Kiwi NRL Stocks Round 22
You've probably got a better caption than me for this...
Stocks Up
Taane Milne: Still trying to find his feet defensively in the NRL, Milne has quickly emerged as one of the - if not the - most potent attacking weapons the Dragons have. Milne backed up strong performances over the past few weeks with Thursday's game against the Broncos in which he had 16 carries for 115m and broke 4 tackles along with a couple of offloads as well. We must also note that Milne is playing inside the great Jason Nightingale, a Kiwis OG so that's always going to be handy; Nightingale had 19 carries for 154m with 2 tackle busts.
Manu Ma'u: Michael Jennings and Brad Takairangi have settled back into their work out in the centres, allowing for Ma'u to be an edge forward once and again, boy is he good at it. Ma'u was the only Eels forward to play 80 minutes and was his beastly self with 16 carries for 140m with 2 tackle busts and an offload, against Manly who are apparently the favourites to snap up Ma'u sometime soon.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner: It should tell you a lot about Tony Williams' standing at the Bulldogs that the T-Rex has been kept on ice for much of this season and only played 21 minutes against Newcastle, while RFM rolled through 63 minutes with 8 carries, 57m, 2 tackle busts and 3 offloads. That also probably tells you why Des Hasler was so keen to sign RFM as he quickly inserted him into the Doggies squad and now we've reached the point where RFM is starting and playing big minutes for a top-4 team, keep an eye on him as the Finals near.
Matt McIlwrick/Fa'amanu Brown: The loss of Michael Ennis definitely didn't help Cronulla as the Raiders ambushed the home side, however it did give the Christchurch dummy half combination of McIlwrick and Brown solid game time at hooker. McIlwrick started and played 45 minutes, while Brown came off the bench and played 35 minutes with a try assist and a tackle bust. McIlwrick had 2 runs for 19m, Brown had 2 for 20m so they both scooted effectively as well.
Jordan Rapana: A couple tries, 123m off 11 carries and 5 tackle busts is a reasonably average game for Rapana ... good for any other winger, average for J-Rapz.
Jesse Bromwich: 193m off 18 carries, 2 tackle busts, 2 offloads and a line break in 66 minutes? That's also an average day's work for the older Bromwich bro and to highlight just how average that was, let's compare it to Sam Burgess who played 85 minutes and had 17 carries, 144m, 1 offload and a line break assist. Burgess ain't Bromwich, that's for sure.
Tohu Harris: The Tohu streak of exceptional performances on Melbourne's left edge continues as Hastings' finest had 16 carries for 151m with a tackle bust and as I've said over many times; Harris is a freak.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona: He's back. NAS only played 26 minutes which is roughly about the normal dose for him and had 5 carries for 43m with an offload as well. Perfect timing for Melbourne to have NAS back.
Ben Matulino: The leader of the Warriors forward pack was again emphatic with his work off the bench, rolling down field and getting quick play-the-balls with ease. Matulino played 47 minutes and Jacob Lillyman also played 47 minutes which should remind you that coming off the bench is no relegation or negative, with Matulino taking 11 carries for 120m which means he averaged over 10m per-carry.
Ava Seumanufagai: And again, Seumanufagai finds his stocks rising after another strong stint off the bench for the Tigers. This has been a constant - as much as Bromwich and Rapana - for most of the season now as the Wainuiomata junior consistently makes big metres off the bench and in 42 minutes he did so again with 12 carries and 114m as part of a highly energetic Tigers pack.
Josh Aloiai: The stats tell part of the story with Aloiai playing 59 minutes with 9 carries for 70m and his usage on that left edge for the Tigers continues to grow nicely. However, Aloiai really impressed when watching this game because every tackle he made could be felt through the telly and every carry made an impact. Aloiai has established himself as the bodyguard of Mitchell Moses, with the two making a visible effort to team up and whack any ball-carrier in their zone.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak: With Josh Mansour flying high, DWZ has been relatively quiet for Penrith but against the Roosters it was DWZ who was the stand out winger and he showed what a gun he is with the sheer volume and impact of his carries. DWZ led the Panthers with 5 tackle busts, coming from 16 carries and 185m, which reminds the NRL that Penrith have two wingers, a threat on either flank that they need to watch for - especially when opponents kick the footy to them as if you make a point of not kicking to Mansour, you're kicking to DWZ or Matt Moylan.
James Fisher-Harris: Many people have tried to label players the next Sonny Bill Williams, but I reckon I've nailed it here as there's no player in the NRL who reminds me more of SBW than Fisher-Harris, who also operates on the right edge. Fisher-Harris has the size, athletic ability, skill and physicality that allows him to cause all sorts of damage on the edges and against the Roosters, he rolled through 10 carries for 100m in his best game running the footy.
Sitaleki Akauola/Moses Leota: Penrith needed some power through their middle with Regan Campbell-Gillard out injured and they've enjoyed some great work from Akauola through the middle along with Leota who has been given more and more of a run. Leota started and simply did a job for his team while Akauola came on for 20 minutes and rolled through 6 carries for 69m, adding some serious oomph to the Panthers. Both stood up against a strong Roosters pack.
Siosiua Taukeiaho/Isaac Liu: Two of the Roosters better forwards in recent weeks have been Taukeiaho and Liu, with Liu starting to show a similar level of mobility and footwork to Taukeiaho. Both play through the middle and enjoyed similar game time against Penrith with Liu playing 46mins, Taukeiaho 44mins and they both had over 10 carries (11 vs 14) for over 100m (113m vs 133m).
Stocks Down
Alex Glenn: With Brisbane's Origin folk back in action, Glenn was relegated to the bench and only saw 27 minutes of action after spending much of the season filling holes in the starting line up. He still offered some impact off the bench, but Glenn is clearly the victim of Sam Thaiday playing 80 minutes and Matt Gillett playing 72 minutes - remember that Thaiday was playing through the middle for much of last season allowing Glenn to settle into an edge forward role.
Agnatius Paasi: Last week Paasi was everywhere in the win over the Sharks and despite taking 7 carries for 72 minutes, he's capable of so much more and the Titans benefit greatly when he's at his best. This could have been because he only played 37 minutes and I reckon that Paasi's minutes will increase back to above 40mins as the season reaches a climax.
Leivaha Pulu: Same deal for Pulu as he only played 19 minutes and as the Warriors ran the Titans forwards around and pouncing on their fatigue, I'm wondering if this was a pre-conceived idea from coach Neil Henry. Like Paasi, Pulu usually gets through more game time and has a big influence on the Titans forward pack.