Kiwi NRL Stocks Round 23
The Count and Inspectah Gadget
Stocks Up
Martin Taupau: Ka-pow started on the edge but was busy all through the middle of the field against a hefty Bulldogs pack and my fears were quickly eased when Taupau drifted back into the middle when the first round of subs came on. Manly coach Trent Barrett probably wanted a bigger pack to take on the Doggies early in the game, before the more mobile Lewis Brown and Nathan Green entered the arena, it didn't matter too much to Taupau who had 20 carries for 255m and kept the Sea Eagles rolling forward.
Alex Glenn: It's tricky trying to decipher how Glenn fits into a full-strength Brisbane side and at the moment, he's been sent back to the bench where his utility ability is an asset. Glenn hadn't been given too many minutes over the past few weeks but against Parramatta he was given a solid 31 minute stint and gave Brisbane plenty of impact, running for 64m off 6 carries. Also note that Glenn played while Sam Thaiday played 80 minutes and Matt Gillett played 71mins, so Wayne Bennett is getting a wee bit creative in how he uses Glenn.
Manu Ma'u: Named to start in the forwards, Ma'u was a late move to centre as he replaced Brad Takairangi and as he has done all season long, Ma'u handled it with ease. There were 2 missed tackles, which was about par for the Eels and Ma'u rolled through 13 carries for 135m with a try assist as well. Ma'u is a beast in whatever position you put him in.
Kenny Edwards: Stepping in for Ma'u on the Eels' edge was Levin's finest and Edwards responded to getting a start with vigour, as he has done all season. Edwards played 80 minutes and was super busy with 19 carries and 144m, only missing a single tackle against a classy Brisbane edge forward group.
Taane Milne/Jason Nightingale: The Dragons look far more threatening with Milne on one edge and Euan Aitken on the other, with Milne looking the goods since playing consistently in the NRL at right centre. Milne had 16 carries for 140m and tends to always poke his head through the defensive line, looking for an offload and getting quick play-the-balls while Nightingale must be loving life outside Milne. Nightingale put up 18 carries and 148m with a line break and a try assist, which isn't anything new for the great Kiwis winger but having a threat like Milne inside him must be highly beneficial to Nightingale.
Benji Marshalll: We're on Benji watch as doomsday looms and if he's serving up 2 try assists, steering his Dragons to wins over a top-4 team, then you've gotta assume that someone will want him right?
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak: Despite still playing in the shade of Josh Mansour (18 carries, 211m, 2 line breaks, 2 tries), DWZ is definitely back at his hustling best and it's an asset to the Panthers to have Mansour and DWZ on either flank. DWZ also had 2 line breaks and 2 tries, he was chillin' with 14 carries for 161m though which is still a great return for a winger.
Suaia Matagi: With Reagan Campbell-Gillard back for Penrith, Matagi could find himself with slightly less minutes, however Matagi has carved out his own lane in the Panthers forward pack and that could see him maintain a key spot. Matagi started against Newcastle and only played 33 minutes, running for 88m off 8 carries ... that means that in less than a half of footy, Matagi is averaging 11m per-carry. Matagi has been doing these short bursts for a number of weeks now and the dose of power that he offers gives the Panthers a straight-running presence with the ball-playing of Leilani Latu and the footwork of Trent Merrin.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall: The Roosters have found form, with Blake Ferguson going back to fullback and Latrell Mitchell on the wing, giving Kenny-Dowall a funky right edge partner in Mitchell. SKD was at his best against the Cowboys, taking 21 carries for 179m with a line break, try assist and a try for himself. With SKD's ability to make metres with ease and his experience, the SKD x Mitchell combo will be fun to watch over the last few weeks of the season.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: There was an Australian news headline about Waerea-Hargreaves' hopes for a Kiwis jersey and I didn't really know what to make of it as JWH has spent much of this season on the sidelines while the Kiwis have plenty of depth in the forwards. JWH did however flex against the Cowboys, running for 170m off 17 carries in just 48 minutes and he'll need a few more of these performances if he wants a Kiwis Four Nations jersey.
Jason Taumalolo: Even though the Cowboys are struggling, their forward pack and mainly their middle-trio of Matt Scott, James Tamou and Taumalolo definitely can't be blamed for this loss against the Roosters. Taumalolo rolled through another huge game with 189m coming from 17 carries in 47 minutes, which is the same number of carries in similar game time to JWH but Taumalolo made 19 more metres than JWH. That's Taumalolo for ya though.
Joseph Tapine: Another high-impact stint off the bench for Tapine, which has been a low key staple of Canberra's season so far. Tapine only played 36 minutes, but had 7 carries for 79m and he gives the Raiders a nice boost after the likes of Junior Paulo and Shannon Boyd set the tone.
Stocks Down
Ava Seumanufagai: Taking a dip in production this week was Seumanufagai, who was only used for 30 minutes and couldn't quite get through the same impact that he has done recently. Seumanufagai had 7 carries for 63m and missed 2 tackles, which was a reasonably average effort for him personally but the Tigers have a forward pack with plenty of low key firepower and were able to absorb Seumanufagai's dip nicely.
Agnatius Paasi: Also taking a dip was Paasi and this is on the back of a fairly quiet game against the Warriors last week. I'd be interested to get Neil Henry's thoughts on his use of Paasi as he's pegged him back to just 30 minutes, which is either because Paasi isn't quite delivering or because Henry is giving him a little break ahead of the Finals. Paasi missed 4 tackles in those 30 minutes and only ran for 41m off 5 carries; given that Paasi made 27 tackles in 30 minutes he was always likely to miss a fair few.
Shaun Johnson: Trying to pluck one bloke out of that Warriors team who's stocks took a dip is far from easy, I'm going with Johnson though as he missed a game-high 5 tackles against the Rabbitohs down the Warriors right edge. The Rabbitohs didn't need any help as they were clearly eager to stamp their mark on this game and with Greg Inglis and Cody Walker attacking the Warriors right edge, Johnson wasn't quite up to the task.
Neither was Bodene Thompson as he missed 4 tackles and was also far less effective with the footy, running for just 65m off 8 carries in 80 minutes. Hey, while we are at it; David Fusitua missed 3 tackles and Ken Maumalo missed 2. That means that the Warriors right edge (Thompson, Johnson, Fusitua, Maumalo) combined to missed 14 tackles, yikes.
Sosaia Feki: Ugh, a groin injury for Feki at the wrong time of the season. Feki had 11 carries and 157m, boosting around the Dragons from deep in Sharks territory to set up Ben Barba for a try before slipping off the field.
Jesse Bromwich: Melbourne will struggle to win games when they are playing without Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jesse Bromwich is only running for 100m off 12 carries in 53 minutes. Their strong 2016 season has been built on their ability to march down field or at least maintain parity with the opposition forwards, which requires Bromwich to play as the best prop in the NRL. No dramas here as we can't expect him to take 15 carries and 180m every single week, especially as the season comes to a close with the Storm already sealing a top-4 spot. Expect Bromwich to get back to playing 60+ minutes with those 15 carries etc soon enough.