Wilton (Sharks)

24 tackles, 8 runs for 65m in 74 minutes (0.43 spm)

Last week we gave Wilton the benefit of the doubt after coming back from injury and playing off the bench for a couple of weeks, now it is time for CEO’s to be concerned. Wilton struggled to get involved in the Sharks demolition of the Tigers, with just 32 involvements in 74 minutes. Perhaps he is still not 100% fit after being off for over a month or maybe he just needs some time to get his confidence back. The Sharks need him to come good but most importantly, CEO’s need him to come good for the finish to the season.

Stefano Utoikamanu (Tigers)

19 tackles, 11 runs for 90m in 42 minutes (0.71 spm)

The form of Stefano is interesting given that he has teams lining up to sign him. He has missed a WH in 3 of his last 4 matches and has struggled to make an impact against opposition teams. This is the time of the season when he should be at the peak of his powers but the jury is still out on whether he can be as good as he thinks he is. If you have another option to go with for the time being, I would be cutting him, or at least playing him on your bench.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Michael Chee-Kam (Rabbitohs)

38 tackles, 9 runs for 71m in 73 minutes – WH (0.64 spm)

With Jai Arrow opting for season ending surgery, Chee-Kam looms as a solid pick up. He should be a starting back rower, along side Cam Murray, for the rest of the season. He has scored 3 WH’s in his last 5 matches, one of which he played at centre.

Brendan Hands (Eels)

42 tackles, 4 runs for 26m in 80 minutes – WH (0.58 spm)

Perhaps all is not lost for Hands, despite Matt Arthur playing off the bench for the Eels. Hands has scored a WH in his last 2 matches, crucially playing the full 80 minutes last week against the Titans, staying on even though Arthur was injected into the game. Its still risky to play him as your starter but its a risk you might have to take, particularly if your regular starting hooker is out of form or favour.

Kenny Bromwich (Dolphins)

31 tackles, 11 runs for 85m in 60 minutes – WH (0.70 spm)

A season ending injury to Euan Aitken has opened the door for Kenny to see increased minutes and potentially even start. Add to that, Max Plath is now the starting hooker after the loss of JMK to injury and he could be a sneaky good get. He has scored 3 WH’s in his last 5 matches, that coming after he failed to score a WH previous to that, since the start of the season.

Samuel Hughes (Bulldogs)

Did Not Play last week

Max King has been ruled out for 6 weeks meaning that Hughes could be in line for increased minutes. He has already shown what he can do when he stays on the field long enough. He has only score 2 WH’s for the season but he has a reputation of having a high work rate, he just needs the playing time.

WORTH MENTIONING…

Toafofoa Sipley (Sea Eagles)

28 tackles, 14 runs for 113m in 51 minutes – WH (0.82 spm)

Sipley has scored 2 WH’s in his last 3 matches. He looks good as a starter for Manly, but will likely move back to the bench when Taniela Paseka returns. Worth keeping an eye on the team lists to see if he can maintain a starting spot, if he does he is worth a look at.

Tallis Duncan (Rabbitohs)

30 tackles, 12 runs for 98m in 51 minutes – WH (0.82 spm)

Duncan can also benefit from the injury to Jai Arrow, even if he is playing from the bench. He scored a WH in just 51 minutes at a spm of (0.82) which is very good. He needs to build on his consistency but he has so much potential in both the NRL and NRLCEO. If you are in a contract/keeper league, I am still liking what I am seeing from him, worth holding him for a few years if you can, to see how he develops.

Samuela Fainu (Tigers)

38 tackles, 6 runs for 42m in 80 minutes – WH (0.55 spm)

What a find Fainu has been this season. He was fortunate to get an opportunity, with injuries to Bateman and Papali’i opening the door for him. He has now scored 9 WH’s for the season and 6 WH’s in his last 7 matches. He should continue to start up until Papali’i returns in Rounds 23-24. He is just a baby at the moment but he could grow into a beast on an edge, similar to Kikau and Olakau’atu.

Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Eels)

40 tackles, 14 runs for 187m in 69 minutes – WH (0.78 spm)

RCG has been in superb form, scoring 6 WH’s in his last 7 matches. He had only managed 3 WH’s prior to that in a slow start to the season. With Junior Paulo gone for the year, I expect his form to continue, despite the Eels looking unlikely to play finals this season.

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

8. Corey Jensen (3) (Broncos) – 63

9. Chris Randall (1) (Titans) – 60

10. Jack De Belin (2) (Dragons) – 55

11. Beau Fermor (3) (Titans) – 55

12. Thomas Eisenhuth (3) (Dragons) – 52

13. Keaon Koloamatangi (2) (Rabbitohs) – 58

(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