Workhorse Watch Round 16

The Workhorse Watcher is back after a short break that he spent scouring the rugby league landscape looking for future WH superstars. The footy was exciting on the weekend with one match going to golden point and another decided by a FG in the dying moments. A disappointing round for the forwards, with no player scoring a DWH as Origin and injuries take their toll on the big guns. It was good to see Moeaki Fotuaika top the involvement count with 75, a mammoth effort to help get the Titans home against the Panthers.

Round 15 Review

A quick look back at Round 15 and Terrell May scored the 2nd TWH of the season against the Titans in a come from behind win. Naufahu Whyte continued his mid season resurgence, scoring a DWH as the Roosters were run over by the Dolphins. Alex Seyfarth has emerged as WH target as the Tigers were dealt another injury blow with Kai Pearce-Paul ruled out for the rest of the season. Tanner Stower-Smith has been a recent standout at the Warriors as they are without James Fisher-Harris to injury and Mitch Barnett to Origin, as well as looking like losing Jackson Ford potentially for the season now as well.

Big Burning Questions

• Are the Panthers grooming their next Isaah Yeo?
• Is Addin Fonua-Blake a Fraud?
• Is Tanner Stowers-Smith the next WH gun at the Warriors?
• Will Taniela Paseka reach his potential before time runs out?
• Does every team need a Kurtis Morrin?
• Is it time for the Raiders to play Pattie cake?

Workhorse Flow

In Round 16, 66 players scored a WH with no player scoring a DWH. Round 16 saw the WH numbers fall under last season’s totals, with no player scoring a DWH compared to 4 players in 2025. The bye rounds obviously have an impact on the total number of WH’s due to less games being played so its all about finding those fill in players that can do a job whilst the stars are out. It also gives CEO’s a chance to have a look at the talent coming through and make note of those players for future seasons.

WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK

Moeaki Fotuaika (TItans)

61 tackles, 14 runs for 137m in 73 minutes – WH (1.03 spm)

Falling 13m short of a DWH, it is performances like this that make you wonder why Mofo can do this more often. Even with Tino as his front row partner who struggled at the start of the season, Fotuaika just could not get going in 2026. His first WH came in round 11 and he has scored 4 WH’s in his last 5 matches. This has also coincided with the Titans lifting their form as their star studded back line can now play off the back of actual go forward.

WORKING HARD

Ryan Couchman (Dragons)

55 tackles, 15 runs for 122m in 63 minutes – WH (1.11 spm)

Watching this young Dragons pack develop will be a highlight for Saints fans over the coming seasons. After sitting out 2025 due to injury, Ryan has burst onto the scene and in some ways is out working his slightly older brother Toby. I think most CEO’s will be thinking Toby first when it comes to drafting at the start of a season but Ryan will be just as effective, its just a matter of how they lineup in 2027 with some big name forwards joining them.

Terrell May (Tigers)

52 tackles, 18 runs for 149m in 80 minutes – WH (0.88 spm)

May is in the groove now, despite missing out on another DWH by a single metre. Who the fuck is sitting at champion and cant be bothered to round him up to 150m??? On current pace I think May falls short of his 35 WH’s last season but if you own him you should be putting the captain on him as there will be plenty more DWH’s to come this season. He will likely finish as one of the top 2 props, especially with Ford seemingly out long term now, but can he do enough to go back to back as MVP?

Corey Horsburgh (Raiders)

49 tackles, 15 runs for 112m in 65 minutes – WH (0.98 spm)

Big Red had a little quiet patch early on this season but he is firing right now, scoring a WH in his last 9 matches. The Raiders just cant buy a win at the moment but it certainly isn’t the fault of their engine room. Horsburgh needs to try and develop his game by putting some more focus on offloading the ball in an effort to create second phase play for his team. Too often he lets his emotions take over and he just sees red and only has one function.

Lindsay Smith (Panthers)

50 tackles, 14 runs for 111m in 69 minutes – WH (0.93 spm)

Smith has been moved into lock during the Origin rounds to cover for Isaah Yeo and it appears the Panthers are looking for him to take over that role when Yeo eventually retires. If this does happen, Smith would be more valuable as he could have dual position for that season as well as playing a bigger role and playing longer minutes. Overall Smith has been disappointing this season with his WH form patchy at best. He has missed a WH on six occasions, as the Panthers have dominated teams meaning they don’t have to do as much work in defence.

HARDLY WORKING

Addin Fonua-Blake (Sharks)

28 tackles, 9 runs for 88m in 51 minutes – (0.73 spm)

How the hell does this bloke get picked for NSW? Coming off a loss in Origina where he played less than 10 minutes, you would think he would be chomping at the bit to lead his Sharks against the Roosters on the weekend but no he puts in a lethargic performance which is happening more and more often. I for one could not draft this bloke to start a season and if he is in your squad now I don’t think you will be playing finals, sorry. #FRAUD

Jacob Saifiti (Knights)

27 tackles, 10 runs for 92m in 54 minutes – (0.69 spm)

Doubling down on Saifiti as he goes 4 matches without a WH. 54 minutes should be enough to score a WH for a solid front rower, Trey Mooney played the exact same minutes but had 50 involvements. The effort seems to be there but only in short bursts and not consistently whilst he is on the field. The Knights are blessed with some quality ball runners in their back 5 so perhaps they are taking runs away from some of their forwards. Regardless, Saifiti needs to lift significantly or risk not being able to reach his full potential.

