Stocks Up

Manu Ma'u - You might as well get the hot glue gun out and stick Ma'u to the Stocks Up list because each and every week he is one of the best for the Eels. When you look at Ma'u you think power, but he's consistently churning through 80 minutes and I don't think he's getting the praise he deserves. Against the Bunnies he played 80 minutes made over a 100 metres and made 29 tackles with an offload, not his best numbers but his stocks are currently soaring with consistent football.

Peni Terepo - He didn't feature in the first few games for the Eels but Terepo returned to their bench which is enough for a cheeky stock rise. In 29 minutes he was very busy carting the ball up and he's got to be a lock to break at least one tackle a game because he's one powerful mofo. Despite playing the least minutes of the bench players for the Eels, Terepo had the most hit ups, nice.

Suasuo Sue - Moving from the edge to the middle, Sue showed that he's a versatile young lad and did pretty well at prop. Only Martin Taupau could compete with Sue in metres gained, they both ran for 160 metres and Sue had the most hit ups of any play from the Tigers and Bulldogs. Not a bad change of position that huh?

Lamar Liolevave - Debuting off the bench, Liolevave was impressive for the Tigers and is yet another powerful ball runner in their stable. He didn't knock the door down with his stats but he looked at home in the NRL and should feature throughout the season.

Curtis Rona - Another impressive effort from Rona who scored two tries and registered everything from a try assist, a line break to an offload. That's a fairly decent effort from a winger.

Paterika Vaivai - Another youngster who looked at ease in the NRL with the Newcastle Knights. He should continue to get some game time as he's a strong ball runner and adds a bit more size to the Knights pack. He almost ran for more metres than David Fa'alogo despite playing half the minutes.

Valentine Holmes - He's got some kiwi in him despite being a Junior Kangaroo so we'll keep an eye on him. It's pretty hard to imagine Holmes' stocks not continuing to rise as he plays more and more NRL football, he's quick and evasive as well as being eager to get involved. I won't get too excited as he's only semi-kiwi.

Agnatius Paasi - A try is a good place to start for a young forward and Paasi not only crossed the line but is also looking like a good fit with the Titans. They've got some very solid forwards in Nate Myles and Luke Douglas, but Paasi adds plenty of power. In 22 minutes he made two tackle breaks and hopefully he'll continue to get a go.

Jason Nightingale - It was a busy night for Nightingale, ha. Somehow Nightingale always looks likely when he's hitting the ball up whether he's poking his head through the defensive line or squeezing out an offload, of which he did two. The outside backs for the Dragons were all heavily involved but Nightingale's the only kiwi so shout out to him.

Peta Hiku - Of all the four wingers in the Dragons win over Manly, Hiku had the most hit ups with 16 and ran for 168 metres. He's not overly quick, not is he are super athletic freak but he's always involved and along with Josh Dugan, he had the most tackle breaks with four. Hiku is always someone who does something positive and I reckon he'll be a great NRL player in the years to come.

Alex Glenn - Who ran for the most metres of any forward from Brisbane and the Warriors? Mr Glenn. He had a nice afternoon on the left edge for the Broncos, getting his mits on the ball more than any other forward in that game and also broke a few tackles. Glenn wasn't exactly a stand out in the opening rounds but looks to be warming up to Uncle Wayne's desires.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - A try, 168 metres running the footy, 23 carries (the most), six tackle breaks, an offload, a line break and he even made two tackles. What a champion, he's definitely one of the best fullbacks in the NRL and is unquestionably the best kiwi fullback in the game.

The Cowboys - Antonio Winterstein returned to the NRL after mourning the loss of his younger brother so we salute you Antonio. He scored two tries, ran for 150 metres, broke six tackles and turned things around after a few mistakes. Mathew Wright also scored a try and John Asiata made his debut for the Cowboys ... and they won.

Stocks Down

Dean Whare - He scored a try, broke a bunch of tackles and had some success on attack but five missed tackles is never going to see your stocks rise. Whare's one of our best centres and his bar is set reasonably high so he, along with Jamal Idris who missed four tackles will need to tighten up those edges.

Sam McKendry - The Knights dine out on the Panthers through the middle and McKendry's lack of impact didn't help. 31 minutes is poor, obviously it's Ivan Cleary's decision but McKendry only ran for 60 metres and missed three tackles which is a recipe for your stocks slipping.

Elijah Taylor - I wrote Taylor's name down but I really can't remember why. Maybe because he only had 49 tackles, ran for only 111 metres, only had two tackle breaks and two offloads. Clearly I'm stupid.

Ricky Leutele - It's been a tough year so far for Leutele, obviously the fortunes of the Sharks has something to do with that but missing four tackles against the Titans doesn't help. Six hit ups in 80 minutes for 56 metres? Hmm.

Bodene Thompson - He got through a mountain of work with 59 tackles in 80 minutes but I'm not really sure of his impact and I don't think he's a defence first type of player. That impacts his attack play, he only made 42 metres off eight carries which is tame while two mistakes, two penalties conceded and four missed tackles doesn't make for good reading.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves - Whether he was carrying an injury or not, I'm not sure but he only played 29 minutes which obviously had a major impact on his stats.

Jordan Rapana - It was a tough day for the Raiders and while Rapana didn't have a terrible night, four missed tackles, a bunch of errors and a penalty against his name have caused his stocks to slip ... only slightly though. He was good with the ball in hand, but we've got high standards around here.

Frank-Paul Nuuausala - In 48 minutes FPN only had five carries of the footy which is a bit odd because you'd think Ricky Stuary would like him to have much more impact off the bench. Given he was recruited by the Raiders on some decent cash, Raiders fans must want more from Frank-Paul.