Workhorse Watch Round 7

A rare TWH for none other than Dally M leader Jackson Ford, who is the premium forward in NRLCEO right now. The injury toll is mounting across the NRL and CEO’s will be scrambling and scouring the spud pool for someone that can fill a gap in their pack. The good news for CEOs is we get a glimpse of some of the potential WH talent coming through. The points continue to flow and it is having an effect on WH scoring with some regular WH guns falling short this week.

• Jackson Ford continues to up the ante but how long can he keep it up?
• Terrell (Pick 1) May finally delivers for 2026
• Leka the Wrecka not a worthy starter as he struggles for stats
• Freddy 2.0 at the Panthers as Lussick looks set for a long stint
• Butcher going about his business in workman like fashion
• A young Eel shines in his first NRL match and he is a real Pryke

• 2025 WH
• 2026 WH
• 2025 DWH
• 2026 DWH

WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK

Jackson Ford (Warriors)

47 tackles, 24 runs for 221m in 80 minutes – TWH (0.89 spm)

Ford just gets better and better, reaching a rare TWH against the Titans in another herculean performance. He is leading the Dally M points at the end of this round and rightfully so, working himself to a stand still each week and playing the full 80 minutes most weeks. All this from a player that was mostly overlooked in the early rounds of drafting, captain at will!

WORKING HARD

Terrell May (Tigers)

37 tackles, 23 runs for 195m in 64 minutes – DWH (0.94 spm)

May returned to his 2025 MVP form against the Broncos, scoring his first DWH of the season. He has obviously seen the form of his team mate Alex Twal and decided to step it up which is music to the ears of CEO’s who had the number 1 draft pick. Can Terrell play his way into Origin calculations or is he just a stat plodder with no real impact?

Alex Twal (Tigers)

43 tackles, 17 runs for 152m in 71 minutes – DWH (0.85 spm)

Twal shows his first ever DWH was no fluke, backing up for his second on the trot, even if just barely. It would be interesting to see what has changed for Twal at the Tigers to have him playing big minutes with a much bigger impact in the game than ever before. He is averaging 54 metres a game more in 2026 which is elevating him into the top tier of CEO forwards. The Tigers are now blessed with two WH guns, could that help them sneak into the finals in 2026?

Tom Gilbert (Dolphins)

66 tackles, 12 runs for 104m in 52 minutes – WH (1.50 spm)

Gilbert’s stats are actually insane when you factor in the heat in Darwin on Friday night, a massive 66 tackles in 52 minutes is outstanding. A record stats per minute of 1.50 was not quite enough to get the Dolphins over the line against the Panthers but get that man a beer!

Xavier Willison (Broncos)

51 tackles, 16 runs for 143m in 72 minutes – WH (0.93 spm).

Willison announced himself to the NRLCEO world, falling just 7 metres short of a DWH. With injuries cruelling the Broncos at the moment, Willison is likely to continue seeing big minutes over the next few weeks as well as picking up dual position status if he is named at lock again this week. Despite the Broncos signing Mitch Barnett for 2027, Willison looks set to be the main player to benefit from the departure of Payne Haas.

HARDLY WORKING

Leo Thompson (Bulldogs)

24 tackles, 11 runs for 78m in 44 minutes – (0.80 spm)

Thompson finally returned from injury to play his first match for the Bulldogs and he looked short of a gallop. His 35 involvements in 44 minutes was decent but CEO’s will be hoping that he gets some miles in his legs and starts pumping out WH’s for the rest of the season. If you have waited this long and held Thompson I would continue to be patient as he should come good over the next few matches.

Leka Halasima (Warriors)

22 tackles, 11 runs for 83m in 80 minutes – (0.41 spm)

With the Warriors engine room doing most of the work, it has having a negative impact on the CEO form of Halasima. He is likely to miss a WH most weeks, especially once Barnett gets match fit and begins to start again, as well as Ford and JFH leading the way up front. You are basically relying on Halasima scoring a try to cover his missed WH each week so play him off your bench for now. He could also be a good option to trade out.

Sam Verrills (Titans)

31 tackles, 2 runs for 17m in 51 minutes – (0.65 spm)

The emergence of Oliver Pascoe has seen a reduction in minutes for Verrills. He has scored just two WH’s for the season so far from his seven matches, which is jsut not good enough to be a CEO starter. There is a real lack of depth at hooker this season with a number of clubs opting for the two Hooker approach, enabled by the six man bench rule change. Verrills is a drop for mine.