Harry Hayes (Bulldogs)

30 tackles, 6 runs for 33m in 48 minutes – (0.75 spm)

I think its clear that Hayes is carrying an injury of some sort at the moment. He is well down on his 2025 form and he just doesn’t look comfortable when running the ball. His defence is still solid, highlighted by his run down of Reuben Garrick on the weekend to save a try. The Bulldogs have now lost Tupouniua for several weeks so hopefully Hayes can have a solid finish to the season.

Thomas Mikaele (Cowboys)

24 tackles, 9 runs for 80m in 33 minutes – (1.00 spm)

Mikaele just cannot seem to lock down a front row spot at the Cowboys, benched on the weekend and limited to just 33 minutes. At his best he looks to have enormous potential but he just cant find any consistency in his performance, something that could be said for a few of the Cows middles. After a solid 5 week period, that is now 3 matches without a WH for Mikaele so who do the Cows start at prop now?

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Alex Seyfarth (Tigers)

46 tackles, 11 runs for 67m in 68 minutes – WH (0.84 spm)

Seyfarth emerges as a late season plug, stepping in for the injured Kai Pearce-Paul as the Tigers have now lost both starting back rowers. He has always had a high work rate and he can also find the try line, averaging 4 tries for the last couple of seasons. His job security looks good as they don’t really have many other options, unless they opt for youth, which is unlikely given they are chasing a finals spot.

Kurtis Morrin (Titans)

41 tackles, 11 runs for 99m in 61 minutes – WH (0.85 spm)

Morrin has been in great form off the bench for the Titans, although he only has the 2 WH’s so far he has now scored 6 tries to be the 3rd highest try scorer for the Titans this season. His energy gives them a lift and he plays with his heart on his sleeve, leaving it all out on the field. His is a dual position player and worth keeping an eye on to see if he can maintain his numbers and minutes.

Tanner Stowers-Smith (Warriors)

31 tackles, 18 runs for 180m in 46 minutes – WH (1.06 spm)

What a future gun this bloke is, a hard bodied ball runner who hits hard in defence. He has scored 4 consecutive WH’s so the horse has probably bolted but if he is sitting in your spud pool then sign him now. With Jackson Ford looking like being out long term with a pec injury and JFH’s return still a few weeks away, Tanner is a great squad option as a back up prop as he powers through his work and doesn’t need huge minutes to score a WH, so he can do it as a starter or off the bench.

Owen Pattie (Raiders)

41 tackles, 7 runs for 101m in 55 minutes – WH (0.87 spm)

Pattie cake Pattie cake, Raiders man! Given the Raiders are now likely out of the finals race given they would need to win most of their remaining games, he could opt to give Pattie an extended run as a starter to let him develop as an NRL player. Starling was extended til the end of 2027 last season after a solid season but Stuart may opt to make a change in an order to help his team find some form. Pattie is a gun and when he does eventually become a permanent starter, he will be amongst the top scoring hookers in NRLCEO.

WORKHORSE LEGEND

Paul Gallen (Sharks)

Sharks and NRLCEO Gun ‘Paul Gallen’ is our first ever Workhorse Legend! Gal will always be remembered as the player the punched Nate Myles in Origin and ended the era of the Biff. There are not many players that worked as hard as Gallen did, sometimes to the detriment of his team’s result as he handled the ball too much on some occasions. He led the Sharks to a maiden NRL premiership in 2016 as well as captaining NSW to a rare series win in 2014 during a dominant era for QLD. In NRLCEO his career best season came in 2015, scoring 24 WH’s in 16 games, including 8 DWH’s. He averaged a crazy 214m a game that season on the back of 56 involvements per game. These days Gal is a commentator and sports analyist for channel 9 and a Sharks board member.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT……..

Taniela Paseka (Sea Eagles)

43 tackles, 16 runs for 153m in 58 minutes – WH (1.02 spm)

A huge performance from Paseka, falling just 1 involvement short of a maiden DWH. He has scored 4 consecutive WH’s and is averaging more metres this season then he ever has before (133m). At 28 years of age he is in his prime as a front rower so his best years are about to happen. Can he evolve into a consistent WH scorer and are we seeing it happen now?

Nat Butcher (Roosters)

48 tackles, 14 runs for 95m in 80 minutes – WH (0.78 spm)

Butcher will be the man to step into Angus Crichton’s spot in the back row for the Roosters, although he has been scoring WH’s from the bench all season. His involvements will be high but can he get enough run metres to reach a DWH? He should be good for a few tries as well as he has done in the past when starting on an edge.

Victor Radley (Roosters)

45 tackles, 9 runs for 65m in 80 minutes – WH (0.68 spm)

Radley saw an increase in minutes on the weekend and he could also benefit from the loss of Angus Crichton as the Roosters will want to ensure they have experience on the field in the big games. Radley might also be free of his limited minutes as they manage his workload due to concussion issues so he could become a handy dual position squad player.

Josh Patston (Titans)

43 tackles, 6 runs for 57m in 43 minutes – WH (1.14 spm)

A massive work rate from a guy that was being talked about as the starter to cover the loss of David Fifita. In the end we saw Arama Hau become the regular starter but I would not count out Patston. Having him come off the bench may give him some time to develop his game and get some more confidence. He is 27 years of age which might come as a shock to some so he is a late bloomer, the Titans just went with the younger Hau who has looked good to be fair.

WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK

• Moeaki Fotuaika – 75 involvements
• Blayke Brailey – 61
• Terrell May – 70
• Thomas Cant – 62
• Nat Butcher – 62
• Ryan Couchman – 70