Workhorse Watch Round 9

2024 NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 9 – The Thomas Eisenhuth Affair!

Thomas Eisenhuth has shown what he can do with consistent minutes at the Dragons. The Warriors may be struggling but they have a Ford who is humming. The Dragons best player of 2023 battles to find CEO form. Is there some hope at the Bunnies with a forgotten young gun being given a chance to shine. A Cowboys try sneak is getting more involved while a Roosters young gun is stuttering.

In Round 9 there were 65 players who scored a WH, with no player scoring a DWH.

WORKING HARD

Thomas Eisenhuth (Dragons)

60 tackles, 10 runs for 61m in 74 minutes – WH (0.95 stats per minute)

Eisenhuth has developed into a consistent WH scorer this season, scoring his 7th WH in 9 matches played. It was a mammoth effort at a soaked PointsBet stadium, racking up 60 tackles. He is more of a defender than a ball runner, he only averages 51 metres run a game. He has been a more than handy pick up to plug holes in your forward pack.

John Bateman (Tigers)

55 tackles, 11 runs for 66m in 80 minutes – WH (0.83 spm)

Bateman is now a dual Lock/Back Row which gives CEOs some flexibility with their squad. Love him or hate him he is a guaranteed WH each week but unfortunately thats about it. It is not quite Alex Twal territory but he is currently on the nudie run for 2024 without a try. Every NRL team needs a player with a bit of mongrel and Bateman brings his fair share of that.

Dylan Lucas (Knights)

52 tackles, 13 runs for 98m in 80 minutes – WH (0.81 spm)

Lucas has been super impressive so far in 2024, as he was at the back end of 2023. He is strong running edge player who works his arse off and can also find the try line, everything you want in a back rower. Sadly for CEOs his time in the starting lineup may be coming to an end with the impending return of Tyson Frizell. For those in contract/keeper leagues I would be locking him up long term as he is an under rated player that will deliver CEO points for many seasons to come.

Jackson Ford (Warriors)

55 tackles, 10 runs for 74m in 80 minutes – WH (0.81 spm)

Although his form has dipped in recent weeks, like many Warriors players, he has only missed a WH in one match this season. He seems to be suffering from the loss of Luke Metcalf who he struck a nice combination with in the early rounds. Perhaps the Warriors might be better off giving Dylan Walker a shot at five eighth, it might rejuvenate the Warriors attack. Ford has found a permanent home on the Warriors edge after a breakout CEO performance in 2023. Another player I would be looking at locking up long term if you can.

HARDLY WORKING

Trent Loiero (Storm) 

27 tackles, 12 runs for 89m in 44 minutes (0.89 spm)

Loiero has failed to score a WH in the last 2 weeks, however it is due to his drop in minutes rather than his work rate. He had an spm of 0.89 which is great but he only played 44 minutes and he missed a WH by 1 involvement. There is a slight concern here as the Storm share minutes between their forwards, I would hold him for now and see how the next few weeks go.

Stefano Utoikamanu (Tigers)

26 tackles, 13 runs for 91m in 51 minutes (0.76 spm)

I am not sure what is holding Utoikamanu back but he should be ripping and tearing at his age. He is no longer a rookie in the NRL and he needs to start increasing his workload if he is going to figure in Origin discussions. For CEO’s, he has now missed a WH in 3 of his last 4 matches which is not good enough for a starting prop of his ability and young age. Does his unique contract clauses have something to do with his form? I would be looking at trading Stefano for someone more consistent.

Blake Lawrie (Dragons)

27 tackles, 11 runs for 81m in 41 minutes (0.93 spm)

Has there been a more disappointing player in terms of CEO scoring in 2024 than Blake Lawrie? He was super consistent last season with 20 WH’s but he has fallen out of favour with coach Shane Flanagan. He finally got a start last week at lock and he did produce a very solid first spell, sadly he didn’t come on again until late in the match and was unable to get the WH. There could be a concern about his fitness or playing weight that we do not know about that could be affecting his minutes. Personally I am holding him a little longer to see if he can turn it around but not for much longer.

