Stocks Up

Jason Taumalolo: Take this as a friendly reminder of Jason Taumalolo's greatness as the best forward in another epic Cowboys vs Broncos encounter, was Taumalolo. Across two forward packs who lay claim to the best in the game, Taumalolo took the most runs of any forward with 16 and also ran for the most metres of any player with 154m. The most carries will usually result in the most metres, but Taumalolo took 16 carries at an average of 9.62m-per-carry which is a slight drop in his usual work where he makes 10m with each carry but it's a fair effort. Keep in mind that Taumalolo took the most carries and made the most metres in only 48 minutes of footy.

Oh and only Matt Gillett's 7 tackle busts were better than Taumalolo's 4 tackle busts, this guy is a gun.

Kodi Nikorima: There wasn't much to write home about for the Broncos, although Nikorima did come off the bench for 31 minutes and produce the sort of dynamic efficiency that we have come to love from him. 4 runs for 45m and 3 tackle busts is exactly what Wayne Bennett wants from Nikorima.

Michael Chee Kam: After spending much of the season on the fringes of the NRL, Chee Kam got another chance to show what he can do, this time in the centres for the Tigers as he replaced Kevin Naiqama. 15 carries and 147m later, I'm reasonably happy with my assesment that Chee Kam is a beast as he's big, strong but highly mobile as well which enables him to play as an edge forward and a centre equally as well. Chee Kam makes way for Naiqama this week, so I'll be keeping close tabs on any game time he gets over the coming weeks.

Ava Seumanufagai: Another barnstorming game for Seumanufagai who has joined the likes of Jesse Bromwich, Jordan Rapana, Manu Ma'u and Jason Taumalolo as staples in Stocks Up. Seumanufagai has made the most of any opportunity given to him this season and in only 32 minutes against the Knights he took 12 carries for 109m with 2 tackle busts. 

Elijah Taylor: The more I see of Taylor with the Tigers, the more I like the look of what's going on. Coach Jason Taylor appears to view Taylor as a key defensive player in the middle of the park and while Taylor isn't a quick-fix to the Tigers defensive woes, he loves to tackle and that attitude could be valuable. Taylor led all tackles with 48 in 71 minutes, but I'm equally as interested in his work with the footy which saw him slot into dummy half as well as some ball-playing at first-receiver. This saw Taylor throw a beauty of a pass to Luke Brooks who scooted through to score and Taylor also showed some oomph running the footy with 70m off 8 carries.

Jordan Rapana: Someone get Rapana's secret because this bloke is a tackle busting machine who is still riding the wave of some great form on the wing for the Raiders. 14 carries for 128m with 8 tackle busts and an offload, compare that to Jonathan Wright's 6 carries for 36m ... and no tackle busts. Stop sleeping on Rapana.

Sosaia Feki: Maybe Feki isn't quite on the same level as Rapana, but he's consistently very good on the wing for the Sharks and against Manly we saw what must now be considered business as usual for Feki; a try, 11 carries, 106m and 3 tackle busts. Feki was also apparently involved in a scuffle with Ben Barba and Feki doesn't strike me as the type of dude who is going to bark up that tree, he's more chill so I'd bet that Barba started it. Shout out to Feki, we've got your back, tell Barba to roll out Auckland ways.

Agnatius Paasi: You know how Taumalolo hovers around the 10m-per-carry mark, ponder that Paasi ran for 124m off 10 carries. That's 12.4m-per-carry and is one of a few reasons as to why Gold Coast Titans looked impressive against Penrith. Paasi's output only came in 39 minutes, so coach Neil Henry must love that impact off the bench and 5 tackle busts, an offload and line break is the sort of funk that the Titans need.

Leivaha Pulu: Funk? Pulu has plenty of funk, including a beautiful cut-out pass to Anthony Don for the match-winning try. Pulu and Paasi both came off the bench and while Pulu didn't quite get through the same workload as Paasi, he offered a bit of everything and still oozed impact. 6 carries for 58m, 3 offloads and 3 tackle busts, I like that.

Josh Hoffman: I've slept on Hoffman for a while now, he just never really stood out but against Penrith, it was impossible not to notice Hoffman. 14 carries for 130m and 2 tackle busts as he posed a threat every time he got the ball down their left edge and whether Hoffman can continue this fine work will be crucial to the Titans' hopes of top-8 footy.

Sio Siua Taukeiaho: After returning from injury last week, I think it's safe to include Taukeiaho in the Stocks Up staples. Taukeiaho played 80 minutes out on the edge against the Bulldogs and got through 11 carries for 105m, with 3 tackle busts, 44 tackles, an offload and a line break, that's nothing new for Taukeiaho and it's great to see him pick up where he left off.

Manu Ma'u: Don't sleep on Taukeiaho and Ma'u playing 80 minutes of footy folks as they are both aggressive players who rely on their power, while their endurance is overlooked. Ma'u rolled through 80 minutes once again and got through a mountain of work in the process, taking 20 carries for 176m with 32 tackles and 2 offloads.

Kieran Foran: The Foz is back and we really don't care how much he's gambling away, all we care about Foran being back, playing footy with his Eels homies. He wasn't too shabby in his return with 5 carries, 58m and a try assist but the fact that he's back is what we're celebrating. Shout out to Foz.

Jesse Bromwich: Very casual effort from Bromwich this week, casually great that is. Bromwich played 61 minutes and ticked his usual boxes of 100m (104m off 13 carries) and a few offloads (2), throw in a tackle bust and Bromwich helped lay a solid foundation through the middle yet again for the Storm to attack from.

Tohu Harris: Out a bit wider and Harris was the pick of the Storm's kiwi gang, perhaps the pick of the entire Storm team. Harris rolled through 80 minutes and produced nearly identical numbers to Ma'u as Harris had 20 carries for 175m, while 2 tackle busts and an offload helped spark the Storm's attack down the left.

Stocks Down

Alex Glenn: The victim of Sam Thaiday's move to start on the edge was Glenn and he came off the bench to play 42 minutes with 11 carries, 92m, 6 tackles and an era. This is more about Glenn's relegation to the bench after starting on the edge for most of last season and this season, but with State Of Origin lurking, Glenn will slot back into his starting role.

Danny Levi: He hasn't doing anything wrong, it's just that Levi is up shit's creek playing for the NRL's worst team. Let's get this clear though and unless Levi does something amazing, I might keep Levi in Stocks Down just to remind folks that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Levi only had 3 runs and missed a bunch of tackles, but that's the Knights for ya and Levi is going to have to endure immediate hardship, hopefully he can emerge out the other side as a better player.

Simon Mannering: This was the sort of game that makes you ponder Mannering's future, especially given the context around the Warriors. Mannering came back from injury, made 3 horrible errors, could only muster 69m from 8 carries and while he made 47 tackles, those tackles did little to swing the game in favour of the Warriors. I don't doubt that Mannering will step up and that this game was an one-off, he's no Taumalolo though.

Peta Hiku: A bung knee will see Hiku miss the rest of the season and it's a mark of Hiku the player and the person that as he lay there in pain or as the news came through, everyone expressed sadness. Hiku had settled into his work with Penrith and was showing great signs, enjoying the offload-happy nature of the Panthers but Penrith's injury curse has no regard for that and we'll have to wait until next year to see Hiku again.

James Fisher-Harris: It's a similar story for Fisher-Harris as Penrith's injury curse went into over-drive on the weekend, ruling Fisher-Harris out for a few weeks with a bung thumb. Fisher-Harris was really starting to build on his work and appeared to have settled into the NRL very nicely, to the point where coach Anthony Griffin was using him into slightly different roles over the past few weeks.