Workhorse Watch Rd 25
We say goodbye to a number of players this week including some prominent workhorses, some who are off to ply their trade elsewhere and others who are being put completely out to pasture.
Nigel Plum, Dan Hunt and Ben Lowe have all announced their retirements in recent weeks but with all due respect to those three individuals, none will leave massive holes as far as workhorses go. I know I paid tribute to Nigel Plum a few weeks ago but as I also pointed out, as hard as he was, he was never the most prolific when it came to racking up workhorse tries. Hunt has not been in first grade all season; not that playing NRL made much of a difference to his ability as a workhorse. Hunt played 11 games last year and didn’t score one. Lowe on the other hand is a handy workhorse. He has 6 workhorse tries in 14 games this year and made a valuable contribution during the Origin period.
The two most high profile workhorses set to leave the NRL are Ryan Hinchcliffe (Huddersfield) and Kurt Gidley (Warrington). Both players have been strong workhorses at various stages of their career although this season has been a little lean. Both picked up their first workhorse tries in months on Saturday with Hinchcliffe getting 46 involvements and Gidley getting 41. Here’s hoping they can each get one more in the NRLCEO send off.
Nothing like a good old fashioned rev up to get the best out of a player. Threatened with the prospect of being on the outer next season, Robbie Farah played his best game of the year. Farah raced to 17 involvements in the first 20 minutes but left the field in the 53rd minute on 35. He returned late in the game only to finish stranded with 39 involvements but was later upgraded to 40. Along with the workhorse try he also scored a try and set up three others to return the kind of result I said had been missing for the best part of two seasons.
The thing I find most puzzling about the Farah predicament is this notion of him playing NSW Cup next year. The Tigers say Farah is bad for the culture of the club. In what world will that problem be fixed with Farah running around in reserve grade? Jason Taylor and the Tigers better hope Farah finds a team quick for any amount of money because until he leaves, the problem is going to hang over the club like a storm cloud.
As Jason Taylor is left facing a barrage of abuse in light of what’s happened with Robbie Farah, Matt Peterson reminded ABC Grandstand listeners during halftime of the Titans vs Dragons game that Taylor’s decision to swing the axe can sometimes pay off in a big way. When Taylor took over from Brian Smith at Parramatta in 2006, the first thing he did was send Peterson to reserve grade in favour of a young player you might’ve heard a bit about lately, Jarryd Hayne. Whilst moving on a club legend like Robbie Farah is hardly the same as axing Sideshow Bob, it was a timely anecdote in light of the trouble at the Tigers and the hype around the former Eel at the moment.
WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK:
Damien Cook. Last week it was a try and a workhorse try and this week a double workhorse. Cook had 52 involvements and ran for 84 metres. The Doggies rake was one of only two forwards to score a double workhorse on the weekend and was among a handful of hookers who played the full 80 minutes.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Chris Houston: 35 tackles + 16 hitups = 51
- Damien Cook: 46 tackles + 6 hitups = 52
- Ben Hannant: 35 tackles + 16 hitups = 51
- Shaun Fensom: 39 tackles + 15 hitups = 54
- Kevin Proctor: 42 tackles + 11 hitups = 53
- Tohu Harris: 38 tackles + 13 hitups = 51
14. James Segeyaro: 40 tackles + 11 hitups = 51
15. Nathan Friend: 44 tackles + 8 hitups = 52
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Daniel Alvaro: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Wade Graham: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
Tariq Sims: 28 tackles + 11 hitups = 39
Curtis Sironen: 28 tackles + 11 hitups = 39
Shannon Boyd: 26 tackles + 13 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE:
It’s amazing what you can do when you get some minutes. After spending game after game sitting on the sideline to the point where Eels staff didn’t bother washing his jersey after the match, Daniel Alvaro is finally getting some minutes and is putting them to good use. Alvaro scored his first ever NRL try and came within a whisker of his first ever workhorse try. Alvaro had 39 involvements in just 41 minutes (0.95 SPM).
Wonders will never cease. Another forward about to say farewell to NRLCEO is Dave Taylor and can you believe he bid adieu to the Gold Coast faithful with his best performance of the year? Once a year Taylor shows just how devastating he can be and what waste of talent he is the rest of the season. Most games Taylor looks disinterested and lazy but on Sunday he was electrifying. 2 tries, 2 line breaks and get this, a workhorse try! ‘The Coal Train’ had 43 involvements in 80 minutes (0.53 SPM) to get his first workhorse since Round 13 last year.
Sadly Keith Galloway didn’t have quite the same effect in his final game in front of a home crowd but I’m sure he’s happy to take the 50-16 win over the Warriors as a consolation prize. Galloway had 32 involvements (0.75 SPM) which is par for the course for big Keithy (he averages 33 involvements in 2015) but he did get a chance to kick a goal at the end of the game.
That attempt by Galloway surely cost someone in NRLCEO land a Grand Final berth. It could have had a huge impact in my league with Richards’ heroics getting the Anfield Jets right back in the game against the Bass Straight Mean Machine. The Jets were up by two going into Monday night football but sadly they only had Josh Mansour still to come while the Machines had Shaun Fensom, Jarrad Kennedy and David Shillington. The Jets needed something special from Mansour but with Kennedy and Fensom grabbing tries in the first half and all three on their way to a workhorse at half-time, it was good night nurse for the Jets. All three ended up with workhorse tries with Fensom (as always) leading the way with 54 involvements (0.73 SPM).
JUST QUICKLY:
Thanks for reading the Workhorse Watch for another season. Once again I’ve really enjoyed putting it together each week.
Congratulations to all of this week’s Grand Finalists and good luck this weekend, even you Bass Straight Mean Machine, my old foe.
Be sure to come back next week for ‘The Workies’, the second annual Workhorse Watch End of Season Awards.
Geoff Adams
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