Workhorse Watch Rd 17
With the last of the major bye rounds upon us weekend, player selection will be crucial as competitions come down to the business end of the season. Omitting one player in favour of another can be the difference between winning and losing and despite there being a couple of blowouts between high ranking teams last weekend, Workhorse Watch research indicates you’re better off leaning towards players who are involved in matches between high quality teams (or at least evenly matched teams) rather than players in struggling teams who seemingly will have to do a lot of defence.
Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Roosters all rank in the top four in both workhorse tries scored and conceded while the Sharks are ranked 6th for workhorse tries scored and are 4th for workhorses scored against them. Melbourne in particular have been involved in several games with a high number of workhorse tries against varying opposition, both high quality teams like Cronulla (12 workhorse tries in their Round 6 match) and lesser teams like Souths (12 workhorse tries in their Round 11 match) and the Warriors (11 workhorse tries in their Round 2 game).
At the other end of the ladder it’s a similar story, if you’re tossing up between a player that’s playing against a bad team, compared to a good team, you’re better off going for the forward in the better team. The Newcastle Knights are ranked last for workhorse tries scored and third last in workhorse tries conceded. Teams continue to rack up big scores against the Knights and there just isn’t time for players to score workhorse tries. It’s a similar story over at the Titans who are ranked last for workhorse tries scored against them (2.3 per game).
Of course there are exceptions to the rule and games involving Manly are some of the worst for producing workhorse tries. Despite sitting in the top four, the Sea Eagles only average 2.4 workhorse tries between them per game (15th) and teams only score 2.9 workhorse tries against them each game (13th). There are also exceptions to the tries conceded rule as well. Despite languishing in second last place on the ladder, more tries are scored against the Tigers than any other team.
Workhorse of the Week:
Aiden Tolman. Just another day at the office for the Bulldogs prop but a huge way to bounce back after being in the Close But No Cigar Club last week. When he made the club back in Round 13 I predicted he’d bounce back with Workhorse of the Week, he didn’t, but second time’s the charm.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Nathan Brown: 42 tackles + 25 hitups = 67
- Jake Friend: 65 tackles + 3 hitups = 68
- Aiden Tolman: 54 tackles + 19 hitups = 73
- Simon Mannering: 53 tackles + 18 hitups = 71
- Bodene Thompson: 44 tackles + 10 hitups = 54
- Jake Trbojevic: 48 tackles + 15 hitups = 63
14. Andrew McCullough: 55 tackles + 6 hitups = 61
15. Leeson Ah Mau: 44 tackles + 10 hitup = 54
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Lewis Brown: 36 tackles + 3 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
Nathan Brown (0.79 SPM) had a huge game on Thursday night as he scored his first ever double workhorse and while he fell short of Aiden Tolman’s 73 involvements he did outrun the Bulldogs’ workhorse gun with 206 metres gained. Brown’s work in attack was double that of every other Eels forward as the blue and golds struggled to get the ball out of their own territory for much of the second half.
The Eels’ cause wasn’t helped by Kenny Edwards who made some of the most bone headed decisions in the one game that I’ve seen in a while including backing away from a player after being called offside then going in to tackle him anyway as well as lunging for an intercept after three consecutive sets when instead he could have paused for a moment waited for Mbye to catch the ball and then diffuse the play with a ball and all tackle. However from a workhorse point of view he had his best game with a career high 53 involvements (0.62 SPM).
Simon Mannering posted a massive 71 involvements this week with 53 tackles and 18 runs (0.89 SPM). His efforts in the last two weeks have been some of the best of the season and up there with several efforts he had last year including that epic game in Round 16 where he had 80 involvements. The difference this time round was he had the metres to go with it, giving him a double workhorse.
Andrew McCullough came within a metre of his second double workhorse try of the year racking up 61 involvements (0.76 SPM) for the game. It was the opposite story last weekend when he ran for 76 metres but only had 44 involvements. Can the Tantasy boys get Macca on the podcast and run him through the numbers required for a double workhorse, it’s killing some NRLCEOs, including me. And while you’re at it, get Josh McGuire on the phone too and tell him we know how tough he is, he doesn’t need to soldier on after taking a bad hit. McGuire was in Disneyland after copping a heavy knock in the early goings and had to be wrestled off the field by the trainers. The images highlighted how important it is that the powers that be continue to be strong managing concussion, it’s going to cost someone big time if we don’t remain vigilant.
You reckon Ricky is regretting letting Shaun Fensom go? It’s hard to remember that Stuart opted against Fensom last year, eventually forcing him out of the club due to the fact he wasn’t a ball runner. The former Raider out ran all the Canberra forwards in the Cowboys’ 31-18 win. Fensom had 49 involvements in 53 minutes (0.92 SPM) and ran for 178 metres, his best in almost two years.
JUST QUICKLY:
If you haven’t already, check out the piece written by Josh Wells on the NRLCEO comp I play in – UV2RL. Digging up some old photos for it brought back a lot of memories, albeit rather vague ones.
Read more here: www.nrlceo.com/building-a-franchise-online/
Geoff Adams
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