Workhorse Watch Round 8

NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 8 – Terrell May produces the first Triple WH since round 13, 2024

• Clark is becoming the Warriors new enforcer!
• has Eli Katoa forgotten how to tackle?
• Mahoney on the nose at the Dogs, say it aint so!
• Nanai heating up as we come into the Origin period!
• Don’t give up on Jensen just yet!

In Round 8 there were 61 players who scored a WH, with one player scoring a DWH and one player reaching the rare heights of a TWH. We are closing in on the Origin period and its time for CEOs to find some cover for their missing stars.

WORKING HARD

Terrell May (Tigers)

43 tackles, 28 runs for 207m in 84 minutes – TWH (0.85 stats per minute)

Terrell May scored his first ever TWH against the Sharks, playing all but 5 minutes of the match that went into golden point. Those CEO’s that did not draft him are surely wondering what could have been, considering he did not picked in the first 2 rounds of most drafts. The man is just a CEO machine, racking up twelve WH’s and six ME’s in just eight matches this season. Could we see the first ever prop win the NRLCEO MVP?

Payne Haas (Broncos)

33 tackles, 28 runs for 228m in 65 minutes – DWH (0.94 spm)

It is crazy that Haas can put up these numbers and be over shadowed by another prop. Haas scored his 3rd DWH of the season and 8th ME. I think Payne took it personally against the Bulldogs pack, carving them up early to put the Broncos on the front foot. NSW fans will be salivating at the prospect of a May/Haas front row combo in Origin.

Tom Gilbert (Dolphins)

54 tackles, 12 runs for 97m in 75 minutes – WH (0.88 spm)

Gilbert seemed to be going through the motions over the first few months, getting his body back into NRL shape after a long injury lay off. He stood up against the fearsome Raiders pack on the weekend, with only metres costing him a DWH. I think Gilbert might be a better option at prop given they have Finefeuiaki and Lemuelu that can play back row. Gilbert looks more at home in the middle than he does on an edge.

Erin Clark (Warriors)

47 tackles, 16 runs for 139m in 64 minutes – WH (0.98 spm)

Clark has had an outstanding start to season 2025, scoring his 5th consecutive WH against the Knights. He is averaging 46 involvements and 130 metres a game which puts him in the vicinity of a DWH. Clark has great job security now with the departure of Dylan Walker to the Eels, those CEOs that took a punt on him in the draft have been rewarded with a regular WH scorer.

HARDLY WORKING

Eliesa Katoa (Storm) 

21 tackles, 17 runs for 163m in 80 minutes (0.48 spm)

Katoa seems to be avoiding contact in defence when he can, regularly passing up on tackle efforts which has cause his defensive stats to fall below WH standard. He has only scored one WH this season in eight matches, however his attacking stats have helped keep him CEO relevant. He has scored three Tries, two TA’s, two LB’s, four LBA’s and four ME’s and he always a try scoring threat as he is still running the ball a lot. I have him in a few comps and I have relegated him to my bench for the time being and I’m hoping he starts making some more tackles. He did look to be carrying a knee injury for a while so this may be contributing to his low defensive output. Bench him for now but he is not a cut.

Samuela Fainu (Tigers)

23 tackles, 15 runs for 111m in 89 minutes (0.42 spm)

Fainu has also struggle to make enough tackles to score a WH most weeks, having only scored one WH in his last five matches. He was a revelation last season after bursting onto the scene at the beginning of the year. I think Fainu is a cut as it stands but keep an eye on his combination with Galvin in attack and this may help supplement his WH failures. Alex Twal is now also a cut, how do you not score a WH as a starting lock in a golden point game?

Phoenix Crossland (Knights)

29 tackles, 4 runs for 30m in 45 minutes (0.73 spm)

The Knights just go from bad to worse and there will continue to be some instability around the starting team each week. Brailey started last week and played most of the match at dummy half, whilst Crossland saw reduced minutes as the Knights try to find a winning formula. He has now missed a WH in his last three matches after scoring a WH in his first four matches. If Crossland is your starting hooker I would be very nervous and looking to go in another direction.

Reed Mahoney (Bulldogs)

32 tackles, 0 runs for 0m in 44 minutes (0.73 spm)

There has been some noise regarding Mahoney and the Dogs potentially trying to offload him during the off season. Its hard to imgaine they would want to part ways the him as they don’t seem to have an established back up hooker. Hayward could potentially play there if needed but doesn’t possess the skill set of Mahoney to play our of dummy half. Bad news for CEO’s is Mahoney has now missed a WH in three of his seven matches this season, including his last two matches. The Bulldogs need him at his best but that may mean sharing some minutes with Hayward at dummy half throughout the season.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Jake Simpkin (Sea Eagles)

32 tackles, 8 runs for 89m in 58 minutes – WH (0.69 spm)

Simpkins seems to be the starting hooker at Manly now for the immediate future after Lachlan Croker had another injury setback and is expected to miss another four weeks. Simpkin could be good value for the next month as he is a running dummy half who could get you a ME to with a WH.

