Workhorse Watch Rd 6
Dylan Napa was the player that everyone was talking about during Friday night’s game and there is no doubt he put in an exceptional performance. Napa scored his first ever double workhorse try with 43 tackles and 19 runs as well as just the second try of his career. As the commentators fawned over the Roosters front rower, Phil Gould made a comment that caught my attention.
“A stats bloke came up to me at the end of the game one time and said a player’s broken the record and made 65 tackles. I said, he obviously wasn’t hurting anyone because they kept running at him.”
Gould’s comment was part of a summation that basically said that every one of Napa’s tackles had purpose but as he did, he inadvertently stumbled into the debate doing the rounds of NRLCEO this season of quality versus quantity. Now I’ve been the first to sing the praises of players with high tackle counts in the past but the way our stats provider is interpreting involvements this year has made me change my tune slightly. Gould can be a polarising figure but in between the faux arguments with Rabs I do think he is one of the game’s great thinkers who can often put things very succinctly.
Is the Hoff back? Ryan Hoffman scored his first workhorse try of the season with 35 tackles and 14 runs against Manly. It was Hoffman’s best workhorse performance in years and was one of the few times in recent seasons he’s done more than the bare minimum to get there. Over the past two years Hoffman has scored 12 workhorse tries and 8 of those have been with involvements of 40,41 or 42. Genuine Workhorse Lite territory.
Trent Merrin might have milked a penalty against North Queensland on Saturday night in a tackle that at the time was deemed a crusher tackle but in the end the joke was on him. The Cowboys crashed over to level the scores while Merrin was off the field and the time off not only cost him a workhorse try but also earned him a spot in the Close But No Cigar Club. Merrin finished with 27 tackles and 12 hit ups and given the former Dragon has just 2 workhorses to his name this season (and 2 No Cigar Clubs as well), news that he faked an injury in Saturday’s game will not sit well with NRLCEOs.
Speaking of angry fans, I’m amazed at some of the vitriol I’ve heard from Dragons fans in regards to Merrin’s move to Penrith. Despite being over a year since it was announced, Dragons fans are still very, very bitter. Maybe it’s because it was flagged so far ahead of time that they’re so angry. And it’s not just Merrin who is copping it. Even poor Sally Fitzgibbon copped it for appearing on TV wearing a Penrith jersey the other week.
I’d say let it go but as I write this I’m reminded of how long I held a grudge towards Jamie Lyon when he abandoned the Eels. Then again he genuinely abandoned them, saying he was over being in the big city and wanted to go back to Wee Waa only to then pop up elsewhere. At least Merrin was up front and admitted he was just after a bit of extra coin. Speaking of coins, I guess Dragons fans vitriol pales in comparison to the way Eels fans felt about Lyon when he first returned to Parramatta Stadium after quitting the club.
Workhorse of the Week:
James Graham: You just couldn’t let him have it could you Jimbo. Napa played the game of his career, smashed one of the NRL’s biggest names out the match in a performance that was unrivalled throughout the weekend. But then along you come James Graham to take your upteenth Workhorse of the Week title. Well done.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Dylan Napa: 43 tackles + 19 hitups = 62
- Robbie Farah: 42 tackles + 9 hitups = 51
- James Graham: 44 tackles + 19 hitups = 63
- Josh Jackson: 47 tackles + 12 hitups = 59
- Jack De Belin: 51 tackles + 9 hitups = 60
- Sam Burgess: 41 tackles + 16 hitups = 57
- Michael Lichaa: 56 tackles + 5 hitups = 61
- Mitch Rein: 59 tackles + 2 hitups = 61
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Cameron McInnes: 35 tackles + 4 hitups = 39
Dene Halatau: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Issac Liu: 24 tackles + 15 hitups = 39
Sam Moa: 23 tackles + 16 hitups = 39
Tom Symonds: 22 tackles + 17 hitups = 39
Trent Merrin: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
Gavin Cooper: 32 tackles + 7 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
It took 6 weeks, 2 stints in the No Cigar Club and an injury to Aaron Woods but Tim Grant finally got a workhorse try. At the start of the year I had earmarked Grant to have a real lift in numbers however that had failed to come to fruition in the opening month. On Sunday, Grant’s minutes stayed the same, he just had more work to do with his captain off the field. Grant had 52 involvements in 59 minutes (0.88 SPM) to score his first workhorse since Round 23 last year. With Woods out for the next 6 weeks, now could be the time for my prediction to come true.
Another win for the Stats Per Minute file with Jack Stockwell scoring his first workhorse try of the year after I singled him out last week. Stockwell played just 45 minutes but had 44 involvements (0.98 SPM). Stockwell’s 105 metres was only the fourth time this year (and first time in three weeks) that a forward ran over 100 metres coming off the Knights’ bench. Add to that the Knights cracked it for their first win, and all bodes well for the Picton junior.
NRLCEOs watching the Parramatta versus Canberra game would have been excited with what they saw from Daniel Alvaro in the opening 21 minutes. Alvaro was in everything in the first 20 minutes and came off with 23 involvements under his belt. Sadly he was not seen again until the 68 minute mark and had little time to add much to his tally, finishing with 29 involvements in 33 minutes (0.88 SPM).
Order was restored to the universe on Sunday afternoon with Paul Gallen back amongst the workhorses thanks to 52 involvements against the Titans in 74 minutes (0.70 SPM). Gallen was coming into the match off the back of consecutive games without a workhorse but with 28 involvements by half time there was no chance he was going to miss out for a third straight week.
JUST QUICKLY:
How is Triple M Sydney’s commitment to calling the AFL working out for them? Calling AFL games in the southern states is obviously a big winner but is there anything more ludicrous than listening to an NRL game on Triple M only to be informed that they’ll be crossing to the AFL with 20 minutes still to go? I appreciate that a game like Swans vs Giants might hold a bit more interest than Parramatta vs Canberra but given we discovered this week that 36% of GWS members actually barrack for another team, I’m not so sure.
Geoff Adams
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