Workhorse Watch – Round 2

2024 NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 2 – Now Yeo See me!

Isaah Yeo makes a deserved appearance as the hardest working player in Round 2. He was quite an under rated player for a long time, before the Panthers began dominating the NRL, and now he is considered the premium ball playing lock forward in the game. It seems there was some fatigue in Round 2 as there were 53 players who scored a WH with no player managing a DWH.

WORKING HARD

Isaah Yeo (Panthers)

56 tackles, 15 runs for 133m in 80 minutes – WH (0.89 stats per minute)

Yeo had to work his ass off against the Eels after the loss of James Fisher-Harris to injury. He has developed into one of the most consistent CEO performers at lock and is a guaranteed WH barring injury or HIA. The question of course is how long can he maintain this consistency? Yeo turns 30 at the end of this season so you would think he has at least two more decent season in him.

J’maine Hopgood (Eels)

48 tackles, 13 runs for 110m in 70 minutes – WH (0.87 spm)

Hopgood should be the first lock drafted for many seasons to come. He averaged 7 pts a game in 2023 and is already ahead of that in 2024. Can he improve on his three DWH’s from last season?

Patrick Carrigan (Broncos)

38 tackles, 21 runs for 194m in 75 minutes – WH (0.79 spm)

Carrigan owners were cursing the footy gods after he fell one involvement short of a DWH. In a round where Locks dominated the Workhorse statistics, Carrigan’s performance was best overall, in beast mode against the Bunnies. It was a good hit back after a missed WH in Round 1.

Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs)

49 tackles, 9 runs for 79m in 80 minutes – WH (0.73 spm)

Murray is the heart and soul of the Bunnies but I am not convinced that he is the right person to lead them. I am all for him being the club captain but on the field he just doesn’t seem to have the strongest voice. Its a good thing it doesn’t affect his CEO performance, although we would like to see more attacking stats from him which is the case for most locks.

HARDLY WORKING

Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Eels) 

27 tackles, 11 runs for 86m in 57 minutes (0.67 spm)

RCG seems to be on the decline in NRLCEO. No WH in the opening two rounds is a major concern for CEOs that are starting him. An SPM of 0.67 is not good enough for a starting prop and unless there is an injury or a HIA in the Eels pack I don’t see him being a regular WH scorer any more. I would be trading him out or dropping him, even this early in the season. Perhaps its time for Brad Arthur to bench him in an effort to revitalise him for the short term.

Josh King (Storm)

27 tackles, 10 runs for 75m in 52 minutes (0.64 spm)

It hasn’t been a great CEO start for King and its primarily due to his move to Prop. His minutes are down from last year where he averaged 72 minutes a game at lock. There isn’t that much difference between lock and front row in terms of playing in the middle so hopefully his stats can improve. It seems as though his move to Prop is a permanent one with Trent Loiero doing a more than decent job at lock. I would hold on King for now but if things do not improve soon it will be time to cut and move on.

Liam Martin (Panthers)

28 tackles, 9 runs for 105m in 80 minutes (0.46 spm)

How frustrating would it be to be a Liam Martin owner. He regularly plays 80 mins but he hasn’t hit double digits in WH’s since 2020. You are basically relying on his attacking stats which are not enough to warrant drafting him. You simply cannot rely on him being a starter in your team, more likely a bench option or a cut. I wouldn’t go anywhere near drafting him as there are simply much better options available.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Felise Kaufusi (Dolphins)

30 tackles, 14 runs for 134m in 80 minutes – WH (0.55 spm)

It has been a solid start to 2024 for Kaufusi, scoring back to back WH’s and a ME. He has not really been CEO relevant for a couple of season but he was one of the premium back row performers in his prime at the Storm. In an aging pack, including himself turning 32 this year, he looks like he might be in for one last hurrah. Even with the Dolphins on the bye in round 3, I think he is a great pick up and worth taking a chance on.

Kurt Mann (Bulldogs)

34 tackles, 9 runs for 51m in 48 minutes – WH (0.90 spm)

Mann is probably not going to start unless there are injuries at the Dogs but that won’t stop him from scoring WH’s. with an spm of 0.89 in the opening two rounds, he only needs to play 45-50 minutes off the bench to get a WH. He could be a good injury cover to your starting lock or play him on your bench.

Euan Aitken (Dolphins)

32 tackles, 12 runs for 115m in 80 minutes – WH (0.55 spm)

It’s probably unlikely that Aitken is available in deep squad leagues but if he is in your spud pool you should be grabbing him if you need some back row depth. He is only listed as a centre now but given then Lemuelu is out for up to two months he has short term job security and will be given dual back row status if he starts there in round 4 (dolphins have the bye in round 3). He is a great ball runner so is always a chance at a ME or even a try.

Samuela Fainu (Tigers)

36 tackles, 7 runs for 52m in 59 minutes – WH (0.73 spm)

What a great performance from Samuela on debut for the Tigers in round 2. He grabbed a Try and a WH after coming off the bench and a lot of CEO’s will be excited by his prospects. The most important stat was his minutes, playing 59 minutes, although this could of been inflated by the injury to Starford To’a which affected the Tigers forward rotations. Still he actually looked decent while he was on the field so definitely worth taking a punt on for the coming weeks just to see what he can produce.

WORTH MENTIONING….

Scott Sorensen (Panthers)

37 tackles, 9 runs for 88m in 62 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

Good news for Sorensen owners, in his first hit out after an injury interrupted pre season he managed a WH in 62 minutes. He will likely play 80 minutes more than not with Yeo and Martin taking spells in matches where the Panthers are heading towards a comfortable win. Sorensen had a breakout year in 2023 and I think if he can stay injury free he will improve on that again this season. Hold on for dear life if you own him.

Kai Pearce-Paul (Knights)

27 tackles, 11 runs for 103m in 82 minutes – (0.46 spm)

Interesting first start for KPP in the NRL. Its hard to judge him so early on as it will take him time to acclimatise to the pace of the NRL. After watching his performance he doesn’t seem like a work horse type player, certainly not a tackling machine like Smithies. He is big bodied and is more like an impact player that could be handy from the bench. I expect Dylan Lucas to slot back into the starting side and KPP to remain on the bench for now. A poor spm of 0.46 means he will need plenty of golden point matches to get you a regular WH. Hold him for now and see what happens with his minutes and starting spot.

Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys)

26 tackles, 12 runs for 144m in 49 minutes – (0.78 spm)

I have been calling for his move to Prop for a couple of seasons now and he has finally made the transition. I think he could actually become a decent Prop in time, his performance at the moment is hampered by an ongoing injury. An spm of 0.78 is decent for a prop and if he can manage to work through his current injury issue and get consistent minutes in the range of 50-55 he will snag more than a few WH’s and ME’s by the end of the season. I don’t know if I could hold him but he will likely be in the spud pool for a few more weeks so keep a close watch. Still a risky signing.

Nat Butcher (Roosters)

41 tackles, 4 runs for 32m in 58 minutes – WH (0.78 spm)

The Roosters tackling machine did just that in round 2. It was a good bounce back from his disappointing output in round 1. Given his high work rate he is definitely a hold but do not sit on him for too long if he isn’t getting a regular WH from the bench. He is the kind of player that can sit in your squad all season, hoping that he will turn it around.

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

8. Reuben Cotter (1) (Cowboys) – 57

9. Mitchell Kenny (1) (Panthers) – 57

10. Terrell May (1) (Roosters) – 57

11. Trent Loiero (1) (Storm) – 47

12. Jeremiah Nanai (1) (Cowboys) – 47

13. Isaah Yeo (1) (Panthers) – 71

(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