Kiwi NRL Stocks Round 5
Stocks Up
Curtis Rona - Having a big, athletic winger who knows how to score a try is such an asset in the NRL and the Bulldogs have the blueprint in Mr Rona. He's someone who's stocks have consistently climbed and won't stop this week as he notched 100 plus metres, broke eight tackles and squeezed an offload out as well. Rona's career is on the up.
Agnatius Paasi - Another lad who has seen his stocks slowly but surely rise, Paasi is precisely what the Gold Coast Titans need. He's aggressive and is of decent size and is proving to be a very good middle forward as he's mobile enough to get around the park, not just charging up the guts. In 36 minutes Paasi ran for 90 metres and made 17 tackles which is very handy bench production.
Alexx Glenn - I left Glenn out of my Kiwis 17, nothing personal, it's just the impact of Kevin Proctor and Tohu Harris was too much to ignore. However, Glenn is having a great season so far and was very good against the Titans as he ran for 150 metres, broke a tackle and made 23 tackles himself. Glenn isn't going to be demanding that everyone stand up and take notice, but Wayne Bennett knows exactly what he's going to get from Glenn each week, which is a great string to your bow.
Jordan Rapana - The Raiders beat Manly quite convincingly and Rapana put in a very solid shift out on the wing. Running for more than 100 metres is the benchmark for a winger and Rapana did that along with six tackle breaks and a try.
Benji Marshall - Defeating the Newcastle Knights mainly thanks to a great defensive effort, the Dragons must be grateful that Benji Marshall arrived halfway through last season. Marshall isn't putting highlight plays at the top of his agenda, although a slick field goal could be put in that category but he's just showing his experience in all aspects. I loved the old Benji and I'm loving this Benji as well because he's shown that he can continue to adapt his game to what his team needs.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - You simply can't leave this lad off the list and he's bordering on MVP status. He ran for 300 metres, first of all which is mental and broke six tackles on his way to all those metres. The thing that impressed me this week was, despite how his team was playing he was always busy and you got the sense that he's got great pride in his personal performance and how he influences the team. He hasn't played a bad game this year.
Ricky Leutele - Someone who has struggled a fair bit, along with the Sharks, Leutele was very impressive, along with the Sharks. Running for 143 metres, breaking five tackles while also making a few very handy one on one tackles. Pity his centre partner Gerrard Beale missed five tackles.
Bureta Faraimo - There's something about this guy, he just always looks dangerous running the ball and was, for a young lad reasonably solid in his defensive duties. He ran for 163 metres and broke three tackles, but when you watch Faraimo you just get this vibe that he's going to be around for a while.
Manu Ma'u - He had to play centre and did a fair job. I'm not sure what else Ma'u can do to be honest, he's a beast.
Tohu Harris - He wasn't at his best, but he ran for the most metres of any 80 minute forward in the game and did a great job defensively up against Shaun Johnson and Konrad Hurrell.
Mathew Wright - Three tries will always see your stocks rise, even if you're up against a depleted Penrith Panthers side.
Elijah Taylor - 76 tackles.
Jason Taumalolo - He was excellent as the Cowboys toiled hard to get in a position to defeat the Storm last week and was at his beastly best against the Panthers. He ran for 190 metres off 16 carries, 11 metres a carry while also breaking six sorry attempts to tackle him. He's just a dynamo.
Stocks Down
Frank Paul-Nuuausala - It's rough on FPN, but he's a big offseason signing and for whatever reason he's just not playing as such. Ricky Stuart might be building him into the season slowly which is all good, but right now, FPN is sagging behind the rest of this Raiders forward pack. They are playing well though, so all's while that ends well.
Sam Moa - The Roosters won't go very far with such poor numbers from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Sam Moa this week. Moa played 44 minutes and only registered six carries, SIX! That's the same as James Maloney.
Martin Taupau - The Tigers looked a bit flat against the Eels and Taupau's production was well below his usual antics. Only running for 97 metres off 10 carries especially with the Eels' pack disrupted by injury was a bit of a bummer. Manu Ma'u had more carries and he was out in the centres.
Konrad Hurrell - Borderline embarrassing. No stats needed.
Thomas Leuluai - Three runs out of dummy half just simply isn't good enough in the NRL as it makes defending the Warriors rather easy, you've just got to set up wide and you're good to go. Every pass seems to look forward as well, his service was poor, just poor all round really.
Sam McKendry - His impact as a prop isn't really up to par, playing 34 minutes and only taking nine hit ups. Whether it's Ivan Cleary's plan or what, I'm not sure but there's a few young lads who might be chasing McKendry's starting spot.