Workhorse Watch Round 13

2024 NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 13 – G.I. Joe!

• Joe Tapine delivers a rare TWH
• Has a Knights gun lost his Frizz?
• A Sharks prop is circling the WH waters
• Is it time for the Dragons to get on the Couch?

In Round 13 there were 50 players who scored a WH, with 3 players scoring a DWH and 1 player scoring a TWH. It was a huge WH round with some big numbers, particularly in defence, in a tight round of footy.

WORKING HARD

Joseph Tapine (Raiders)

52 tackles, 23 runs for 205m in 62 minutes – TWH (1.21 stats per minute)

Quite ridiculous stats from Tapine in a 62 minute effort, a TWH, DME and a LB. Joe is in his prime at the moment and is one of the first Front Rowers picked in drafts. After his massive 20pt CEO haul on the weekend, he is within sight of his career best 150pt season that he achieved last year.

James Fisher-Harris (Panthers)

56 tackles, 19 runs for 156m in 72 minutes – DWH (1.04 spm)

JFH’s scoring has been on the decline in recent seasons, possibly due to the Panthers dominating so he does not need to always play big minutes. He is 28 years old so he is right in is sweet spot for a front rower and an effort like this shows he can still produce big numbers when his team needs it. The Panthers starting pack all played big minutes with a couple of rookies sitting on their bench.

Terrell May (Roosters)

53 tackles, 17 runs for 150m in 75 minutes – DWH (0.93 spm)

Terrell sticks it to me after I called him out last week, playing all but 5 min of Sunday’s match against the Cowboys. He only just got the DWH on his final run of the match and that was after just missing a WH in the first half alone. As long as he can stay out of trouble off the field, he will be on every CEO’s draft radar in the years to come.

Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Dragons)

45 tackles, 15 runs for 161m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.75 spm)

A career first DWH for Raymond who has stepped up for the Dragons in 2024. The only problem is he is nowhere near consistent enough to keep in your squad. Apart from three consecutive WH’s in rounds 6 to 8, he has only scored a WH twice in his remaining 9 matches. It is certainly not enough to be a starter in your CEO pack and he has plenty of competition for spots in the Dragons back row.

HARDLY WORKING

Griffin Neame (Cowboys) 

28 tackles, 10 runs for 81m in 41 minutes (0.93 spm)

The Cowboys just don’t like playing their big men for long periods. Neame has a great work rate (0.93spm), he just isn’t getting enough minutes to score a regular WH. He has now missed a WH in his last 3 matches, at a time when you need him getting a WH to cover for origin and bye players. He certainly has the potential to play longer minutes but coach Payten doesn’t see it that way at the moment. Frustrating for CEO’s who picked him up a few weeks back, only to now be looking at the spud pool once again.

Joe Ofahengaue (Eels)

20 tackles, 12 runs for 108m in 40 minutes (0.80 spm)

Remember when big Joe was actually good, it was only 2022 that he scored 22 WH’s in a single season. He showed a lot of promise at the Broncos coming into the NRL but he has hit the wall in terms of CEO scoring. His form on the field has also stalled, a very one dimensional player who doesn’t hit the line with any real force, kind of like he is going through the motions of being an NRL player. If you have him in your squad then you are no doubt sitting near the bottom of your league.

Tyson Frizell (Knights)

19 tackles, 10 runs for 82m in 38 minutes (0.76 spm)

A real conundrum with what to do with Frizell. He is either carrying a niggling injury or he has fallen behind Lucas and Pearce-Paul at the Knights. I think they should start him at Prop and see how he goes there, cause the Saifiti brothers are not exactly killing it this year. He has good accelleration and usually a quick play the ball so he would be ideal to take one of the first hit ups of a set. He is 33 years of age this season but interestingly has a player option for 2025, with a player/club option for 2026. I would be steering clear of him in CEO now as he will likely end up on a plane to the UK.

