Workhorse Watch Round 3

Round 3 is in the books and there have been some standout performers so far. There are only two teams yet to record a win and as fate would have it, they play this weekend in an early ‘spoonbowl’. Injuries and suspensions have also started to kick in as CEO’s scramble to find replacements to plug the holes in their pack.

• Ford rules over NRLCEO in one of the best ever starts by a prop
• Luki shows his potential in a breakout match against the Titans
• Big Tino is asleep at the wheel as the Titans are stuck in 1st gear
• Hopgood is broken, is Tuivaiti the man to step up for the Eels?
• Griffin Neame could be on the verge of breaking out as a WH gun

There were 71 WH’s in Round 3 (third consecutive week there has been 71 WH’s), with two players scoring a DWH (also third consecutive week with 2), the consistency is uncanny.

WORKHORSE OF THE WEEK

Jackson Ford (Warriors)

42 tackles, 23 runs for 213m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.81 spm)

What a start to the season for Jackson Ford, averaging 12 pts a game after scoring his first DWH for the season whilst also crossing for his 2nd try. There were concerns for Ford’s relevance this season with the return of Mitch Barnett but he has absolutely put those to bed and the CEO’s who took a punt on him are cashing in. The Warriors pack is now the envy of the NRL so it will be interesting to see how the minutes will be shared moving forward. I expect Ford to still be a regular WH scorer as he is capable of playing big minutes anytime there is a HIA or an injury on their pack.

WORKING HARD

Patrick Carrigan (Broncos)

45 tackles, 18 runs for 157m in 80 minutes – DWH (0.79 spm)

Carrigan was another to go the full distance in Round 3, as Madge wanted to press home the Broncos advantage in the second half against the Storm. It was inevitable that he would score his first DWH of the season after playing 80 minutes with the Broncos relying on their power game to get them going in 2026. Carrigan saw a big increase in metres in this match compared to the first 2 rounds, perhaps something that was mentioned to him during the week.

Stefano Utoikamanu (Storm)

50 tackles, 10 runs for 99m in 61 minutes – WH (0.98 spm)

Stefano backed up the talk during the week as he tried to take the Broncos pack head on. It has been a promising start to the season for Stefano, scoring a WH in his last 2 matches after missing out in the Round 1 romp against the Eels. Can he maintain a level of consistency this season and see him break the 15 WH barrier?

Blayke Brailey (Sharks)

55 tackles, 4 runs for 31m in 80 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

It has been a steady start to the year for last season’s top hooker, averaging 7 pts a game. He didn’t really hit his straps until about Round 15 last season so it may be some time before we see Brailey at his peak. In terms of the growth of their team, the Sharks are caught in a net, seemingly only looking forward to playing the razzle dazzle style against the weaker teams but not willing to get down and dirty with the tougher teams. Can Brailey rediscover the form that saw him challenge for MVP last season?

Heilum Luki (Cowboys)

39 tackls, 20 runs for 165m in 80 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

Luki was just one involvement short of a breakthrough DWH on the weekend. Luki has slotted straight back into the Cowboys lineup after a season out with injury and he looks set for a big year. He is now the Cowboys edge weapon in a season where teams are all using a common strategy of running their big edge players at opposition halves. If he can remain injury free this season, he could be amongst the top back rowers in NRLCEO.

HARDLY WORKING

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans)

28 tackles, 9 runs for 85m in 48 minutes (0.77 spm)

Will someone wake Tino up? He is supposed to be the leader of their team and their pack but he has been asleep at the wheel for the first three rounds. He has missed a WH in two of the first three games and only barely scored a WH in the other. I guess the plan from Hannay is to reduce the reliance on their marquee man and allow other players to grow their roles within the team but there is a reason Tino is your marquee man and just let him do his thing. CEO’s are likely holding for now given Tino’s exceptional history outside of injury, but if this continues for much longer then will be a lot of axe sharpening happening at his expense.

Sam Verrills (Titans)

39 tackles, 0 runs for 0m in 72 minutes (0.54 spm)

Also at the Titans, Verrills has missed a WH in his last two matches, although he has been in the wars on the field with HIA’s and cuts to the head. His running metres are down on last year and this is an area of his game he must improve to help the Titans improve their attack. Verrills had his best ever season in NRLCEO in 2025 and was a great late round draft option if you missed out on one of the top hookers. Given he is in the final year of his current contract at the club, you would think that would give him a reason to play his best as he looks for another contract in the NRL.

Naufahu Whyte (Roosters)

22 tackles, 11 runs for 125m in 48 minutes (0.69 spm)

Another player who had a breakout NRLCEO season last year, Whyte has failed to score a WH in his last two matches after a positive start in round 1. Hopefully it is a case of getting some miles into the legs to start the season before the heavy workload comes but there are plenty of other players playing big minutes early in the season. The Roosters need Whyte to step up after they were soundly beaten in the middle by both the Warriors and Panthers.