Samuela Fainu (Tigers)

27 tackles, 9 runs for 66m in 80 minutes – (0.45 spm)

Fainu has trended down over the last few weeks, failing to score a WH in his last two matches. The Tigers seem to be favouring their right hand side with Kai Pearce-Paul enabling second phase play with his long arm offloads. Fainu also went through a period in 2025 where he struggled to score a regular WH which show he is still adjusting to being a full time NRL player.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Freddy Lussick (Panthers)

35 tackles, 5 runs for 29m in 68 minutes – WH (0.59 spm)

With the unfortunate news of Mitch Kenny being our for up to 12 weeks with a broken ankle, an opportunity arrives for Lussick to establish himself as starting NRL hooker. His defence is good but he could bring the Panthers some more attacking potency out of dummy half with his running game. Considering the lack of depth options at Hooker this season, Lussick is a must have.

Cooper Bai (Titans)

28 tackles, 12 runs for 100m in 45 minutes – WH (0.89 spm)

Bai scored his first ever WH on the weekend and it will be the first of many. It looks as though he will transition into the starting lock role now but it may still take some time for his minutes to increase as he gets used to the weekly grind of NRL. He should feature heavily in attacking stats with LB’s and TA’s as he is a great ball runner. For those in contract/keeper leagues he is a prime candidate for a long term deal.

Ben Talty (Broncos)

25 tackles, 15 runs for 121m in 43 minutes – WH (0.93 spm)

Talty is developing into a solid NRL player, scoring his first ever WH on the weekend. He has also got a knack for finding the try line, scoring in both of his last two matches. We should see him named as a starter to replace any one of Haas, Carrigan or Jensen. He will only need to play approx 45-50 minutes to ensure a WH for CEO’s that pick him up.

Francis Manuleleua (Knights)

32 tackles, 10 runs for 114m in 80 minutes – WH (0.53 spm)

What a debut for Manuleleua, scoring a WH plus two LB’s, a TA and a ME in a solid first outing. He has some short term job security, with both Dylan Lucas and Thomas Cant out for the next few weeks. Keep an eye on this bloke in the future, looks like he can develop into an edge weapon for the Knights.

WORTH MENTIONING

Nat Butcher (Roosters)

33 tackles, 15 runs for 136m in 55 minutes – WH (0.87 spm)

Butcher has quietly gone about his business, coming off the bench for the Roosters since returning from injury. He has scored a WH and a ME in his last three matches which could explain what his happening to Naufahu Whyte’s stats. Butcher is a known worker, plus he is a smaller body size that is more mobile in defence. He has been playing in the middle when he comes on hence his solid running metres.

Brandon Smith (Rabbitohs)

33 tackles, 9 runs for 82m in 55 minutes – WH (0.76 spm)

It was a solid second outing for Brandon Smith, scoring a WH and a ME after starting at hooker. It looks like he will spend some time in the middle as a running forward when Garlick or Mamouzelos come off the bench, which means he could be good for 7 points each week. He also picked up two TA’s last week which will get CEO’s excited about him returning to his 2021 form when he finished just short of 200 points for the season.

Saxon Pryke (Eels)

29 tackles, 13 runs for 86m in 39 minutes – WH (1.08 spm)

A nice debut from young Pryke, scoring a WH in his first NRL match. Given the amount of injuries the Eels are facing we may see him again over the next few weeks. It would be a bit of a punt at this stage to add him to your squad and expect results every week but you never know when the next star will emerge. He looked solid in defence and ran the ball well and did not look out of place.

Mitchell Barnett (Warriors)

21 tackles, 17 runs for 156m in 44 minutes – (0.86 spm)

I expect Barnett to start producing a WH each week from now on as his minutes will slowly increase. The Warriors pack is the most fearsome in the NRL and they will finish over the top of a lot of teams this season. With Barnett’s minutes going up we may see a decrease in Jackson Ford’s playing time as they will not have to rely on him playing 80 minutes each week.

WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK

• Jackson Ford – 71
• Harry Grant – 58
• Terrell May – 60
• Max Plath – 64
• Luciano Leilua – 56
• Alex Twal – 60