Workhorse Watch – Round 18
NRLCEO came awfully close once again to witnessing its first ever triple workhorse try.
A month ago it was the Eels’ Nathan Brown and a month before that it was Andrew Fifita who came close.
This week Damien Cook was on the verge of getting one and it would’ve been fitting for him to score the first one given the season he is having.
But part of me is glad we are yet to see one.
In fact, part of me hopes we never see one.
While I’m generally in favour of anything that gives forwards a little bit more of the glory, each year NRLCEO moves closer and closer to fantasy formats that feel it’s necessary to reward every little thing! Keep it simple I say.
I gotta tell ya, it sucks to be an Eels fan, but at least the Eels are consistently bad. You just learn to live with it.
But imagine being a New Zealand Warriors fan.
One week they’re getting pantsed by a Panthers team without Nathan Cleary or James Maloney, the next week they’re smashing the Broncos. Win, lose or draw there’s always been one consistent in this Warriors side and that’s Simon Mannering scoring a workhorse try. The 31 year old has announced his retirement this week and will be sorely missed in workhorse circles. Since returning from injury in Round 5, he’s scored a workhorse try every week. Fingers crossed he can stay healthy for the remainder of the season and reach the unique milestone of 300 NRL games.
Speaking of retirement, Luke Lewis is another set to hang up the boots, as will Storm backrower Ryan Hoffman who announced his departure earlier this month. While neither are at the Simon Mannering level of workhorse royalty, both have been viable forward options over the years. Both have regularly posted 50+ points season in their later years and just in the last fortnight, Hoffman has scored back to back workhorse tries.
Workhorse of the Week:
Cameron McInnes. There were four double workhorse tries this week including perennial scorer Damien Cook and the resurging Robbie Farah but it was Cam McInnes, the player who moved away from having to play alongside either of them two years ago that won the spoils this week with a massive 73 involvements against the Tigers.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Ryan James: 46 tackles + 14 hitups = 60
- Cameron McInnes: 63 tackles + 10 hitups = 73
- Daniel Alvaro: 42 tackles + 15 hitups = 57
- Simon Mannering: 43 tackles + 15 hitups = 58
- Tyson Frizell: 42 tackles + 13 hitups = 55
- Jake Trbojevic: 50 tackles + 13 hitups = 63
. - Damien Cook: 48 tackles + 6 hitups = 54
- Robbie Farah: 45 tackles + 8 hitups = 53
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Coen Hess: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Sione Katoa: 37 tackles + 2 hitups = 39
Angus Crichton 22 tackles + 17 hitups = 39
Issac Liu: 28 tackles + 11 hitups = 39
Sauasio Sue 24 tackles + 15 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
Well done to Scott Sorensen who scored his first ever workhorse try with 39 tackles and 11 runs against the Panthers last Friday (0.63 SPM). Having played 80 minutes (or close to it) in almost every game he’s played this season, he’s come close to scoring a workhorse try on a number of occasions and if you factor out his Round 9 game where he only played 11 minutes (for 11 involvements mind you) he is averaging over 40 involvements per game. Also in the workhorse circle for the first time is Manly rake, Manase Fainu who, after scoring 35 involvements on debut, crossed the 40 involvement mark with 50 against the Storm (0.65 SPM).
Who does this Tim Mannah think he is? In his last start he registered a try assist (we’re still searching through the archives to see if it’s his first) and this week he scored a workhorse try. Any not by a small margin, he blitzed it with 39 tackles and 10 runs in 47 minutes (1.04 SPM). His 49 involvements is the highest he’s accumulated in a match since Round 19, 2016 and streaks ahead of the normal 40 or 41 he usually gets if he does actually score a workhorse try. That being said, Mannah is no slouch with an average SPM of 0.93 for the season.
Meanwhile Robbie Farah continues to rip and tear posting another double digit performance. His performance included a double workhorse, two try assists and two line break assists. The Tigers hooker had 45 tackles, 8 runs and 78 metres to register his second straight double workhorse try (0.66 SPM).
Geoff Adams
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