Leo Thompson (Knights)

32 tackles, 7 runs for 56m in 42 minutes (0.93 spm)

Thompson has been very solid in 2024, scoring 8 WH’s in his 11 matches so far. A small concern that he has missed a WH in 2 of his last 3 matches (by a single involvement both times). I would be holding him for sure as he has so much up side. At just 24 years of age he can lock up a spot in the Knights front row for a few seasons and continue to build his game. He would be the type of player you could hope to add to your squad in the mid to late rounds of your draft, if you have him now then hold onto him.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Brendan Hands (Eels)

53 tackles, 6 runs for 45m in 80 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

Interim Eels coach Trent Barrett has shown his Hands, dumping Joey Lussick in favour of the more attack minded dummy half. Lussick was left out of the squad altogether which is a sign that the Eels will go with hands for a while and see if he can help them push for a semi final spot. His ball playing is superior to Lussick and he made more than his share of tackles so if he is available then grab him, even if it is just for trade bait for the team that is holding Lussick.

Bailey Hayward (Bulldogs)

40 tackles, 5 runs for 32m in 53 minutes – WH (0.85 spm)

This one is a bit of a reach but stranger things have happened in NRLCEO. Hayward started at lock for the second match in a row, giving him dual Halfback/Lock status. What the hell is a halfback doing playing Lock? Ciraldo sees enough in this young pup to start him ahead of Josh Curran, who provides impact off the bench. Being a natural half, Hayward has the ability to ball play at the line so he may provide some attacking stats as well as the odd WH.

Connelly Lemuelu (Dolphins)

30 tackles, 11 runs for 101m in 77 minutes – WH (0.53 spm)

Three consecutive WH’s for Lemuelu, despite originally being named on the bench. Ignore Bennett’s lineup tactics, Lemuelu is a starter at the Dolphins and is a player with a big future in NRLCEO. There would not be many better options in your spud pool than this bloke so if he is available then sign him up.

Toby Rudolf (Sharks)

32 tackles, 5 runs for 46m in 33 minutes – WH (1.12 spm)

Do not be fooled by his poor results so far this season, he has been hampered by injuries that have limited his playing time. At his best he is a WH scoring front rower and it won’t be long before he is starting again. Get the jump on other CEO’s as he could be a bargain pick up now for the back end of the season, provided he can stay healthy.

WORTH MENTIONING…

Bryce Cartwright (Eels)

34 tackles, 14 runs for 113m in 75 minutes – (0.64 spm)

What a coincidence that Cartwright finds form again when he gets his buddies Gutho and Moses back. He could easily repeat his form from last season and have a huge second half of the season, especially if the Eels can string some wins together, all of a sudden their footy is fun again and Bryce excels in the fun stuff.

Jaeman Salmon (Bulldogs)

34 tackles, 11 runs for 89m in 80 minutes – (0.56 spm)

Salmon is fast becoming a consistent WH scorer, managing 5 WH’s in his last 6 matches. Add to this another long term injury to Viliame Kikau and this should add up to more WH’s in the coming weeks. He is a no frills type player, will make his tackles and support the play but he is not going to break a game open or anything like that.

Liam Henry (Panthers)

79 tackles, 9 runs for 68m in 74 minutes – (1.19 spm)

I know I have mentioned Henry a few times but I cannot speak highly enough of this kid. He is a big body and should not be able to make 79 tackles in a match. At just 23 years old he has the rugby league world at his feet and those CEO’s that are locking him away long term (if you can) will see some big returns in the coming seasons. Somebody give him a nickname and quick!

Toby Couchman (Dragons)

29 tackles, 10 runs for 90m in 39 minutes – WH (1.00 spm)

The are two Couchman brothers, but Toby looks to be slightly ahead of Ryan in his NRL development. The Dragons are sitting on an NRLCEO gold nugget so let’s hope that Flanagan thrusts him into the lineup permanently so we can take advantage. Toby is another player I would be looking at signing long term in contract/keeper leagues. Take a look at his NSW cup stats if you need proof, he has been carving it up, averaging 33 tackles and 161 metres run per game.

WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK (most involvements by eligible position)

8. Joseph Tapine (1) (Raiders) – 75

9. Blayke Brailey (2) (Sharks) – 60

10. James Fisher-Harris (1) (Panthers) – 75

11. Raymond Faitala-Mariner (1) (Dragons) – 60

12. Liam Henry (1) (Panthers) – 88

13. Max Plath (1) (Dolphins) – 66

(1) – number of times featured in the Workhorse Pack of the Week

WH – Workhorse

DWH – Double Workhorse

ME – Metre Eater

DME – Double Metre Eater

SPM – Stats per minute played