Workhorse Watch – Round 3
Another painful week if you’re an Eels supporter but less so if you’re a NRLCEO with Daniel Alvaro in your side. The Parramatta prop again came off the bench for the blue and gold and made 47 tackles and 13 hit ups. Unfortunately Alvaro fell short in the metres department and therefore short of a double workhorse but NRLCEOs will take it given just a fortnight ago he barely scraped in for a workhorse at all.
While Alvaro is now going from strength to strength, the same cannot be said for Matthew Lodge who but for the grace of golden point was teetering on the edge of missing out on a workhorse. Lodge finished regulation time stranded on 38 involvements but made three tackles and two runs to push him over the 40 involvement mark.
Y’all laughed two years ago when I nominated Russell Packer as a draft smokey.
But cut to 2018 and how many of those smokeys scored a double workhorse on the weekend? Well, the answer is two actually. Damien Cook was also identified as a smokey and he scored his third double workhorse for the season against Penrith (more on that in Stats Per Minute). Meanwhile Packer scored his first ever double workhorse with 57 tackles and 14 runs. Packer surpassed the 60 mark in regulation against the Broncos but his one run in golden point was vital in making sure he got the required metres. In a quirky side note, Packer and Cook are the only two players in this week’s Workhorse Pack of the Week not in my fantasy team.
The conclusion of Round 3 sees several players pick up dual position status, in particular back rowers who can now play front row. Jai Arrow and Sia Soliola both landed in the Close But No Cigar Club this week but also became front rowers which is invaluable given the dearth of scoring props beyond the marquee guys. Of the 44 players that have scored 2 or more workhorse tries this season, only 10 are front rowers (22.7%). Considering front rowers make up 33% of starting forward packs they are drastically under represented.
Workhorse of the Week:
Back to back double workhorse tries for the Brisbane rake in a week that saw Damien Cook and Russell Packer also pick up doubles. The golden point period proved crucial for McCullough on this occasion, with the hooker running for 17 metres in extra time to get past the required 75 metres.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK
- Russell Packer: 57 tackles + 14 hitups = 71
- Andrew McCullough: 66 tackles + 7 hitups = 73
- Daniel Alvaro: 47 tackles + 13 hitups = 60
- Robbie Rochow: 43 tackles + 16 hitups = 59
- Angus Crichton: 37 tackles + 18 hitups = 55
- Jake Trbojevic: 41 tackles + 14 hitups = 55
- Damien Cook: 41 tackles + 11 hitups = 52
- Jake Friend: 58 tackles + 5 hitups = 63
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Iosia Soliola: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
Jai Arrow: 30 tackles + 9 hitups = 39
Nathan Peats: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Herman Ese’ese: 29 tackles + 10 hitups = 39
Ken Edwards: 28 tackles + 11 hitups = 39
Tom Burgess: 27 tackles + 12 hitups = 39
STATS PER MINUTE
Embed from Getty Images
What a start to the season for Damien Cook. Free from the Robbie Farah shackles Cook has scored double workhorses in all three weeks to start the season. On Saturday he had 52 involvements against Manly and he’s currently averaging 55 involvements per game for the season (0.65 SPM) compared to 30 involvements per game (0.64 SPM) last season when he was averaging just 47 minutes per game.
Paul Gallen managed to finally scrape in for his first workhorse try of the year with 41 involvements (0.75 SPM) against the Eels. Gallen missed out on 4 pointers in the opening two rounds and his average of 51 minutes of playing time per game is down from the 64 he was averaging in 2017. The Eels vs Sharks match up was a good one for workhorse fans with 10 scored in total as two of the NRL’s worst attacking teams fought out a dire game that had just two actual tries.
It was a mixed result for former teammates Aiden Tolman and James Graham on the weekend. Tolman finally scored his first workhorse try of the season after starting for the Bulldogs at lock and finishing with 45 involvements (0.75 SPM). Tolman enjoyed the most amount of minutes he’s had this season, 60, compared to the 37 and 40 minute stints he got in the first two rounds. Graham (0.60 SPM) on the other hand had his lowest number of involvements in a match since Round 9 of last year when he came off with concussion. Thanks to a Dragons outfit who ran rampant against the Titans, there was little room for workhorses with no Dragon getting past the 40 involvement mark and only Kevin Proctor and Ryan James doing so for the Gold Coast.
Geoff Adams
Latest posts by Geoff Adams (see all)
- 2018 Workhorse Watch Awards - September 3, 2018
- Workhorse Watch – Round 24 - August 29, 2018
- Workhorse Watch – Round 23 - August 22, 2018
