Workhorse Watch Round 20

The injuries keep coming with a few more WH guns ruled out for the season. How is your spud pool fishing going?

In Round 20 there were a massive 81 players that scored a WH, with 2 players scoring a DWH. Terrell May asserts his WH dominance as Blayke Brailey’s dream run of form continues.

• The Storm wizard is just warming up!
• We are McLovin McEwen at the Knights
• Doueihi have a new WH scorer at the Tigers?
• Hopgood finds a new home up front

THE DWH TREND

2023 – 17

2024 – 32

2025 – 39 so far…..

WORKING HARD

Terrell May (Tigers)

44 tackles, 21 runs for 172m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.81 stats per minute)

May is romping home in the race for NRLCEO MVP, scoring his 8th DWH of the season and 6th in the last eight weeks. May also seems to be a very durable player which is amazing for the amount of minutes he plays (he played the full 80 minutes again on the weekend). He has not had any injury concerns since he came into the NRL and he just looks like he could play all day. He simply has to beat the top of your draft list next season and I am expecting him to go as first pick in some drafts.

Blayke Brailey (Sharks)

48 tackles, 12 runs for 124m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.75 spm)

Brailey has been amazing over the last 5 weeks, scoring 68 points at an average of 13.6 pts a game in that period. He scored his 3rd DWH of the season and second in a row, missing a DME by a single metre. His running game has really come to life and it is no surprise that the Sharks form has also turned around on the back of his play. Brailey is now pushing Grant as the number 1 hooker in NRLCEO!

Harry Grant (Storm)

63 tackles, 7 runs for 58m in 80 minutes – WH (0.88 spm)

Grant was very busy against the Sea Eagles, notching 70 involvements and missing a DWH by 17 metres. The good news for CEO’s is the Storm have a tough draw to finish the season, which means Grant is likely to play 80 minutes and be heavily involved in both attack and defence. When the Storm dominate, the big guns tend to take their foot off the pedal and coast their way to a win, which is counter productive for NRLCEO scoring.

Cameron McInnes (Sharks)

51 tackles, 15 runs for 97m in 80 minutes – WH (0.83 spm)

McInnes has had a typical CEO season for his player type, scoring a WH in every game he has played but also not scoring any ME’s. He is one of the most reliable WH scorer’s but apart from the odd try, that is all the points you are going to get. Every CEO team needs a player like McInnes, just not too many of them.

HARDLY WORKING

Hamish Stewart (Dragons)

30 tackles, 8 runs for 31m in 51 minutes – (1.23 spm)

Its tough to put him in the ‘hardly working’ category with a 1.23 spm. The reality is that he scored 5 consecutive WH’s from rounds 9 – 14 and then he hasn’t scored a WH since. He has mostly come off the bench in that time, which is a shame because he didn’t look out of place as a starting lock. Is still a WH player of the future, good for a mid to late round draft pick up.

Ryley Smith (Eels)

30 tackles, 0 runs for 0m in 39 minutes – (0.77 spm)

As expected, with the Eels adding Tallyn De Sylva mid season, Ryley Smith’s days as a WH scoring hooker appear to be numbered. It looks as though Ryles will start with Smith for his defence and allow De Sylva to come on late in the first half to create some run and attack out of dummy half. If you had to choose one of them to run with as a starter, you would be picking TDS every time.

Joseph Tapine (Raiders)

13 tackles, 19 runs for 186m in 47 minutes – (0.68 spm)

Tapine picked up a knee injury in their round 18 match against the Dragons and looks to be playing on reduced minutes. He played only 29 minutes in round 18 and then just 47 minutes on the weekend, even with a bye in between those matches. This is a genuine concern for CEO’s, given the Raiders have a fairly soft draw to finish the season and Tapine may continue to play less minutes, leaving the younger guys to carry the load. This would keep Tapine fresh for the business end of the season but it’s a potential disaster for CEO’s relying on him to score a WH each week.

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Jermain McEwen (Knights)

37 tackles, 13 runs for 130m in 80 minutes – WH (0.63 spm)

It was a very impressive outing from McEwen in his first full starting NRL match. He played on an edge, essentially replacing the injured Dylan Lucas and he looked like he belonged. He scored a WH and a ME, looked dangerous running the ball and he should have had a try as well if Jack Cogger passes to his left. I can see McEwen holding that edge spot for the rest of the season, offering a genuine replacement for Lucas in your CEO squad.

Sean Keppie (Rabbitohs)

31 tackles, 16 runs for 132m in 46 minutes – WH (1.02 spm)

We had to wait 13 rounds between drinks but the GOAT is back with his 5th WH of the season. With injuries decimating the Rabbitohs, Keppie could go on a run of WH scoring but in reality he will likely run out of gas after two weeks. Still there will be a couple of sentimental Rabbitohs fans out there that will pick him up in the hope that he will make their WH dreams come true.

