Workhorse Watch: Rd 7
Whatever happens for the rest of the season, it’s going to be hard to top Jamie Buhrer’s performance on Friday night. Two weeks ago Buhrer couldn’t buy a workhorse try now he’s racking them up in double time. The Manly backrower had a workhorse by halftime against the Bulldogs and had a double workhorse by the 60 minute mark. Plenty have come close but from memory, no player has ever got a workhorse try in 40 minutes of football.
As someone who’s hairline resembles Eric Grothe Senior’s more so than Junior’s, I’m loathe to have a go at a footy player’s hairdo, but what’s doing with the hipster ponytail Jack De Belin? Since breaking into first grade, the Dragons forward has always sported an interesting look but the high ponytail takes the cake. I guess he can be forgiven when you consider his numbers this season. De Belin has scored a workhorse try every round this year and is easily one of the league’s biggest improvers.
One player who would have an even stronger claim to such a title (the hair and the improver) is Tohu Harris. Harris has also scored a workhorse every week and came very close to a double workhorse in Round 6. After averaging 34 involvements per game last year, Harris had lifted to another level this season averaging 51 involvements per game. With seven workhorse tries for the season he has already well passed the five he had in 2014.
It’s been a slow start to the year for Jake Granville (another with fantastic hair!) but the Cowboy’s rake finally nabbed his first workhorse try of the season. The former Bronco only just got there with 33 tackles and 7 runs but combined with his three tries he ended up having a massive game and deserved his spot in this week’s Dream Team. Granville has split his minutes evenly with Rory Kostjasyn this season and Saturday night was the first time he had the lion’s share of the minutes, playing 63 compared to Kostjaysn’s 17. It should also be noted that the Cowboys’ four game winning streak has coincided with Granville starting the last four games.
Last week fellow writer Hamish Neale pointed out the shortcomings of Mitchell Pearce’s field goal accuracy and was quick to highlight the fact again when Cooper Cronk slotted the winning field goal in their match on Saturday night. One stat that would not have helped Pearce in the dying minutes of the game was that he had to make 35 tackles in the game. Along with his 6 runs, his effort was worthy of a workhorse try. Compare that to Cronk who made just 18 tackles and 3 runs. With half the workload it’s no wonder Cronk was able to secure the victory. Except for injured Titan, Daniel Mortimer, no halfback in the league makes more tackles per game than Pearce (22 per game).
WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK:
Jamie Buhrer. I honestly can’t say enough about this guy’s first half last week. With the departures of Anthony Watmough and Glenn Stewart, it was expected that Buhrer would elevate his workrate to the highest level and be a shoo-in for a workhorse try each week. That hasn’t happened but with his efforts in the last fortnight, he looks to have turned a corner.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK:
- Corey Parker: 43 tackles + 11 hitups = 54
- Cameron Smith: 54 tackles + 6 hitups = 60
- Will Matthews: 41 tackles + 13 hitups = 54
- Glenn Stewart: 50 tackles + 10 hitups = 60
- Simon Mannering: 49 tackles + 10 hitups = 59
- Jamie Buhrer: 50 tackles + 20 hitups = 70
14. Tohu Harris: 46 tackles + 11 hitups = 57
15. Luke Lewis: 40 tackles + 16 hitups = 56
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR:
The stories coming out of the Close But No Cigar Club continue to amaze. This week features three forwards from the one club pictured above when they once used to roll in cigards. What’s interesting to note is that two other Cowboys (Tamou and Granville) just scraped in for a workhorse with 40 involvements each.
Kierran Moseley: 36 tackles + 3 hitups = 39
Michael Ennis: 33 tackles + 6 hitups = 39
Ben Hannant: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Joseph Paulo: 28 tackles + 11 hitups = 39
Jason Taumalolo: 25 tackles + 14 hitups = 39
Matthew Scott: 25 tackles + 14 hitups = 39
Chris Heighington: 22 tackles + 17 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE:
Will Matthews wasted no time grabbing hold of his first top grade opportunity of 2015. Matthews had a huge first half and backed it up in the second to finish with 54 involvements in 80 minutes. (0.68SPM). With Tyson Frizell due back from suspension next week there appears to be little long term benefit in nabbing the former Titan, but Origin is not far away meaning the Dragons will probably need a replacement for Trent Merrin.
What’s happened to Ethan Lowe? I’m glad you asked Trade Doctor. After scoring a workhorse every week in the opening 5 rounds, Lowe has fallen short in the last two games.
There are some common factors that can influence the potency of any workhorse, but which one applies to the Cowboys’ backrower?
1) Minutes: This one is simple, more minutes, more involvements. But Lowe’s minutes have remained the same. He plays 80 minutes every week. The only time he didn’t was in round 3 when he played 74 and still got a workhorse.
2) Possession: Unless you’re Paul Gallen, the majority of your involvements are going to come from tackles so if you’re team is dominating possession then you’re going have less involvements. But the Cowboys possession rate in the last two weeks (51.0%) is virtually identical to their possession rate in the first five (51.6%).
3) Fewer Sets: This is the only discernable difference I can find. The Cowboys’ last two games have not been as ‘involvement heavy’ as their opening 5 rounds. In the first 5 weeks, Cowboys games had an average of 1065 involvements. In the last two weeks that’s dropped to 1017. As a team, North Queensland has averaged fewer runs and fewer tackles per game in the last two weeks compared to the first 5 rounds.
| COWBOYS | ETHAN LOWE | ||||
| ROUNDS | SETS (Avg) | RUNS (Avg) | TACKLES (Avg) | INVOLVEMENTS (Avg) | WORKHORSE TRIES (Total) |
| 1-5 | 79.3 | 187.2 | 332.2 | 50 | 5 |
| 6-7 | 73.5 | 182.5 | 303.5 | 36 | 0 |
That might not seem a lot but it’s meant that the Cowboys forwards have dropped from an average of 3.6 workhorses per game (weeks 1-5) to 2.5 in the last fortnight. Lowe’s gone from 50 involvements per game (0.63SPM) down to 36 (0.45SPM). Perhaps it’s time to call Workhorse Busters
JUST QUICKLY:
What cost the Tigers more? One less tackle miles away from what would be considered good attacking position or giving up a 22-0 lead.
Geoff Adams
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