NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 16
Workhorse Watch 2023 – The Butcher Boy!
Round 16 gave us a thriller in North Queenlsand and a tight result in Newcastle. The rest were quite 1 sided, spare a thought for the Bulldogs who just keep blooding young guys for the future. There were 45 players who scored a WH in Round 14, with one DWH this week.
WORKING HARD
Nat Butcher (Roosters)
45 tackles, 18 runs for 175m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.79 stats per minute)
Nat saluted for his first DWH this season on the back of a powerful 80 minute performance for the Roosters. He has now scored a WH in every game he has played this season at an average of 59 involvements per match. He only averages 76 metres a game so a DWH will be quite rare for him. Strangely no place in the starting 13 for him this week.
Adam Elliott (Knights)
53 tackles, 14 runs for 124m in 68 minutes – WH (0.99 spm)
A strong performance from Elliott last week, with only running metres costing him a DWH. I still don’t know what to make of him as an NRLCEO player. He has some real dumb moments in games but he plays with a lot of heart. He is a regular WH scorer when he starts so he is worthy of being in your starting team in CEO.
Griffin Neame (Cowboys)
39 tackles, 18 runs for 160m in 65 minutes – WH (0.88 spm)
Griffin is a CEO player of the future. After a slow start to the season, he has scored a WH in his last 5 matches, even with some time off for injury in between. He is a no nonsense player who runs the ball hard and makes his tackles at a high work rate. Definitely a player to look at locking up long term if you can in keeper/contract leagues.
Isaiah Papali’i (Tigers)
39 tackles, 17 runs for 192m in 80 minutes – WH (0.70 spm)
Where has he been? While he has been solid at scoring a regular WH (10 out of 13 matches), its his running metres that are down on last season. His average has only dropped from 124m last year to 120m this year, but he only has 3 ME to date this season and he scored 10 ME last season. He is also struggling to cross the white line with only 1 try this season compared to 10 last year. It will be interesting to see where he gets drafted next year given his drop in form.
HARDLY WORKING
David Klemmer (Tigers)
20 tackles, 10 runs for 96m in 47 minutes (0.64 spm)
I noticed Klemmer was filthy after being replaced during the match against the Storm. It was an off night for most of the Tigers but certainly for Klem who didn’t get close to a WH. Interesting to see if this is related to a strategy change in the Tigers forward rotations.
Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles)
27 tackles, 10 runs for 91m in 80 minutes (0.46 spm)
That is 2 weeks in a row without a WH for a player that should be elevating his game to be in contention for an Origin jersey. He is still a sporadic WH performer with 6 WH’s in 14 matches this season. A player of his size and skill level should really be doing more each week, perhaps its up to DCE to get his big Back Rower into the game more.
SPUD POOL LOOKOUT
Sean Keppie (Sea Eagles)
44 tackles, 8 runs for 55m in 57 minutes – WH (0.91 spm)
A dual position player who looks like he could be a decent CEO forward but struggles to consistently get the 40 involvements. Keppie has scored a WH in 2 of his last 3 matches, albeit at a time when the usual #13 Jake Turbo is out injured. I wouldn’t want to be relying on him to get you a WH but if you have no other options……
Luciano Leilua (Cowboys)
30 tackles, 13 runs for 108m in 89 minutes – WH (0.48 spm)
Luciano has now played 4 matches after his return to NRL and he would be starting to become match fit. Add to that the injury to Heilum Luki and he looks set to play 80 minutes each week. Can he get back to his attacking best?
Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys)
26 tackles, 17 runs for 172m in 56 minutes – WH (0.77 spm)
Its hard to imagine that a player that was held in such high CEO regard for many seasons is now languishing in some Spud Pools. After returning from a long injury layoff, he scored just his 2nd WH of the season. The Cowboys looked to have turned their season around so perhaps JT can elevate his game again to push the Cowboys towards the finals.
Shawn Blore (Tigers)
34 tackles, 9 runs for 136m in 80 minutes – WH (0.54 spm)
This is an interesting one with the Tigers electing to switch Bateman to lock and bringing in Blore to play 80 min on an edge. I think its a little early to jump on him yet but its worth keeping an eye on his stats for the next few weeks to see if he continues to play 80 minutes and can get to the 40 involvements each week.
WORTH MENTIONING….
Alex Twal (Tigers)
36 tackles, 10 runs for 76m in 39 minutes – WH (1.18 spm)
Twally gets his first NRL try! What a moment for the player we all love to see succeed. An amazing work rate of 1.18 spm, how can we get this guy a starting spot. He isn’t going to get a regular WH each week playing off the bench, a lot depends on how the forward rotations go and if there are any HIA’s or injury to other forwards.
Scott Sorensen (Panthers)
40 tackles, 10 runs for 83m in 89 minutes – WH (0.56 spm)
What a run Sorensen is on over the last 6-8 weeks, scoring a WH in 7 of his last 8 games. He seems to have found a home at the Panthers and if he can maintain his form he will own one edge for the rest of the season.
Angus Crichton (Roosters)
26 tackles, 17 runs for 173m in 43 minutes – WH (1.00 spm)
Angus has slowly built up his match fitness over the last month and his performance on the weekend suggests he is not far off earning his starting spot back. The Roosters have sorely missed his impact on an edge and could really use that lift going into the back end of the season.
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK (most involvements by eligible position)
8. James Fisher-Harris (Panthers) – 57
9. Jake Granville (Cowboys) – 56
10. Lindsay Smith (Panthers) – 56
11. John Bateman (Tigers) – 66
12. Nat Butcher (Roosters) – 63
13. Adam Elliott (Knights) – 67
Adz
NRLCEO Commish
WH – Workhorse
DWH – Double Workhorse
ME – Metre Eater
DME – Double Metre Eater
SPM – Stats per minute played
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