Workhorse Watch: Rd 2
Paul Gallen scored the first double workhorse try of the year making 36 tackles and 26 runs against the Broncos. Whilst NRLCEOs with Gallen in their line up were delighted, Sharks fans would have been left wondering if he’s doing more harm than good. After the game coach Shane Flanagan said new five-eighth Ben Barba needed to have the ball in his hands more often. Perhaps if Gallen got out of his way. The NSW captain did the same thing during Origin last year, taking hit ups when the ball really needed to be in the hands of his playmakers.
Nathan Peats got back among the workhorse tries on Friday night making 48 tackles and 6 runs. Peats benefited from the injury to Chris Sandow midway through the first half and ended up playing the full 80 minutes.
There were 31 players who scored workhorse tries after missing out last week and there were 61 workhorse tries in total compared to 42 in round 1.
Last week the boys over at the Tantasy podcast discussed whether trading to get Josh McGuire would be a good thing. The real debate was the timing with Mikey cautious of being offered McGuire immediately after the draft. I can understand the concern but personally I’d jump at him in a heartbeat. His 44 tackles and 12 runs on Friday is testament why. Meanwhile his front row partner Adam Blair had just 3 runs the entire game! Some stat sites had him down for only 1 run. Adam Blair, your membership in the Front Rowers Club has been revoked!
I want to give a shout out to Vinnie Bourke. Who is Vinnie Bourke? Well before you all scramble for your season guides, he’s not a player. At least not in the NRL. He’s an NRLCEO participant who made a suggestion on the NRLCEO Facebook page which I thought was rather brilliant.
Vinnie argued that it was time to start giving points to forwards who make over 100 metres in a game and that 2 points would probably be the right figure. Whether 100 is the right number is debatable but he reasoned that “currently too many front rowers are unplayable because they never get workhorse (tries)”. He is absolutely bang on. There are a host of props I didn’t even look at during draft preparations and my team on the weekend featured just one genuine prop in Matt Scott (32 tackles and 15 hit ups) with the other front row spot filled by Corey Parker.
The current NRLCEO scoring system is heavily slanted towards back rowers and hookers. Each week I marvel at the stats those players post, but let’s be honest, how many in those huge tackle counts are just flops that inflate the numbers? And line breaks are great but once again they favour the wide running back rower. It’s all well good to have great tacklers and rangy back rowers but without some decent go forward thanks to a couple of props that are prepared to do the hard yards up the middle, your premiership campaign isn’t going anywhere. At least in the NRL that is. Perhaps it’s time that NRLCEO removed that anomaly to make the fantasy game even closer to the real thing.
Danny Wicks was a great example of this on Friday night. The former guest of her Majesty was always going to be at long odds to pick up a workhorse try but his effort off the interchange bench was huge. Having been starved of possession in the opening 20 minutes, Parramatta needed someone fresh to give them some go forward. Enter Wicks. The Grafton junior made 9 runs for 89 metres in the first half and finished the game with 15 runs for 131 metres along with 19 tackles.
WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK:
Simon Mannering. The Warriors captain has gotten off to a flyer in 2015. Last year, Mannering managed just one workhorse try in the opening 5 weeks (and even that was with the minimum 40 involvements) and although Mannering had a great season when you also consider his try scoring, there would have been some cautious of his output following the arrival of Ryan Hoffman. No concern was needed with the entire Warriors back row in great form; between Mannering, Hoffman and Bodene Thompson, they’re averaging a workhorse try each per game.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Josh McGuire: 44 tackles + 12 hitups = 56
- Andrew McCullough: 54 tackles + 5 hitups = 59
- Aaron Woods: 29 tackles + 25 hitups = 54
- Simon Mannering: 53 tackles + 12 hitups = 65
- Ethan Lowe: 41 tackles + 19 hitups = 60
- Paul Gallen: 36 tackles + 26 hitups = 62
- Trent Merrin: 40 tackles + 17 hitups = 57
- Iosia Soliola: 38 tackles + 18 hitups = 56
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
No one can murder a workhorse try like Timmy Mannah. The nightmare of having Mannah in your NRLCEO team was in full force on Friday night. However it’s hard to feel any sort of compassion for people who have him; like the tagline of the 1980 film says,
“They were warned…They are doomed…”
Luke Burgess: 32 tackles + 7 hitups = 39
Tim Mannah: 31 tackles + 8 hitups = 39
Martin Taupau: 25 tackles + 14 hitups = 39 (who I might add got knocked out whilst attempting his 40th involvement – a first ever…)
STATS PER MINUTE
Chris Houston might have missed out on a workhorse try on the weekend but his Stats Per Minute was again fantastic. Houston racked up 38 involvements in just 36 minutes (1.10SPM). While I’m on the subject of Houston, am I the only one that didn’t realise just how much older he looks compared to his actual age? I knew he looked 43 and I just figured he was probably in his mid thirties. The bloke only just turned 30! Bloody hell!
Tim Mannah comes in for plenty of punishment here at the Workhorse Watch (and rightfully so) but it would be unfair if I didn’t point out that his Close but No Cigar Club entry this week came in just 36 minutes (1.08SPM). When he’s out there he gets through the work, he just isn’t out there enough! His front row partner Darcy Lussick is the same boat. He had 34 involvements in 35 minutes (0.97SPM).
Those who actually did score workhorse tries with a great stats per minute were Kade Snowden (1.09SPM), Ben Hannant (1.07SPM) and Josh McGuire (1.04SPM). I’ve already expressed my admiration of McGuire but let me add it’s great to see Snowden and Hannant in great form as well. Both players only scored 8 workhorse tries apiece in 2014, well down on their 2013 tallies but with this kind of quality output they’ll both be back in double digits for workhorses by season’s end.
Broncos debutant Joe Ofahengaue may have given away two penalties but from a workhorse point of view his time in the middle against the Sharks was quality. Ofahengaue had 17 involvements in as many minutes (1.00SPM), didn’t miss any tackles and made 25 metres in his two runs.
JUST QUICKLY:
What I’m about to say is nothing new and I hate to bag out TV coverage for the second week in a row but I refuse to sit through the second Friday night game anymore. Channel 9 clearly have their model which they’re happy with but between avoiding social media for fear of seeing the score, being unable to follow stats in real time, putting up with the Broncos every week, sitting through a mountain of ads every 5 minutes and being subjected to Ray Hadley’s commentary which is enough to put an insomniac to sleep, it’s just not worth it.
Geoff Adams
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Is anyone going to talk about Nathan Friend? 21 WHs (incl Dbs) last season. Has played only 38 and 25 minutes respectively this season. Whats going on? I want my draft choice back…
At 34 years of age, I guess the Warriors probably feel they need to be planning for the future. When Andrew McFadden first came in, Friend was told his services were “surplus to requirements”. Friend eventually won an extension for 2014 and then a new 1 year deal for this year but with Leuluai as well as Havili coming through clearly he has an elder statesman type role and, like many hookers in the game, his days of 80 minute games are over.
You missed Issac Luke making his 40th involvement in the process of scoring a try in the last minute. Very good for those who had him as Captain.
Great work by Luke and great work by you for having the courage to name him as your captain after he missed out on a workhorse try in Round 1.