NRL Dream Team Top Performers – Round 01/11

For the next 26 weeks of the NRL Dream Team Competition, I’ll be reviewing the rounds top performers.  To make it in this list each week a player must have a season average of 45 or more and score 50 points or more in the review round.  Mid season, I’ll review the top performers in all the key positions using a different criteria for each position.

There were mixed results across the board in round 1, a few players ventured into the 40’s but only eight broke into the 50’s.  Some high priced stars were disappointing – Corey Parker, Nathan Hindmarsh and Paul Gallen and on the other side of the coin Ashley Harrison (62) and Aiden Tolman (60) were exceptional – the only players in the round to break 60 and for Ashley Harrison, the only Titan to break 40. 

Johnathan Thurston returned to Dream Team form; scoring 55 points and no doubt will make the Cowboys faithful very happy.  It was a case of what could have been though – JT loosing 16 points from mistakes, the worst from the Top Performers. 

King in luck over Warriors tackle

Manly co-captain Jason King has escaped a charge for a high shot on Warriors forward Micheal Luck which sparked a brawl and incensed the crowd during Saturday night’s NRL trial match in Auckland.

Luck was assisted from the field after the brutal tackle, which local media said created a “powder keg atmosphere” at North Harbour Stadium, where a crowd of around 15,000 turned out to see the 14-12 win to the Sea Eagles.

The NRL match review committee laid no charges on Monday, conceding the poor quality of video footage available from trial matches can be a factor in their decisions during the pre-season.

“As is the case with trial matches, the lack and quality of footage available to the match review committee can make determining the extent of any incident somewhat difficult, particularly when analysing the point of contact,” a statement from the league said.

Warriors out of Luck

Micheal Luck’s National Rugby League (NRL) season appears over after he was stretchered from the in-goal at Brookvale Oval with a gaping wound above his left knee last night. The inspirational New Zealand Warriors lock was taken by ambulance to an operating theatre at Royal North Shore Hospital so the 18cm-wide gash, which left flesh and muscle exposed, could be cleaned and sewn up. Luck collapsed behind the tryline after he was accidentally raked by the boot of Manly second rower Anthony Watmough in the 68th minute of the Sea Eagles 19-16 victory. The Sea Eagles enforcer did not escape unscathed from the collision either, he limped off after twisting an ankle. Luck will not be available for the Warriors match against the Brisbane Broncos in Auckland on Friday night, even if he avoids infection.

DT Performers – The Best of the 2nd Rowers

Now for a look at the 2^nd Row Forwards, the work horses in the Dream Team competition.  To make it to this list the players must be currently playing and have a season average of 40 or better.  The stats speak for themselves but I will select a couple and let you know if their current price and form represents good value.

The bench mark score I have used for the second rowers is 50 or better for last two columns, that’s pretty much what we are all looking for from this position.  

	GMS	Ave	Pts	TR  GO	MG	TA	KM	Oth	Lost Pts	>= 50	% >= 50
Parker	16	57.50	920	120	224	580	3	80	-87	15	93.75%
Stagg	19	53.05	1008	0	123	869	1	60	-45	13	68.42%
Hindmarsh	18	52.39	943	4	152	791	0	82	-86	10	55.56%
Gallen	18	51.28	923	8	297	624	2	100	-108	11	61.11%
Laffranchi	18	46.11	830	28	185	637	0	80	-100	5	27.78%
Fulton	12	46.08	553	24	71	455	3	56	-56	6	50.00%
Luck	16	44.94	719	0	67	680	0	22	-50	4	25.00%
O’Donnell	11	42.55	468	16	130	348	1	48	-75	3	27.27%
Heighington	19	41.79	794	16	209	589	0	70	-90	2	10.53%
Lowe	18	41.06	739	4	163	617	3	34	-82	3	16.67%
Sutton	19	40.47	769	12	128	364	216	138	-89	2	10.53%
Harrison, A	14	40.21	563	12	116	471	0	18	-54	1	7.14%

In Review – Preparing for the bye rounds – New Zealand Warriors

The NZ Warriors is the other team to share the bye in round 14 with the Rooster. After round 7 I reviewed Michael Luck (2RF) @ $278,100.00 (42.70), Aaron Heremaia (HOK/Half) @ $174,600.00 (31.85) and Sam RAPIRA (FRF) @ $257,300.00 (40.30).  I’ll review those players again but there isn’t much else worth looking at across the ditch. 

