Workhorse Watch Round 12

NRLCEO Workhorse Watch Round 12 – Jackson Ford revs up against the Raiders with his first ever DWH!

• does it get any more plain the Smith?
• Jazz is back in fashion, playing in a venue on the Northern Beaches.
• can someone give Haumole a few red bulls before he runs on.
• just when you though it was safe to drop Hopgood…….
• its a Steep learning curve at the Roosters but Blake is ahead of the class!

In Round 12 there were 43 players who scored a WH, with one players scoring a DWH. Ford vs Holden, its Ford all the way in NRLCEO.

WORKING HARD

Jackson Ford (Warriors)

44 tackles, 18 runs for 181m in 55 minutes – DWH (1.13 stats per minute)

An incredible work rate of 1.13 spm from Ford as he stepped up in the absence of Fisher-Harris and Barnett. Despite being relegated to the bench for most of 2025, Ford has scored 8 WH’s this season, only missing out in 3 of his matches. He is averaging 46 involvements and 111 metres a game to give the Warriors some decent punch off the bench. Ford was largely forgotten about in drafts this year after whispers of him being the odd one out in the Warriors pack with the arrival of JFH to start at prop.

Josh Curran (Bulldogs)

57 tackles, 13 runs for 88m in 80 minutes – WH (0.88 spm)

Curran reached 70 involvements on the weekend, playing the full 80 minutes. It was a solid hit out after missing 3 weeks due to suspension. With the arrival of Leo Thompson in 2026, it is looking likely that Curran will play from the bench when the Dogs are at full strength. He is a tremendous team player that is happy to fill in where he is needed as he can play effectively on an edge or in the middle. He could be a quality mid to late round draft pick next season.

Lindsay Smith (Panthers)

52 tackles, 12 runs for 96m in 71 minutes – WH (0.90 spm)

Smith is the epitome of a consistent WH scoring forward, only missing a WH in Round 2. Sadly thats where the joy ends when we look at his attacking stats, scoring just 1 ME and 2 LBA’s in his 11 matches so far. It has become clear that Fisher-Harris was a huge loss for the Panthers and Smith has tried to plug that hole admirably. In terms of his CEO scoring though, you can bank 5 points a week but don’t expect any more than that.

Jazz Tevaga (Sea Eagles)

49 tackles, 13 runs for 126m in 80 minutes – WH (0.78 spm)

Tevaga has once again emerged as a WH scorer, covering multiple positions in the Sea Eagles pack as they are hit with multiple injuries. He has scored a WH in his last 5 matches and it is possible that even with the return of Jake Trbojevic, Tevaga could make the lock spot his own and force Jurbo to play up front. With Lachlan croker returning from injury, you would expect he and Jake Simpkin to share the dummy half role moving forward.

 

HARDLY WORKING

Haumole Olakau’atu (Sea Eagles)

21 tackles, 14 runs for 136m in 80 minutes – (0.44 spm)

Haumole continues to struggle with his WH scoring this season, managing a paltry 3 WH’s for the year so far. If it wasn’t for his attacking stats, he would be in the spud pool quick smart. You need you starting forwards to be scoring a WH at a minimum, which means Olakau’atu should be relegated to your bench for the time being. He would be a good option to trade out and look for a more regular WH scorer.

Francis Molo (Dolphins)

25 tackles, 14 runs for 114m in 42 minutes (0.93 spm)

Molo made the move north to Redcliffe to look for a better opportunity, however he has been unable to improve his CEO value, failing to score a WH in his 5 matches so far. He is has always been an average WH forward, scoring 7 WH’s in 2024 and 9 WH’s in 2023. He is averaging 32 involvements per match this season, at a decent work rate, but he needs more minutes to get him up to the 40 involvements.

Ethan Bullemor (Sea Eagles)

21 tackles, 9 runs for 77m in 35 minutes (0.86 spm)

I had high hopes for Bullemor when he was announced to start at prop, however he has not been able to take advantage of his opportunity. He managed 39 involvements in Round 11 but dropped to 30 involvements last week and should be sent packing to the spud pool. He certainly looks like he could handle bigger minutes but Siebold disagrees. He is 25 years of age so he has time on his side but he needs to increase his work rate and perhaps his fitness if wants to develop into a permanent starter.

