Workhorse Watch Round 21

Workhorse Watch 2023 – Corey the Big Red Raider!

Round 21 we saw a miraculous comeback from the Raiders to force golden point, only to be undone by the magic of Shaun Johnson. The Broncos maintained the rage and palmed off the Rabbits, while the Knights got some sweet revenge on the Storm, in particular their captain and coach who were wiping the egg from their faces. In Round 21, 62 players scores a WH with no players scoring a DWH.

WORKING HARD

Corey Horsburgh (Raiders)

62 tackles, 15 runs for 126m in 70 minutes – DWH (1.10 stats per minute)

Big Red has become a CEO workaholic, and he does it with a bit of grunt as well, amassing a huge 77 involvements last weekend. You have to love a guy that plays with all his heart and stick up for his mates. I expect Corey to move up the pecking order in drafts for next season.

Nat Butcher (Roosters)

48 tackles, 11 runs for 119m in 80 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

Nat has become a mainstay of the Roosters forward pack. He doesn’t have as many tries as he scored last year but he has already matched his 17 WH’s from last season. At 26 years of age he is hitting his prime and should show good returns over the next couple of seasons.

Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs)

46 tackles, 10 runs for 96m in 76 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

Murray missed a couple of matches during the Origin period which has put his CEO scoring down on last year. He is still one of the best lock options in our game but I still think he needs to develop his attacking stats to become even more effective.

Cameron McInnes (Sharks)

40 tackles, 15 runs for 107m in 57 minutes – WH (0.96 spm)

Great news for McInnes owners with Dale Finucane ruled out for the rest of the season. McInnes should be pushing for a DWH or two which could be crucial for CEO Finals.

HARDLY WORKING

Reuben Cotter (Cowboys) 

28 tackles, 9 runs for 82m in 51 minutes (0.72 spm)

It is now 5 matches without a WH for a player who should be pushing DWH’s. It seems that Cotter has fallen under the same spell that Taumalolo did, that being coach Payten’s belief that forwards can spread the workload in order to protect his players from long term injury. Great for the Cowboys but not so good for CEOs. To be fair the Cowboys also have not really been tested during that time and have been busy putting big scores on teams.

Briton Nikora (Sharks)

26 tackles, 9 runs for 87m in 80 minutes (0.44 spm)

Something is wrong in the Shire and their season is slowly fading away. First Wilton, then Finucane and then Nikora dishes up 35 involvements in 80 minutes. Nikora has had a bumper season to date, but he looks tired to me.

Tui Kamikamica (Storm)

20 tackles, 13 runs for 133m in 44 minutes (0.75 spm)

Limited minutes for Tui is costing CEOs a WH. Only 1 WH in his last 5 matches is not good enough to stay in your CEO team. Perhaps with big Nelson out for a few weeks he might stay on the field a bit longer.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Billy Burns (Dragons)

49 tackles, 6 runs for 65m in 80 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

Still seeing Burns in a few spud pools around the leagues. He has scored back to back WH’s now plus a try and in a pack that has a lot of injuries to back rowers, he has great job security for the rest of the year. Also being Panthers junior he has grown up with a better work ethic then if he was a Dragons junior.

Dan Russell (Dragons)

38 tackles, 11 runs for 92m in 80 minutes – WH (0.61 spm)

The other new bloke in the Dragons pack. Russell also played the full 80 minutes and smashed out a WH. He has the start again this week, even with the unreliable Jack Bird lurking on the bench.

Tom Eisenhuth (Storm)

25 tackles, 9 runs for 89m in 59 minutes – (0.58 spm)

If you are desperate this week you could take a punt on Eisenhuth of the Tom variety. His 0.58 spm is a bit of a concern, he would likely need to play near the full 80 minutes to get a WH. He will also only be starting for maximum 2 weeks so he would be a short term option.

Matthew Lodge (Sea Eagles)

30 tackles, 15 runs for 141m in 53 minutes – (0.85 spm)

That is the best we have seen of Matt Lodge this season. Its no surprise to me that he is at his sixth club in 5 years, he just doesn’t look like a player that would ever play with his heart. That being said, in a Manly team bereft of any mongrel, he provides just that. If he can maintain these numbers for the rest of the year then he is a very handy pick up.

WORTH MENTIONING….

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters)

34 tackles, 19 runs for 187m in 61 minutes – WH (0.87 spm)

JWH is doing everything he can to lift the Roosters and perhaps go on a finals run. 5 consecutive WH’s is something we have not seen from him since mid 2021.

Brandon Smith (Roosters)

42 tackles, 7 runs for 112m in 72 minutes – WH (0.68 spm)

Easily his best performance in a Roosters jersey. Perhaps he has overcome his niggling injuries and can now help push the Roosters toward an unlikely Finals berth.

Tyson Frizell (Knights)

31 tackles, 16 runs for 179m in 80 minutes – WH (0.59 spm)

It has been a typically consistent season from Frizell. He has averaged around the 120pts mark each season since 2015 which is quite remarkable given the position that he plays. He has never been amongst the top scoring back rowers but if you had him in your squad you would have to be happy with his returns.

Stefano Utoikamanu (Tigers)

39 tackles, 16 runs for 149m in 55 minutes – WH (1.00 spm)

 

Why has it taken until Round 21 for him to produce his best match of the season. Similar to the back end of 2021 when he was punching out near DWH numbers, he fell agonisingly short of the DWH criteria on Thursday night. He needs to be learn to be consistent if he is going to be a force in CEO.

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

8. Corey Horsburgh (Raiders) – 77

9. Brendan Hands (Eels) – 55

10. Stefano Utoikamanu (Tigers) – 55

11. Nat Butcher (Roosters) – 59

12. Billy Burns (Dragons) – 55

13. Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs) – 56

 

WH – Workhorse

DWH – Double Workhorse

ME – Metre Eater

DME – Double Metre Eater

SPM – Stats per minute played