Kiwi NRL Stocks Round 12
All praise due to Jah-rome.
Stocks Up
Jordan Kahu: Any chance I get to watch Jordan Kahu play with greater responsibility, say, at fullback in a weakened Brisbane Broncos team, I pay attention. I put the 'Kahu has undercover skills to pay the bills' narrative on rewind each week because I've seen glimpses of it and everyone who talks about Kahu says what a skilled footy player he is and we saw some of that in the loss to the Tigers. Kahu threw a beautiful cut-out pass that landed in Greg Eden's bread-basket for a try assist, while also running for 115m off 15 carries with 5 tackle busts and an offload. Kahu has been named to move back to the wing this weekend, business as usual there ... hopefully Darius Boyd needs a rest after Origin.
Elijah Taylor: Playing a key role in Wests Tigers win up in Brisbane was Taylor, who has quickly made a big impact with the Tigers. Taylor scored a try and got plenty of touches, often playing a first-receiver before the ball got to either Luke Brooks or Mitchell Moses and while his work with the footy was exceptional (3 tackle busts, 1 offload, 1 line break), Taylor did that while also making 53 tackles.
Jason Nightingale: With Josh Dugan absent, Lord Nightingale slotted into fullback and did so with ease, showing off his class. Lord Nightingale had the most carries/metres of any Dragons player with 17/136m and as you'd expect, he scored a try as well. Dugan could be out for a few weeks so hopefully we see Lord Nightingale get an extended run at fullback.
Russell Packer: The Dragons need Packer to consistently deliver a strong middle presence if they are to have any chance of just making the top-eight this season and Packer showed against the Cowboys that he's more than capable, as he's done a fair bit recently. Packer played decent minutes (45mins) and got through plenty of work with 12 carries for 125m along with 30 tackles.
Jason Taumalolo: Does anyone have proof that Taumalolo is actually human? Unless you do, I'm pretty confident that he's not and as I had hoped, Taumalolo took on greater responsibility in a depleted Cowboys team as he led their forward pack in carries and metres; 15 carries, 187m ... plus a cheeky 2 tackle busts. In four of his past five games, Taumalolo has run for more than 150m and the one game he didn't, he ran for 149m and he's averaging 10.75m per-carry for the season.
Jahrome Hughes: Not a whole lot was known about Hughes leading into this week but the kid from Wellington can certainly play and while he was named to start in the halves, Hughes slid to fullback with Lachlan Coote moving up into a left-side halves spot. The involvement from Hughes is what caught the eye, that and scoring a try on debut which seems to be super easy nowadays. On debut, Hughes had 15 carries for 144m and 6 tackle busts ... look for other NRL clubs to make a few calls as Hughes showed that he can clearly play and he's currently stuck behind a few handy players.
Jordan Rapana: I'd be watching Canberra play every week if I were you, not only do they have a strong kiwi contingent, they've got one of the most exciting edge combinations in the NRL and yeah, one half of that combo is a kiwi. Rapana is loving life outside Joey Leilua - who pops offloads out with ease - and once again put in a strong shift with 112m off 12 carries, 5 tackle busts, an offload and a line break, with a try as well. Rapana hasn't let his form dip at any stage this season, regardless of how his team is playing and he's consistently operating at an All-NRL level.
Joe Tapine: The last few days couldn't have gone much better for Tapine as he's been rewarded for yet another strong display off the bench by being named to start at prop this week. Tapine enjoyed more minutes this week against the Bulldogs and deservedly so as he ran for 119m off only 10 carries, thanks to 5 tackle busts and 2 line breaks which also gave him a try.
Reimis Smith: A debut for Smith and a debut in the Kiwi NRL Stocks with Smith pledging his allegiance to Aotearoa through the Junior Kiwis earlier this year. Smith was a late call up for the Bulldogs, replacing Josh Morris and after driving a few hours just to get to Canberra, Smith scored with his first touch and soon had a debut double. I like the look of Smith; he's tall, lean and a decent finisher in the corner, plus he's just one of many kiwi lads coming through the Bulldogs' set up.
Manu Ma'u: Have you seen Ma'u roll out an absolute stinker thus far? I certainly haven't and while Parramatta are made to endure, Ma'u continues to put up big numbers; 80 minutes, 12 carries, 109m, a try assist, 3 tackle busts, 19 tackles, an offload and 2 line break assists vs Newcastle. I'm intrigued how Ma'u goes over the next few weeks as the reality of Parramatta's situation really starts to hit home. Ma'u will more than likely continue his great work, don't be surprised if other clubs start eyeing up Ma'u before the June 30 deadline.
Stocks Down
Greg Eastwood: Beastwood turned out an epic performance against the Raiders, definitely worth being in the Stocks Up category but unfortunately for Manurewa's own, he's out for a month with a knee injury. This came just as Beastwood was settling into his work on the edge after Des Hasler shifted him away from the middle where Beastwood's footwork and offloading ability proved lethal.
Kieran Foran: After 36 minutes and a few hefty whacks to what was an already bung shoulder, things got a whole lot worse for Parramatta fans. Foran is out for the season thanks to that shoulder injury and it's safe to say that the first few months of Foran's Eels career have been about as crazy as possible. Stocks down for Foran, he just hasn't been able to stay on the park.