Lindsay Collins (Roosters)

24 tackles, 14 runs for 154m in 47 minutes (0.81 spm)

I cannot believe what has happened to Lindsay Collins this season. He only has 2 WH’s to his name from his 8 matches which would be costing a lot of CEOs wins. There are simply too many forwards getting decent minutes at the Roosters and Collins is not getting enough to score a WH. He did get his first ME against the Broncos but I would be looking at trading him out to a Roosters fan who is a believer, very close to a cut.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Sam Verrills (Titans)

40 tackles, 7 runs for 109m in 72 minutes – WH (0.65 spm)

This is an interesting one, Verrills produced a WH and ran for 100m+ when he came on to play Hooker after the injury to Tanah Boyd. I think he had his best game in a long time and perhaps showed Des Hasler what he could be missing from dummy half. For those CEOs who don’t have a quality hooker in their squad, Verrills could be an answer if there is some change to their lineup. Wait and see the Titans team announced on Tuesday and see if there is a switch.

Griffin Neame (Cowboys)

29 tackles, 13 runs for 132m in 47 minutes – WH (1.21 spm)

Neame missed a WH with his first start in Round 8 but he got there last week. It may take a few weeks in the starting team for him to develop his match fitness. His running metres are sporadic but playing at front row that should start to even out into a more consistent and higher number. If you picked him up over the last few weeks I would keep the faith and give him a chance to develop into a consistent WH scorer. I wouldn’t have him in my starting lineup unless I was short though.

Dylan Walker (Warriors)

26 tackles, 15 runs for 107m in 52 minutes – WH (0.79 spm)

I have left Walker here because he backed up for a 2nd WH in a row. He also crossed for a try on the weekend which is great if you picked him up last week. I am sensing a possible change at the Warriors with Walker perhaps given a chance to play at five eighth. If that doesn’t happen then he is still good value coming off the bench if he gets his usual 45-55 minutes.

Davvy Moale (Rabbitohs)

31 tackles, 10 runs for 93m in 38 minutes – WH (1.08 spm)

Possibly the player to get the most excited about after last week was Davvy Moale after getting a start at prop for the Bunnies. He only played 38 minutes but he delivered a WH with an impressive 1.08spm. With all the injuries and lack of form, the Rabbitohs might unlock a gun with Moale who has always shown glimpses but never been given the chance to start consistently. If he is named to start again I would be grabbing him if you need help at front row.

WORTH MENTIONING….

Nicho Hynes (Sharks)

27 tackles, 15 runs for 87m in 80 minutes – WH (0.53 spm)

Is there anything that Hynes cannot do? He now has 7 consecutive WH’s since round 2 and is putting a lot of big name forwards to shame. If only it made a difference to your CEO scoring, there are not many leagues that allow backs to score a WH. It is not very helpful but we have to give a salute to a halfback scoring 7 WH’s in a row!

Kai Pearce-Paul (Knights)

35 tackles, 14 runs for 129m in 38 minutes – WH (1.10 spm)

Forget KP, the Knights have KPP who is growing in stature every week. KPP has scored 7 WH’s in 2024 to go with 5 ME’s and he is up there with the best back rowers in terms of CEO scoring. He hasn’t managed to find the try line as yet but I am tipping that is not far away. I would try and trade him away from a CEO that perhaps under values him.

Jeremiah Nanai (Cowboys)

36 tackles, 11 runs for 76m in 80 minutes – WH (0.59 spm)

Nanai has really lifted over the last 3 weeks, scoring 3 consecutive WH’s as well as crossing for 3 tries in his last 2 games. It is his WH scoring that I want to focus on though, he only managed 3 WH’s in all of 2023, he already has 5 in 2024. If he can maintain his WH scoring then he is a must have to start in your forward pack as he is always around the ball when the Cowboys attack. Trade him in if you don’t already own him as he might not be seen as valuable by the CEO that has him.

Christian Welch (Storm)

27 tackles, 7 runs for 56m in 44 minutes – (0.77 spm)

I am prepared to call TIME on the NRLCEO career of Christian Welch. He has scored 1 LBA for the year, that is right he has scored a single point (and that is only if you use LBA’s). He is 30 years of age and his best is now behind him. He would have to reinvent himself to be any chance of being CEO relevant again. Cut him and never look back.

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

8. Reuben Cotter (4) (Cowboys) – 59

9. Harry Grant (3) (Storm) – 59

10. Addin Fonua-Blake (2) (Titans) – 54

11. Thomas Eisenhuth (2) (Dragons) – 70

12. Dylan Lucas (3) (Knights) – 65

13. John Bateman (2) (Tigers) – 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