Coen Hess (Cowboys)

34 tackles, 12 runs for 91m in 48 minutes – WH (0.96 spm)

I am leaving Hess here for another week as there has not been much movement for him in spud pools. He scored his 4th WH in his last 5 matches and that is coming off the bench as well. The Cowboys lost another middle on the weekend in Mikaele, leaving Hess and Neame as their two main options up front.

Jacob Host (Rabbitohs)

33 tackles, 11 runs for 98m in 80 minutes – WH (0.87 spm)

Host is back in the starting side at the Rabbits as they deal with a crippling injury toll. Both Tallis Duncan and Euan Aitken have been forced to play in the centres in recent weeks, giving Host an opportunity back on an edge. With Keaon now also out for the season that will likely push Arrow back to Prop meaning Host could feature on an edge for a number of weeks.

WORTH MENTIONING….

Connelly Lemuelu (Dolphins)

34 tackles, 22 runs for 237m in 80 minutes – WH (0.64 spm)

Lemuelu returned to the starting side in style, scoring a WH, DME, 2 x LB, 2 x TA and a LBA for a 16 point haul. The Dolphins have the bye this week so he could be a sneaky good pick up. Finefeuiaki could return in round 21 but I suspect that Lemuelu will force Keeley back to the bench after that performance. With the Dolphins attack at full throttle, expect Lemuelu to score a few more attacking stats over the next month.

J’maine Hopgood (Eels)

45 tackles, 11 runs for 101m in 57 minutes – WH (0.98 spm)

Coach Ryles has finally listened and started Hopgood at prop ( I said it earlier in the season but he wouldn’t take my calls). The Eels look a much more balanced side with Hopgood at prop, Williams on an edge and Walker at lock. They matched the Raiders for 55 minutes of their match on the weekend and if they keep that pack formation, it will help them build toward 2026.

Lindsay Collins (Roosters)

34 tackles, 8 runs for 46m in 47 minutes – (0.89 spm)

Is there WH life left in big Lins? Amazingly that is his first WH of the season, so he avoids the nude gauntlet run. The Roosters will need him to step up, especially this week against the Storm. Radley looks set to miss some more time with a shoulder injury and Collins is now their most senior forward in a pack full of kids. It would be a brave CEO to pick him up now, maybe in the supporters league you could make a case for it, so good luck if you take the plunge.

Adam Doueihi (Tigers)

31 tackles, 11 runs for 78m in 59 minutes – (0.71 spm)

Doueihi has made the move to lock to accommodate Taylan May in the centres and he made a decent fist of it first up. He scored a WH, to go with his match winning field goal, in just 59 minutes of game time. His minutes will slowly increase as he gets used to the extra workload in defence so he should continue to WH each week, with the added bonus of some attacking stats as well.

BACKS IMPERSONATING FORWARDS

Jamie Humphreys (Rabbitohs)

43 tackles, 3 runs for 20m in 80 minutes – WH (0.58 spm)

I think the longer the season has gone on, it has become clearer that Humphreys is not the answer at halfback for the Rabbitohs. I think they should move Humphreys into hooker and bring Dodd in at half to give him the rest of the season to prove his worth. Humphreys has just 4 TA’s for the season but he has scored 3 WH’s, averaging 26 tackles a game, which makes me think he enjoys defending and would be better suited to playing hooker.

Lachlan Galvin (Bulldogs)

28 tackles, 13 runs for 118m in 80 minutes – WH (0.51 spm)

Galvin had his best game for the Dogs on the weekend, throwing the match winning TA for Rinakama to score in the corner. He may be a half at the moment but I think it’s pretty clear that he will end up playing lock or even on an edge once his body has grown some more. He could be a crafty ball playing lock in the future, in a similar mould to that of Jim Dymock.

Cameron Munster (Storm)

36 tackles, 5 runs for 51m in 80 minutes – WH (0.51 spm)

Munster was quiet in attack against the Sea Eagles but he was busy in defence, scoring his 4th WH of the season and second in a row. With all that he has had going on in recent weeks he will need a spell from playing this week and come back fresh in round 21.

Robert Toia (Roosters)

27 tackles, 13 runs for 77m in 80 minutes – WH (0.50 spm)

It has been a hugely successful first season of NRL for Toia, earning a State of Origin jersey for QLD and now scoring his first ever WH in NRLCEO. Big future for this kid!

WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK (most involvements by position)

POSITION	PLAYER	TEAM	INVOLVEMENTS	PACK OF THE WEEK
Front Row	Jaimin Jolliffe	Titans	60	1
Hooker	Jayden Brailey	Knights	70	1
Front Row	J'maine Hopgood	Eels	64	2
Back Row	Jai Arrow	Rabbitohs	59	3
Back Row	John Bateman	Cowboys	56	2
Lock	Reuben Cotter	Cowboys	67	1