 Michael Luck (2RF) @ $278,100.00, averaging 42.70.  Luck has played 5 games since round 7 with scores of 41, 39, 51, 38 and 38 and has now lost $57,300.00 from his starting price.  The good things are he has made 406 tackles in 10 games and only lost 34 in mistakes, 9 in the last 4 games.  The bad things are tackling is about all he does with only 56 points coming from two other areas.  If he doesn’t get 46 in his next game he will drop in value again.   There is nothing more I can add.

Warriors welcome three back to the fold

The New Zealand Warriors welcome back three key players for Sunday’s NRL match against the St George Illawarra but have been set back by injury again, with halfback Brett Seymour ruled out for a month. While loose forward Micheal Luck, half James Maloney and winger Manu Vatuvei return – the latter for his 100th NRL match – the Warriors will be missing Seymour for the match in Auckland after he was diagnosed with a leg fracture. Only three games into a comeback from a broken thumb, Seymour now faces four weeks on the sideline after scans revealed he has a small fracture at the top of the fibula in his left leg. Maloney will take Seymour’s spot at halfback while Isaac John will make his first NRL appearance of the year, at five-eighth.

Warriors out of Luck and Maloney

Warriors playmaker James Maloney has been ruled out of tomorrow night’s NRL match against the Wests Tigers. Maloney was forced off the field against the Rabbitohs last Sunday with a back injury. Joel Moon replaces Maloney at standoff, while Ian Henderson has been named at lock, following the withdrawal of Micheal Luck because of an infected hand. Sione Lousi has been promoted to the interchange bench, while Mike Afioga is travelling as the side’s 18th man.

Part 4 – Preparing for the bye rounds – The Warriors

The Warriors have their first bye in round 9 along with 7 other clubs.  Apart from the Raiders, the rest of the teams from the round 9 bye have their second bye in either round 14 or 17, sharing the bye round with 5 other teams.

 The round 15 bye for the Warriors is shared with the Roosters.  If you haven’t got anyone from the Warriors before the round 9 bye you might want to consider picking up one or two to limit the damage of the round 11 and round 14 byes.  The beauty of the Warriors is, while they have test players they are not going to be hit hard with SOO.

Warriors injury update

The Warriors high injury count this season has seen their conditioning staff analyse their approach. Team doctor John Mayhew says they have done plenty of self analysis and found that most of the injuries were just bad luck. The Warriors have, however, finally had some good news. Lewis Brown is fit for selection this weekend after an x-ray cleared him of a fracture in his foot. Michael Luck will also return, Manu Vatuvei is still two weeks away, while Simon Mannering and Brett Seymour will take a week longer. Former captain Steve Price has just resumed running, but is still several weeks away from returning.

Editors Note: So much for my Steve Price theory!

Warriors hope for a change of Michael Luck

The Warriors will hope the likely return of Micheal Luck can help inspire the team after an embarrassing 12-40 NRL loss at home to the Penrith Panthers on Sunday. The Warriors went into the game without Luck, captain Simon Mannering, last year’s captain Steve Price, halfback Brett Seymour and wing Manu Vatuvei, and played like a team lacking leadership, particularly in the forwards. They face a daunting task next week away to defending NRL champions the Storm, and few of the injured players are expected to return. “Micheal Luck will be back, but I don’t know about anyone else at this point,” Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said. A returning Luck would definitely help the Warriors’ defence and provide some solidity which was lacking against the Panthers. Panthers coach Matt Elliott was in no doubt the Warriors would improve with the return of their senior players. “It’s a bigger impact than you think,” he said.