Workhorse Watch Round 12
Workhorse Watch 2023!
CEO’s don’t win premierships without a hard working forward pack. Each week we will highlight the players that are must have’s in your pack, whilst also help identify the players to be on the lookout for. There were 61 players who scored a WH in Round 12, with 2 DWH’s this week.
WORKING HARD
Patrick Carrigan (Broncos)
66 tackles, 18 runs for 166m in 80 minutes – DWH (1.05 stats per minute)
A mammoth performance from Pat Carrigan in a beaten side with 84 involvements. A real leader at such a young age, he will be a CEO gun for a few years to come.
Isaah Yeo (Panthers)
49 tackles, 18 runs for 158m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.84 spm)
In the same brutal match as Carrigan, Yeo grabs his first DWH of the year. Yeo is a super consistent CEO performer and seems to have moved on from his concussion issues of a few years ago.
Jack De Belin (Dragons)
50 tackles, 14 runs for 115m in 80 minutes – WH (0.80 spm)
While he lacks any attacking stats of note, De Belin is a lock for a WH each week barring injury or HIA. He is the leader of the Dragons pack and looks likely to play the full 80 each week.
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans)
45 tackles, 16 runs for 134m in 64 minutes – WH (0.95 spm)
I wonder if the forward rotations at the Titans are aiding their second half fade outs. Tino seems to play a long first half and then has an extended half time before coming on to finish a match. Although it would hurt is CEO value, perhaps Tino doesn’t need to play the big minutes he does, especially playing in the middle. I also think Tino struggles with the captaincy, it doesn’t affect his personal form, but I don’t see him being super vocal on the pitch. Food for thought but either way Tino is a CEO weapon.
HARDLY WORKING
James Fisher-Harris (Panthers)
21 tackles, 10 runs for 80m in 37 minutes (0.84 spm)
JFH must still be carrying an injury of some kind as his minutes have dropped in recent weeks. Only 4 WH’s for the year after missing a few matches with injury, if he is your main Front Rower in your squad then you have concerns of his output for the rest of the season. It looks like the Panthers are nursing him at the moment.
Corey Waddell (Bulldogs)
21 tackles, 9 runs for 64m in 50 minutes (0.60 spm)
After 7 consecutive Wh’s since the injury to Viliame Kikau, Waddell was benched during their win over the Titans. The energy and hard running of Kurtis Morrin was preferred by Ciraldo and it was a factor in their come from behind win. This could be an issue for Waddell owners moving forward.
Phoenix Crossland (Knights)
33 tackles, 3 runs for 26m in 60 minutes (0.60 spm)
Mixed results for Phoenix since taking over at Hooker after the injury to Brailey with 3 WH’s in 5 weeks. His defence is sound but he has not really threatened in attack out of dummy half. The Knights may need to look at another option at 9, possibly even giving Tyson Gamble a crack who I think would be better suited to that role.
SPUD POOL LOOKOUT
Francis Molo (Dragons)
34 tackles, 9 runs for 78m in 41 minutes – WH (1.05 spm)
A great spm result for Molo after starting the game at lock. With Lawrie out for a month I think Francis is a genuine bye cover option. He only needs to play 45-50 minutes to score a WH.
Junior Paulo (Eels)
26 tackles, 19 runs for 180m in 72 minutes – WH (0.63 spm)
The Eels forward pack has been decimated by injury but there is a risk with picking up Paulo if he is available. His minutes need to be quite high for him to cover the 40 involvements. Perhaps playing in Origin will get him motivated to perform better when he comes back to club games.
Ethan Bullemor (Sea Eagles)
33 tackles, 19 runs for 188m in 59 minutes – WH (0.88 spm)
Bullemor has huge potential for the next 6 weeks with Jurbo and Tuilagi out injured. A good defender who isn’t shy of running a good line, he added a TA to his WH and ME last week. Get him now if you can, you won’t be disappointed.
Bryce Cartwright (Eels)
26 tackles, 12 runs for 87m in 80 minutes – (0.48 spm)
It was actually a poor performance from Cartwright as he played the whole 80 minutes but didn’t manage a WH. I think this was an anomaly and with Lane and Matterson out injured, Cartwright will see more of the ball and be forced to make his tackles as well.
WORTH MENTIONING….
Thomas Flegler (Broncos)
29 tackles, 12 runs for 102m in 47 minutes – WH (0.87 spm)
Flegler has a WH in back to back weeks and with his selection in the QLD Origin team, I think he might go up a level for the second half of the season. I know Haas and Carrigan take a lot of the stats but there is room for Flegler to grab his 40+ involvements if he can maintain his form.
Tevita Pangai Junior (Bulldogs)
35 tackles, 18 runs for 207m in 57 minutes – WH (0.93 spm)
This is the TPJ we know he can be. I called him out last week for hardly working but he has returned serve with his best performance of the year. He was a shock selection in the NSW Origin team but I think he has shown this year that he can be a quality front rower. If he can put some more performance like last week together then he will become CEO relevant.
Dale Finucane (Sharks)
45 tackles, 11 runs for 77m in 55 minutes – WH (1.02 spm)
Finucane now has 6 WH’s for 2023 (he had 7 in total in 2022). Its clear the his form has affected the minutes of Cam McInnes, with Fitzgibbon preferring to have the experience of Finucane on the field for longer. I would not be surprised if he is sitting in some spud pools….
WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK (most involvements by eligible position)
8. Jack de Belin(Dragons) – 64
9. Damien Cook (Rabbitohs) – 58
10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans) – 61
11. Jacob Preston (Bulldogs) – 57
12. Tyson Frizell (Knights) – 55
13. Patrick Carrigan (Broncos) – 84
Adz
NRLCEO Commish
NRLCEO Live Scoring Team
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