Workhorse Watch Rd 20
Winners have parties, losers have frustrations.
Or at least I think that’s what Josh McGuire said on Twitter. Queensland might have won Origin but ever since McGuire tweeted about winners and losers, parties and meetings, the Brisbane Broncos have been on the downward slide. On Friday night the frustration began to boil over as McGuire and the Broncos got in a number of cheap shots against the visiting Panthers. Brisbane’s poor form meant they had to get through a stack of work with McGuire having 40 involvements at halftime. By game’s end McGuire had 59 involvements but would’ve missed a double workhorse even if he got to 60 as he only ran 99 metres.
Meanwhile Trent Merrin easily had the yardage but was also one involvement shy of a double workhorse in what would have been one of the most epic performances by a forward this season. Merrin made 37 tackles along with 22 runs for 226 metres (Double Metre Eater) and crossed for a try as well. It was still his best performance of the season but man, how sweet would it have been if he got that extra involvement?
I am so undecided on where I stand in regards to the Robbie Farah situation. From an NRLCEO point of view I want Robbie to be in first grade and make all the tackles. I want him running the ball 20 times a game. If a Tigers’ player looks set to score and Robbie wasn’t the one who passed it or kicked it to them, I want that player to go to ground and let Robbie set it up on the next play.
And yet I can’t align myself with Tigers fans who, in an effort to support Farah on the weekend, stooped to vulgar, profanity filled banners criticising Jason Taylor. Taylor is the coach, and it is his job to field the team as he sees fit. Afterall, should the Tigers struggle, he will be the one to be shown the door. Farah has already seen two coaches ushered out whilst remaining untouchable despite the fact that during Farah’s career, the Wests Tigers have only made the finals three times in 13 years.
With that being said, Farah made some excellent points following his game in NSW Cup on Saturday when he said:
“I’ve played four games in the last 12 weeks for the Tigers, three of those have been wins and three of those wins we’ve scored over 30 points. So if you think that’s a lack of cohesion in attack, I think you guys can form an opinion over that.”
“When JT came to the club … he said publicly that in the past we’ve been an attacking club, and I find it ironic now that he’s talking about lack of cohesion in attack when we’ve got the second worst defence in the comp.”
I don’t think anyone knows how this will play out. At the start of the year, despite claims that everything was sweet between the pair, I knew that this feud would continue to simmer and cause problems down the track, and it now has, but surely it can only end with one of them leaving the club.
Workhorse of the Week:
Cameron McInnes: Another fresh face and once again it was at the expense of his more noted teammate. McInnes trumped Sam Burgess by one involvement which is not easy for a hooker to do up against a back rower. McInnes also edged out Michael Lichaa (also a double workhorse) and Jake Friend (75 involvements!). Meanwhile Andrew McCullough had 60 involvements against the Penrith but couldn’t make the team.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Josh McGuire: 49 tackles + 10 hitups = 59
- Cameron McInnes: 50 tackles + 12 hitups = 62
- Aaron Woods: 36 tackles + 21 hitups = 57
- Jack De Belin: 50 tackles + 7 hitups = 57
- Trent Merrin: 37 tackles + 22 hitups = 59
- Sam Burgess: 42 tackles + 19 hitups = 61
- Michael Lichaa: 60 tackles + 1 hitups = 61
- Jake Friend: 73 tackles + 2 hitups = 75
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Isaah Yeo: 24 tackles + 15 hitups = 39
Luke Bateman: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
Last week’s Dream Team Player of the Week, Bunty Afoa managed to back up this week with another impressive performance. He didn’t score two tries but he did amass 51 involvements against the Raiders (0.72 SPM). Afoa also ran for 130 metres which was close to double compared to the week before. And don’t think the Workhorse Watcher didn’t take note of his performance last week just because he didn’t get a mention. Afoa was the only player I picked up during the week and his place in the Castle Hills Rams’ starting 13 came at the expense of club stalwart Matt Scott. Afoa is putting up some exciting numbers.
Tariq Sims returned to the workhorse spotlight with his first workhorse try since transferring to St George Illawarra. Sunday’s game against the Tigers was Sims’ first game in the starting side for the Dragons and he had 44 involvements for the match. Prior to that he had been averaging 37 minutes off the bench for an SPM of 0.98. Meanwhile several Dragons players were caught in an altercation at a Wollongong nightspot on the weekend. Not that it will be of any consequence for NRLCEOs with all three not currently in first grade. On a positive note, it was the first time Tim Lafai has been seen all year.
Another disappointing week for George Burgess owners with the Rabbitohs prop coming close to a workhorse try. Burgess finished on 37 involvements for the second straight week since coming back from a groin injury (0.80 SPM). Currently the English forward has just one workhorse try and one metre eater to his name in 2016. Injury has played a substantial part in effecting his season but even before the injury, his form was very underwhelming. Will you take a chance on him next season?
Another workhorse regular, Michael Ennis has called it a day, choosing to retire after 14 years in the top grade. Whatever you think of some of Ennis’ on field tactics you can’t deny his workhorse form over the years. The difference with Ennis compared to other so-called grubby players is that Ennis has always been in complete control of it. He doesn’t lash out, it’s very calculated and very planned, and it gets results. Further to that, the presence of players like Danny Buderus and Robbie Farah during his career meant he played only eight Origin games which while not good news for him, has been great for NRLCEOs over the years. On the weekend Ennis scored his first workhorse since Round 16 with 43 involvements in 80 minutes (0.54 SPM).
Geoff Adams
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