#KiwiNRL Stocks: Round Two
If Manu Ma'u wins an NRL Premiership, I'll go crazy.
Stocks Up
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
There's an opening for a Kiwis prop spot in a best-17 and Waerea-Hargreaves is making it known that he's the cuzzy for the job. Injury and consistency are key factors with the Roosters prop so things could change, however 151m off 17 carries and a couple of offloads against the Bulldogs is the sort of performance that we expect from Waerea-Hargreaves when he's at his best.
Jason Taumalolo
Despite a brain-snap, Taumalolo's stocks are still climbing on the back of his second 200m game in two rounds of footy. Taumalolo averaged 10.66m/per-carry across 21 carries, with 3 tackle busts, plus an offload and while Taumalolo has ruined his 200m streak, he's picked up this season exactly as where he left it as the Dally M winner.
Danny Levi
The Newcastle dummy half is quickly shaping as a young kiwi who you've got to keep an eye out for, especially with Issac Luke moving closer to the end of his career. Levi played big minutes in Newcastle's win over Gold Coast and while he only had 4 scoots in 61 minutes, he's stacking up the experience, thriving with greater responsibility. Levi ticks all the basic boxes of a dummy half and he appears to have that starting dummy half spot wrapped up in a Knights team who are building nicely.
Agnatius Paasi
Gold Coast's skillful wrecking ball is easing into the 2017 NRL season, putting up 142m off 14 carries with 2 offloads in 61 minutes of footy. That's exactly what we have come to expect from Paasi and while it's a little frustrating that we are yet to see Paasi given a consistent role, he offers immense value to the Titans as a versatile forward who has a habit of dishing up the same powerful performances regardless of the position. I may have got my wish with Paasi named to start at lock this weekend.
Nathaniel Peteru
Another young kiwi to keep tabs on is Gold Coast's Nathaniel Peteru, who has come off the bench in both the Titans' losses so far. Peteru was solid in round one against the Roosters with 84m from 10 carries in 33 minutes, but against Newcastle he played similar minutes (39mins) and stormed his way to 141m off 15 carries with 3 offloads. It's a sound start to the season for the former Junior Warrior and hopefully we coach Neil Henry show some faith in him despite their results.
Te Maire Martin
Penrith needed their kiwi half to step up this week and while there were 4 errors in his effort against Wests Tigers, Martin also dished up a couple try assists, 3 tackle busts, a line break and was a creative presence for the Panthers. Martin's combo with Nathan Cleary is enticing because Cleary takes more touches (38 vs 24) as the halfback and dictates much of the action, allow Martin to chime in where he sees fit.
Dean Whare
Not a huge game for Whare but he is back playing centre in the NRL - he and Waqa Blake can switch between centre and wing - which is good enough for me. This is a huge year for Whare as he looks to nail down a Kiwis centre spot for the World Cup and 4 tackle busts plus 2 line breaks signals Whare's return as a slick NRL outside back.
Manu Ma'u
Parrmatta's polish out wide is what draws people in to watch their games and they've got some of the slickest backs in the competition, however Semi Radradra, Bevan French, Michael Jennings and Corey Norman will be the first to tell you how important Ma'u is to their success. Ma'u put up freakish numbers last season and the fact that such a powerful player can roll through 80 minutes easily is impressive enough, let alone adding 18 carries for 152m and 2 offloads. Joel Thompson was the only other forward to play 80 minutes and he managed 42m off 6 carries with 3 tackle busts which should put some context around how impressive Ma'u was and is.
Stocks Down
Tuimoala Lolohea
Gifted an opportunity for big minutes at fullback, Lolohea reminded us all why he's probably not a long-term option at fullback against Melbourne Storm. This was heightened by Lolohea being put in direct competition with Cameron Munster and the Storm fullback was every where, showing off classy touches and dynamic running when Melbourne required it. The Warriors didn't quite get the same contributions from Lolohea, who not only lacked the play-making polish of Munster or Tuivasa-Sheck, he was no where to be seen as his team looked for some attacking impetus.
Shaun Johnson
Life is tough for the Kiwis halfback, playing behind a forward pack that either doesn't earn quick play-the-balls or leaves Johnson in field position where he's got limited options with his boot. When he did kick, he didn't do that well and like Lolohea facing off against Munster, Johnson was put in the shade by Cooper Cronk's kicking game which bordered on perfection. Johnson will be hoping that the return of Tuivasa-Sheck and more experience for Ata Hingano will ease the pressure on his shoulders.
Russell Packer
Last week Packer was everything Dragons fans want him to be and they won. This week Packer ran for 75m off 11 carries in 53 minutes and made 3 errors in the process, hence it's no surprise that the Dragons lost to Parramatta. The Dragons need a prop to stand up and dominate the middle of the field every week, which is a tremendous opportunity for Packer but he's inconsistent at the moment, reflecting the Dragons.
Jason Nightingale
When Gypsy isn't running over 100m off plenty of carries, something's up. Nightingale notched a try assist, a tackle bust and an offload but the Dragons need Nightingale's work rate with the footy, especially when they aren't getting any grunt from their forward pack; 58m off 9 carries ain't what Nightingale is about.