 

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Moses Leota (Panthers)

45 tackles, 11 runs for 90m in 48 minutes – WH (1.17 spm)

Leota has lifted his work rate in the last 2 weeks, scoring back to back WH’s to bring his season total to 3 WH’s. He is now averaging 40 involvements a game in 2025 and after the loss of JFH perhaps its just what the Panthers need. As we said before, Lindsay Smith doesn’t have the same punch as Leota, and the Panthers need as much go forward as they can get at the moment.

Matthew Croker (Knights)

33 tackles, 9 runs for 85m in 52 minutes – WH (0.81 spm)

With Adam Elliott set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines, Croker could be the man to replace him as the starting lock. Jacob Saifiti remains out with injury and there is ongoing concussion affects hampering Leo Thompson which increases the likeliness of Croker starting. He has scored 4 WH’s this year which equals his best ever output in a season in his career.

J’maine Hopgood (Eels)

41 tackles, 9 runs for 75m in 50 minutes – WH (1.00 spm)

Hopgood had a solid game for the Eels on the weekend and he also saw a slight increase in minutes. This could be a sign that he is starting to fit in with coach Ryles game plan and a return to his consistent WH scoring could be just around the corner. He was available in a lot of spud pools in the last few weeks and he could be a steal if he gets somewhere back to his best.

 

WORTH MENTIONING…

Kitione Kautoga (Eels)

33 tackles, 14 runs for 176m in 80 minutes – WH (0.59 spm)

Kautoga has become a mainstay of the Eels forward pack as he continues to impress in his debut NRL season. He has now scored 8 WH’s this season, averaging 42 involvements a match. He looks to be growing in confidence, striking up a combination with Dylan Brown on the left hand side. Coach Ryles must have like what he saw from Kautoga at training, as he keeps out former regular NRL players Bryce Cartwright, Ryan Matterson and Shaun Lane.

Blake Steep (Roosters)

29 tackles, 16 runs for 150m in 53 minutes – WH (0.85 spm)

In a couple of season’s, if not sooner, everyone will know who Blake Steep is. It was an impressive performance from Steep, helping to cover the loss of Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins to state of origin duty as well as Naufahu Whyte and Nat Butcher to injury. I can Steep developing into a quality lock, as he can handle the ball well and also runs a good line in attack. He also seems to have some decent footy IQ, which we don’t talk about much in the forwards. For CEO’s in contract/keeper leagues, Steep is a player you want to invest in long term.

Dylan Lucas (Knights)

31 tackles, 17 runs for 202m in 80 minutes – WH (0.60 spm)

Lucas produced a stellar performance against the Panthers, scoring 3 tries, 3 LB’s, a WH and a DME for a personal haul of 24 points. Lucas will be the number one back rower in the game in a few years and his draft position will likely reflect that as well. He is a CEO gun in every sense, will always WH when he starts, runs the ball more than most back rowers and he knows his way to the try line.

 

BACKS IMPERSONATING FORWARDS….

It is time we paid some attention to those skinny little bludgers who think they can play in the forwards. There may be some comps out there that reward backs for scoring a WH, so lets call them out, if only to shame the forwards in their pack for not doing the work themselves. Take note that in  some public comps you can name backs in bench position 1 and 2 where they are eligible to score a WH.

Dane Gagai (Knights)

22 tackles, 18 runs for 130m in 80 minutes – WH (0.60 spm)

Gagai scored his 3rd WH of the season and leads all backs for WH scoring. He is a good option to name on your bench (positions 1 or 2) if you are short on forwards.

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

POSITION	PLAYER	TEAM	INVOLVEMENTS	PACK OF THE WEEK
Front Row	Keaon Koloamatangi	Rabbitohs	65	3
Hooker	Connor Watson	Roosters	61	2
Front Row	Terrell May	Tigers	63	7
Back Row	Jordan Riki	Broncos	68	1
Back Row	Siua Wong	Roosters	65	2
Lock	Patrick Carrigan	Broncos	61	5

WH – Workhorse

DWH – Double Workhorse

ME – Metre Eater

DME – Double Metre Eater

SPM – Stats per minute played