Workhorse Watch Rd 1
When it comes to watching workhorses, all eyes were on the new interchange system and the effect it had on player rotation and minutes.
There’s only so much you can take out of a sample size as small as one game but so far it appears Trent Barrett will rely on his starting pack to play plenty of minutes. Jake Trbojevic played 58 minutes after averaging 46 minutes last year and Martin Taupau played 62 minutes after averaging 49. Back rowers Lewis Brown and Nathan Green both played the full 80 minutes with Brown scoring a workhorse try but Green finishing well short.
Speaking of missing out, NRLCEOs with Api Koroisau could be a little concerned after the Penrith recruit split his minutes with Matt Parcell. Koroisau played just 48 minutes and missed 5 tackles to finish with 35 involvements for the match. But before NRLCEOs hit the panic button, it’s worth keeping in mind that Koroisau didn’t play in any of the trials as he recovered from a shoulder injury. Match fitness in the coming weeks is likely to see Koroisau get more minutes (he averaged 70 minutes per game last season).
Out at Campbelltown, Jason Taylor kept his rotation policy pretty simple as he managed the reduced interchange by just giving his front rowers more game time. Aaron Woods played 70 minutes after he averaged 56 in 2015 and Tim Grant played 53 minutes compared to the 35 he averaged at Souths and the 46 minutes Keith Galloway averaged last season. Strangely, the extra minutes was a boom for Woods (34 tackles, 20 hit ups) but it was a bust for Grant (18 tackles, 15 hit ups) The rest of the Tigers outfit played pretty much the same minutes they played last year.
Meanwhile the Warriors remain a bit of a mystery. Or rather, Andrew McFadden’s coaching strategy remains a bit of a mystery. Ben Matulino coming off the bench looked to have been a deliberate tactic by McFadden so that he could keep his front rower on for the rest of the match. Matulino’s reduced minutes (52 compared to 64 last year) did nothing to blunt his potency as he racked up 28 tackles and 14 hit ups. However I can’t understand the decision to play Issac Luke for just 57 minutes (he averaged 74 in 2015). The reduced interchange was designed for players like Luke who averages more runs (11) than any other hooker in the game. Against the Tigers he had just 4 and was sitting on the bench when Nathaniel Roache made a crucial error at dummy half when the Warriors were storming down the field and on the verge of taking the lead.
Workhorse of the Week: Aiden Tolman: The new interchange system looks tailor made for players like Tolman and his front row partner, James Graham. The Bulldogs pair have always played big minutes and delivered big results but Tolman had his biggest game since Round 4 last year with 66 involvements. Tolman and Graham were the only two forwards who scored double workhorse tries.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Aiden Tolman: 42 tackles + 24 hitups = 66
- Nathan Peats: 57 tackles + 4 hitups = 61
- James Graham: 36 tackles + 27 hitups = 63
- Ethan Lowe: 38 tackles + 17 hitups = 55
- Shaun Fensom: 39 tackles + 12 hitups = 51
- Simon Mannering: 50 tackles + 9 hitups = 59
- Tyler Randell: 54 tackles + 4 hitups = 58
- Andrew Fifita: 43 tackles + 14 hitups = 57
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
It’s back! Plenty has changed for the forwards this season but the benchmark for a workhorse try remains. Which means the benchmark for failure is still the same too.
Aidan Guerra: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Daniel Alvaro: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Manu Ma’u: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
Paul Gallen: 26 tackles + 13 hitups = 39
Trent Merrin: 24 tackles + 15 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
Jake Trbojevic played 58 minutes on Friday night which was way up from the 46 minutes per game he averaged last season. Not only that, his workrate also increased with the Mona Vale junior making 38 tackles and 19 hit ups for an SPM of 0.98, up from the 0.81 SPM he averaged in 2015.
Englishman Elliott Whitehead was quick to reward those who took a punt on him after he scored a workhorse try on debut. The former Catalans and Bradford forward had 45 involvements in 80 minutes of action (0.56 SPM). It was a particularly strong effort given the hot conditions and you know you’ve had a good game when the only person to beat you in the tackle count is Shaun Fensom.
Only six hookers played the full 80 minutes on the weekend but not all of them grabbed workhorse tries. Andrew McCullough (50 involvements), Nathan Peats (61), Mick Ennis (45), and Tyler Randell (58) all cruised to workhorse tries but Josh Hodgson and Cam Smith both fell short with 36 involvements each. The only two rakes who managed workhorse tries in under 80 minutes were Jake Friend (0.73 SPM) and Jake Granville (0.57 SPM). However they played 75 and 70 minutes respectively and Granville only just scraped in with 40 involvements.
For as long as I can recall there has always been a group of players that are complete fantasy busts that no one rates but it seems even the most unloved fantasy dud can have someone championing their cause. In case you missed it, Marcho is predicting big things for Tony Williams this season after he stated the Bulldogs back rower would score between 40 and 50 points.That’s a big call considering he scored just seven NRLCEO points last year. Even accounting for his injury, he failed to score a try or a workhorse try in the 11 games he did play. Last week he played 80 minutes and had 34 involvements (0.43 SPM). Standard T-Rex output really. If he does get 40 plus points this season, it won’t be from workhorses.
JUST QUICKLY:
“Wow, you’re really into this fantasy football huh?”
If you’re a tragic like me, chances are someone has said this, or a variation of, at some point. Maybe it was your partner telling you to stop looking at stats and give her (or him) a hand with the kids. Or maybe it was your parents insisting you stop checking your phone at the dinner table for score updates every two minutes. And as a result perhaps at times your NRLCEO obsession has been something you kept quiet about for fear of appearing too geeky.
Thursday night’s season kick off showed, far from being the not so cool nerds of the rugby league fan base, fantasy football players are really the last refuge of true footy fandom. Sadly, the focus after Thursday’s game seemed to be on everything but the football; Corey Norman using a phone, James Roberts showing a hint of personality and of course the uproar over the missing tackle counter.
Everyone wanted to focus on these non-issues and it seemed no one wanted to talk about the footy. Fantasy football means we can put aside all the stuff that is mostly periphery and pay attention to what happens on the field. It is a desert island in a sea of faux outrage and so called crisis. And I’m so glad it’s back.
Geoff Adams
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