Kiwi NRL Stocks Round 21
Baby dreads
Stocks Up
Isaac Liu: The lack of one kiwi in Jared Waerea-Hargreaves provides opportunity for Liu to start and Liu snapped it up with open arms, playing as he has done for a week or two now. In 54 minutes, he had 13 carries for 115m and there's no fluff to Liu's game, there's just solid contributions through the middle of the field and Liu offers a bit of variety to the Chooks' pack which has a fair amount of power in it.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall: Much of this came at the expense of Alex Glenn, with SKD making a staggering 12 tackle busts in his 14 carries. SKD almost had more tackle busts than his 13 tackles made, throw in 2 offloads, a line break, a try and a try assist as well and it's just another week for Inspector Gadget.
Sam Perrett: The kiwi wing stocks are super healthy and two OG's went up against each other in Bulldogs vs Dragons. One was Sam Perrett, who had 20 carries for 149m with 2 tackle busts and a line break.
Jason Nightingale: The other was Nightingale, who had 19 carries for 156m with 6 tackle busts and an offload. Nightingale grabbed the points here in the individual battle while Perrett and the Doggies took the win in the game.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner: Greg Eastwood's injury was Faitala-Mariner's benefit as RFM got an extended stint on the field, playing 45 minutes with plenty of impact. RFM finished with 6 carries for 58m and 3 tackle busts and Eastwood's hamstring injury has RFM starting on the edge this week; keep in mind that RFM is starting ahead of Tony Williams which means that RFM must be doing something right.
Ben Matulino: There are always a few Warriors who could feature here, especially when they win but as I try to narrow it down to just one or two, I tend to find myself settling on Ben Matulino more often than not. This is simply because Matulino has been consistently rolling through strong game after strong game and against Penrith, he played 58 minutes with 19 carries for 156m.
Albert Vete: Numbers from Warriors vs Penrith are slightly inflated thanks to the 10 minutes of golden point, but I can't overlook the return of Vete. In only 38 minutes, Vete had 16 carries and 147m, 2 tackle busts and the most offloads of any Warriors player with 4. Vete has quickly found his niche in this Warriors team, starting at prop to lay a platform from which Matulino can benefit from and Vete's offloading ability along with his hard and direct running is making him a key figure already.
Suaia Matagi: Another strong game from Matagi, who like Vete only played 38 minutes but took on plenty of carries and simply did a job for his team through the middle. Matagi had 13 carries for 115m with 2 tackle busts and he's adding some serious power to Penrith's forward pack.
Josh Aloiai: I noted last week that we are starting to see Aloiai look at home in the NRL after establishing himself on the edge for the Tigers and in their win over Parramatta, Aloiai again showed that he's steadily building himself into a decent NRL edge forward. In 53 minutes, Aloiai had 11 carries and 109m, with a try assist, a tackle bust, an offload and a line break as he showcased his all-round game.
Jesse Bromwich vs Jason Taumalolo: Two of the best forwards in the NRL, who are also Kiwis staples went to battle up in Townsville and with Melbourne grabbing the win, Bromwich emerged victorious in the team and individual contest. Both Taumalolo and Bromwich played similar minutes with Taumalolo playing a few more (59 vs 55), but it was Bromwich's 20 carries for 168m that put Taumalolo's 12 carries for 113m in the shade.
Interestingly, while Bromwich had 8 more carries than Taumalolo, Bromwich only had 2 more touches of the footy (22 vs 20) and this was thanks to the absence of Jonathan Thurston. Without Thurston there, Taumalolo took on far greater responsibility in getting his mits on the footy at first-receiver, shoveling the ball from there to Michael Morgan, Lachlan Coote etc.
This could be why Taumalolo didn't quite put the same metres up as he usually does and I'll be interested to see how he plays this week. Taumalolo is obviously at his best when he's running, without much concern for ball-playing but it's a funky string to his bow. Bromwich won this contest though and he not only put Taumalolo in the shade, he also put Matt Scott and James Tamou in the shade as well; Bromwich had more carries, more touches and more metres than either Taumalolo, Scott or Tamou.
Kevin Proctor: Easily slept on thanks to his lack of big stats, Proctor is consistently playing at a high level for Melbourne and this week we saw him put some big numbers up against the Cowboys. Proctor had 16 carries for 109m, with 2 tackle busts and a line break along with a try and the interesting note here is that over the past few weeks, it has been Tohu Harris who has been a dominant force (13 carries, 93m, 2 tackle busts vs Cowboys). This week it was Proctor and this shows how dangerous Melbourne are as they have an edge forward threat on either side of the field playing 80 minutes ... and they're both Kiwis.
Jordan Rapana & Joseph Tapine: Shout out to these two for their role in a brutal Raiders win over the Rabbitohs. Rapana had 11 caries, 127m, 2 try assists, 5 tackle busts, 1 offload, 3 line breaks and 2 tries while Tapine smashed his way through 9 carries for 93m in only 33 metres. They deserve a shout out but damn, the Rabbitohs sucked.
Martin Taupau: You could say the same about Newcastle as they aren't the strongest team up the guts and Taupau dined out, with 18 carries for 192m, 7 tackle busts and 2 offloads. Taupau and his Manly forwards homies rolled through the Knights with ease, it's important to note once again though that Taupau is back to his best, similar to what he was doing with the Tigers through the middle and that gives Manly plenty of oomph.
David Bhana: A try! Bhana didn't do a whole lot else and I'm kinda confused by Nathan Brown's use of Bhana but hey, he scored a try.
Agnatius Paasi: If I told you that I could give you a forward who last week came off the bench and played 51 minutes, ran for 121m off only 10 carries with a tackle bust and 2 offloads, you'd be wise to snap that bloke up. This is what Paasi did against Cronulla and after the solid work of the starting props, Paasi comes on late in the second half and changes how the Titans play with brutal carries and a splash of razzle dazzle. Paasi has been doing this all season and he's an example of how coming off the bench isn't a negative as it can give your team a huge boost and you can still be crucial to your team's success, off the bench.
Stocks Down
Alex Glenn: After being named to start as an edge forward, Glenn had to slide out to left centre with Tom Opacic moving to the wing to fill in for Lachlan Maranta. Glenn has had to do this a lot during Brisbane's mid-season slump and despite some strong work with the footy, Glenn missed 5 tackles and apparently had 3 ineffective tackles as well. I just want to see Glenn settle back into an edge forward role where he's at his best.
Taane Milne: Another tricky one, like Glenn is Milne who has also looked slick with the footy for the Dragons and gives them a bit of strike-power out on the edge but he had a rough night without the footy against the Bulldogs. Milne had plenty of traffic thrown his way as he made 6 more tackles than Euan Aitken on the other edge, but Milne missed 4 tackles with Josh Morris dining out. Milne's still finding his feet in the NRL so this is all good, as long as he builds from this.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak: With Josh Mansour in immense form on the other flank, DWZ is being put in the shade and I'm not sure if we are seeing DWZ take a back seat or if coach Anthony Griffin just wants Mansour involved more. DWZ had 10 carries for 64m with 2 tackle busts which is nothing close to what he usually dishes up and when you compare it to Mansour's 22 carries, 228m, 9 tackle busts and 2 line breaks ... well there's no comparison.
Jason Taumalolo: See above.