Moeaki Fotuaika (Titans)

23 tackles, 9 runs for 67m in 39 minutes (0.82 spm)

Lets complete the front row set at the Titans, calling out big Mo after a dreadful start to the season. He has failed to score a WH in all of his three matches so far, averaging just 33 involvements per game. Mo has always been a middle of the road WH scorer, usually ending up with roughly 10-13 WH’s a season. He is certainly capable of playing bigger minutes and running bigger metres but perhaps with a new coach there will be a new strategy, which for CEO’s means Mo might have to Go!

SPUD POOL LOOKOUT

Moses Leota (Panthers)

30 tackles, 10 runs for 71m in 47 minutes – WH (0.85 spm)

Leota had a breakout WH season last year, scoring 12 WH’s, which was a huge increase from his usual 3-4 WH’s. With the pace of the game seemingly increasing the amount of stats overall, Leota could be one player to benefit as he had a decent 0.85 stats per minute against the Roosters. The Panthers do have Liam henry to come back in a few weeks but after losing JFH to the Warriors, Leota has certainly stepped up and soaked up some of his numbers.

Sam Tuivaiti (Eels)

26 tackles, 18 runs for 151m in 44 minutes – WH (1.00 spm)

With J’maine Hopgood out for the rest of this season after rupturing his ACL, Tuivaiti seems to be one of the players to benefit. His performance on the weekend against the Dragons turned quite a few CEO heads with a huge 1.00 spm and 151 running metres. I think the Eels will go with Jack Williams at prop, leaving their edge as it has been the last few rounds, which will see Dylan Walker likely start at lock. Tuivaiti will certainly see more minutes but it remains to be seen if he can consistently produce these numbers each week. Worth a punt though!!

Corey Jensen (Broncos)

33 tackles, 12 runs for 117m in 50 minutes – WH (0.90 spm)

Its probably a little early to suggest that 2024 Jensen is back but the signs are good to start this season. After a paltry offering in round 1, Jensen has scored a WH in his last two matches, reviving hope that he can once again be a regular WH scorer. We may be seeing Willison shifting to an edge role as he could be a real weapon there, although Piakura had a decent game returning from injury so that may be put on ice.

Luciano Leilua (Dragons)

31 tackles, 15 runs for 131m in 62 minutes – WH (0.74 spm)

A visibly leaner and potentially fitter Leilua has started the year on a positive not, scoring a WH in two of his three matches. He has also scored a ME in all three of his matches which shows his intent to run the ball more than he did last season. This is a good sign for CEO’s and I think you can confidently pick him up if you need an extra back rower in your forward rotation.

WORTH MENTIONING

Alex Twal (Tigers)

44 tackles, 13 runs for 125m in 62 minutes – WH (0.89 spm)

Is there a better sight in rugby league than seeing Alex Twal running the ball at full pace? Twal was so good on the weekend against the Bunnies that he out worked Terrell May! He has clearly been given a directive to improve his running game, with his average metres up to 120m a game this season compared to 85m a game last season.

Thomas Hazelton (Sharks)

42 tackles, 7 runs for 53m in 44 minutes – WH (1.11 spm)

After earning a starting spot at the Sharks, CEO’s had high hopes for Hazelton but he failed to score a WH in his first two matches. He scored a WH on the weekend against the Dolphins, showing that he may just need a few weeks to get used to his new role and to get match fit. His stats per minute were amazing at 1.11spm so if you have him, hold him for now and see if he can maintain the WH scoring.

Kelma Tuilagi (Eels)

37 tackles, 8 runs for 64m in 75 minutes – WH (0.60)

Kelma does not have a big engine but he is slowly developing a good combination on one edge for the Eels and is a try scoring threat. If he can score a WH in most of his matches then he could be a very handy pick up, especially with the injury to Hopgood meaning that Williams will likely play in the middle.

Griffin Neame (Cowboys)

18 tackles, 13 runs for 126m in 40 minutes (0.78 spm)

Whilst Neame may not have any WH’s on the scoreboard yet, I think he is on the verge of becoming a regular WH prop. His form at the end of last season was superb, averaging 55-60 involvements in a run of 5-6 matches that showed CEO’s what he is capable of. He is a little under done to start 2026, coming off an injury layoff and missing parts of the pre season. Once he gets his match fitness up I expect him to be pushing those numbers again this season. He could be a sneaky good trade in.

WORKHORSE PACK OF THE WEEK

• Jackson Ford – 61
• Blayke Brailey – 59
• Stefano Utoikamanu – 60
• Heilum Luki – 59
• Jack Williams – 59
• Patrick Carrigan – 63