Workhorse Watch Rd 4
How did you sort out who got James Segeyaro?
NRLCEOs were thrown into chaos after Segeyaro was named last Tuesday afternoon but wasn’t added to the website until Tuesday evening. NRLCEO’s decision to let leagues sort it out for themselves instead of adding him well before the 8pm Waiver Wire meant teams had little time to organise themselves.
With Segeyaro still not on the site by 7pm it was declared by our league commissioner that a silent auction would take place. I just assumed that anyone who wanted him would register their interest and the lowest ranked bidder would get him, just as it is with the Waiver Wire. Instead, it was indeed an auction; NRLCEOs had to email our Commish who they were prepared to part with in order to get Segeyaro. Segeyaro would then go to the team that was prepared to part with the highest drafted player. As we are a keeper league, someone you retained from last year would carry even more weight.
It all seemed a bit complex for a player that may not have much of an effect. I figured it should just go to the lowest ranked team who wanted him. Our Commish replied that NRLCEO ran this scenario for picking up Ben Barba and that it was the best way to sort out a potential marquee player like Segeyaro instead of fastest finger first and also to stop teams from double dipping seeing as though the Waiver Wire had already run that week for other players. Following the debacle we had last year with Hayne, and in light of the fact I wasn’t interested in acquiring Segeyaro, I stayed out of it.
So who picked him up? The guy coming last as it turns out who figured out a way to work the system to his advantage. He opted to give up Tariq Sims who he had held as a keeper from last year but who hasn’t scored a single point this season. Despite sitting on a duck egg he was considered the most valuable. So Sims went to the free list and Segeyaro was off to join the Raging Bulls.
But here’s the rub; because all this unfolded on Tuesday and the silent auction didn’t end till Wednesday, it meant Sims went straight to the Waiver Wire and wouldn’t be able to be touched until the following Tuesday. The Raging Bulls CEO figured out there was an even chance that he might still be last come Tuesday meaning he could offer up an even worse player and reacquire Sims if he wanted to. In the end he could end up triple dipping have picked up Segeyaro, Gideon Gela-Mosby through Waiver Wires, and possibly get back Sims a week later.
All of that for just 21 minutes of action and 17 involvements from the former Panther. With that being said, Segeyaro will gradually build up more match fitness and increase his minutes, plus he is just one Jayden Brailey injury away from returning to being a hooker that has dominated in years gone by. The whole saga though does highlight the importance of consistency when adding players to the NRLCEO. There needs to be a set time every week that players are added, especially when it’s a high profile player like Segeyaro. Same goes for players like Tyler Cornish who wasn’t named at the same time as everyone else two weeks ago. Meanwhile, how did your league decide who got ‘Segy’?
The fans have been asking for it (well one of them at least) and so now it’s back – Workhorse Lite. While there are some forwards who rack up massive involvements every week and others who fall short of the 40 mark, there is a group who land on the money with 40 to just get there – they are what we refer to as Workhorse Lite. In the past, to fall into this category came with a bit of derision but given the state of my forward pack this season, what I wouldn’t give for a few right now.
So far this year there have been 21 workhorse tries scored with exactly 40 involvements including nine in the past week alone. Noted workhorses James Graham and Trent Merrin each scraped in while the rest were forwards who are less regular with their workhorse output including Jayson Bukuya, Jack Stockwell, Joseph Tapine, Marty Taupau, Jacob Lillyman and Chris Lawrence. The ninth was Angus Crichton who scored his second workhorse since debuting in Round 19 last year. His first workhorse came with 41 involvements.
Workhorse of the Week:
Andrew McCullough put in a huge performance in the Broncos’ one point win over the Raiders. Celebrating his 200th game the Brisbane number 9 had registered a workhorse by half time with 39 tackles and 3 runs. But he wasn’t done as he scored the first try of the game three minutes into the second half. McCullough finished with 67 involvements but missed out on a double workhorse try and almost scored a second try late in the game but was cut down just metres from the line. He now sits equal first for workhorse tries (5) and outright first for tackles made (221).
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Paul Vaughan: 39 tackles + 16 hitups = 55
- Andrew McCullough: 61 tackles + 6 hitups = 67
- Ryan James: 42 tackles + 13 hitups = 55
- Bodene Thompson: 48 tackles + 4 hitups = 52
- Tyson Frizell: 42 tackles + 10 hitups = 52
- Paul Gallen: 31 tackles + 22 hitups = 53
14. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: 39 tackles + 14 hitups = 53
15. Jarrod Wallace: 38 tackles + 15 hitups = 53
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Shannon Boyd: 32 tackles + 7 hitups = 39
Wade Graham: 26 tackles + 13 hitups = 39
Nelson Asofa-Solomona: 28 tackles + 11 hitups = 39
Ethan Lowe: 25 tackles + 14 hitups = 39
Robbie Farah: 36 tackles + 3 hitups = 39
Ryan Matterson: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
And then there were 10…
Ten players remain in contention for most consistent workhorse having scored a workhorse in every round so far. They are Jarrod Wallace, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Michael Lichaa, Aiden Tolman, Paul Gallen, Ryan James, Scott Bolton, Jack De Belin and Cam McInnes. Both Sam Burgess and Boyd Cordner dropped out of the running on Thursday night with Burgess registering 31 involvements in 40 minutes (0.78 SPM) before failing a HIA while Cordner played the full 80 minutes but only registered 36 involvements (0.45 SPM).
It was a big game for two of the Parramatta bench forwards with Nathan Brown and Daniel Alvaro both scoring their first workhorse tries for the year. Brown had 49 involvements in 60 minutes (0.82 SPM) but it was that was in absolute beast mode getting 51 involvements in just 40 minutes (1.28 SPM). Alvaro’s work rate has been great over the opening 3 rounds (0.91 SPM) but with an average of just 31.7 minutes a game, he wasn’t getting a chance to score a workhorse. Some extra minutes and a huge workrate certainly changed that against the Sharks.
He might not have gotten the win but Simon Mannering marked his 262nd match for the New Zealand Warriors the same way he marks most matches, with a workhorse try. The New Zealand international scored his fourth workhorse of the season with 50 involvements in just 62 minutes (0.81 SPM). Only Bodene Thompson had more involvements (52) for the Warriors but he played the full 80 minutes on the way to scoring his first workhorse try of the year.
NRLCEOs who took a punt on Paul Vaughan are continuing to cash in with the former Raider securing his second try/workhorse try of the season. Vaughan had a career high 55 involvements against the Warriors in 56 minutes (0.98 SPM) and ran for 173 metres to secure his third metre eater of the season as well. His 56 minutes was more than the 46.7 minutes he averaged over the opening three weeks and much more than the 40 minutes he averaged at the Raiders last year. Further to that, his Dragons are flying high in third spot with three wins and one loss while the highly fancied Raiders side he left languishes in 11th place with a solitary win.
JUST QUICKLY:
It’s a difficult time across the NRL as clubs try to contract players without knowing exactly how much they have to spend. Players meanwhile are holding out to make sure they’re getting the most they can but on current form some of the figures are ludicrous.
My advice to NRL CEOs is to look towards NRLCEO to give yourself an accurate guide on what to spend on players. Johnathan Thurston is the yardstick for which all other players, especially playmakers should be measured.
Currently he’s in the final year of a deal worth $1.2 million a season. This year he has 43 NRLCEO points (including goals). Josh Reynolds meanwhile is asking for $800,000 a year but his NRLCEO output is just 7 points or one sixth of Thurston’s. A sixth of Thurston’s contract would be $195,000 a season which seems more than fair given the Bulldogs’ current form.
Geoff Adams
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