Mark Nicholls (Dolphins)

32 tackles, 9 runs for 81m in 53 minutes – WH (0.77 spm)

Nicholls is a handy player to have in your squad as bye or injury cover. He has scored a WH in his last two matches as the Dolphins deal with some injuries to key forwards. Daniel Saifiti injured his shoulder against the Raiders which could see Nicholls start at prop for a few weeks, depending on how long Saifiti is out.

Shawn Blore (Storm)

39 tackles, 9 runs for 74m in 80 minutes – WH (0.91 spm)

Blore is that bloke on the other side of the field as Katoa in the Storm pack, the guy that you always forget is playing cause he has done nothing for so long. Well it is time to pay attention CEO’s as Blore has scored a WH in his last two matches and has seen a significant jump in his stats output. This could be a from a change made by the Storm in their defensive line so this would be a good time to pick up Blore and see how long he can keep up these numbers.

Ethan Bullemor (Sea Eagles)

27 tackles, 13 runs for 128m in 39 minutes – WH (1.02 spm)

Bullemor finally lands a start at prop and he certainly delivered, despite only playing 39 minutes. His spm was a huge 1.02 which enabled him to score a WH in his limited playing time. He tuns the ball so well, getting lots of post contact metres which puts him in the frame for ME scoring. If Manly persist with him at prop I think they will see a big benefit on the field and CEO’s will get some regular WH scoring off the field. If you have him in your squad you should hold him for the next few weeks to see how it plays out, if you don’t have him, he could be a handy pick up if he starts to see more playing time.

WORTH MENTIONING…

Liam Henry (Panthers)

33 tackles, 6 runs for 49m in 29 minutes – (1.34 spm)

Henry has started at prop the last two matches, which should have meant a guaranteed WH for CEO’s, however his minutes were well below his usual time when he was coming off the bench. I can only think that he is still working his way back from off season surgery so the Panthers might be putting limits on his playing time and workload until his fully fit. Henry is now a dual back row/front row which gives him even more value. I would be holding him for now and hope that he sees an increase in playing time, especially seeing that his stats per minute are one of the best in the NRL.

Corey Jensen (Broncos)

25 tackles, 12 runs for 111m in 40 minutes – (0.93 spm)

How frustrating has it been this season for CEO’s that own Jensen. He has scored two WH’s this season in a bench role for the Broncos. Given the Broncos will lose Haas and Carrigan during the Origin period, I think Jensen will see an increase in playing time over those few months which should see an increase in his WH scoring. We know what he is capable of when he plays bigger minutes so I would be holding him for now, with Origin just around the corner.

Zac Hosking (Raiders)

28 tackles, 7 runs for 70m in 45 minutes – (0.78 spm)

Hosking has made his way back from injury for the Raiders but he has seen his seat filled by Matty Nicholson. I wonder if the Stick would be tempted to try Hudson Young at lock and give him a roaming role as he loves to run the ball. The only problem with that is Young is the form back rower of the comp at the moment. Three into two doesn’t go and one will likely come off the bench and miss a WH each week. To add to that, Stick will also likely start Hosking every now and then at the last hour, switching him for Nicholson or Smithies. Hosking is certainly a hold as he is a gun when he starts.

Jeremiah Nanai (Cowboys)

25 tackles, 14 runs for 118m in 72 minutes – (0.51 spm)

We saw some good signs from Nanai on the weekend as he crossed for two tries in the Cowboys rout of the Titans. It seems that fitness is the issue for Nanai, quite possibly one of the reasons he was dumped to Qld Cup earlier in the year. If he had played out the full 80 minutes then he would have scored a WH as well so look for Nanai to be back to playing 80 minutes over the next couple of weeks and you should also see him start to score a WH again. If someone else has him in your league, he could be a good player to trade in as his current CEO may not be happy with what he has done so far.

BACKS IMPERSONATING FORWARDS

It is time we paid some attention to those skinny little bludgers who think they can play in the forwards. There may be some comps out there that reward backs for scoring a WH, so lets call them out, if only to shame the forwards in their pack for not doing the work themselves. Take note that in  some public comps you can name backs in bench position 1 and 2 where they are eligible to score a WH.

Sean O’Sullivan (Dolphins)

43 tackles, 1 runs for 14m in 62 minutes – WH (0.71 spm)

The ousted Dolphins halfback found himself as the starting hooker on the weekend after they lost JMK, Plath and then Donoghoe to injury. He made his tackles but offered little in attack out of dummy half.

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

POSITION	PLAYER	TEAM	INVOLVEMENTS	PACK OF THE WEEK
Front Row	Terrell May	Tigers	71	5
Hooker	Blayke Brailey	Sharks	61	2
Front Row	Payne Haas	Broncos	61	4
Back Row	Tom Gilbert	Dolphins	66	2
Back Row	Kai Pearce-Paul	Knights	58	1
Lock	Erin Clark	Warriors	63	1

WH – Workhorse

DWH – Double Workhorse

ME – Metre Eater

DME – Double Metre Eater

SPM – Stats per minute played