Brits Down Under: Hodgson back to his best, Burgess and the Rabbitohs power through Brisbane and New South Wales cup duo shine
We have taken a look at the performances and stats of the NRL’s British contingent following round 15.
Herbie Farnworth
The Broncos poor form continued over the weekend as a 46-0 loss to the Rabbitohs saw them slide right into last place on the ladder and in danger of being condemned to another wooden spoon. Despite all their issues, Farnworth continues to be one of their more consistent and positive performers with his ability to break tackles and his nifty footwork helping him rack up metres and push his team forward to create opportunities. The 21-year-old had another 100 metre plus game against Souths with 103 on top of five tackle busts to take his season tallies to 1,552 and 32 for the season.
Elliott Whitehead
The Raiders were faced with another second half fade out as Ricky Stuart’s men gave up another lead to lose to the Dragons at the weekend. It has been a tumultuous season thus far for the green machine as they have made a habit out of letting wins slip from their grasp and they now find themselves in a battle to make the NRL Finals in 10th spot. Like Farnworth for Brisbane though, Whitehead as he so often is, has probably been one of Canberra’s more influential players this year and that was evident even in defeat to St. George Illawarra. The 31-year-old had 35 metres in total but his ball playing, and dynamism helped him notch a try assist and two tackle busts as well as being his regular self defensively with 30 tackles in total. Throughout the season, he now has the second most try assists (5) and the most tackles (413) all by a Raiders player.
Dom Young
The 19-year-old was given another chance to impress as he featured for Newcastle for the second straight week after being called up from the reserve side in the New South Wales Cup. In the win over the Warriors, Young put in another solid effort and showed once again exactly what he can bring to the table with his speed, power, and sheer size difficult to deal with out on the wing. In the end, he finished with 82 run metres, 25 post contact metres and two tackle busts.
Josh Hodgson
As the Raiders struggle for consistency, Hodgson undoubtedly keeps doing his best to create chances going forward. The 31-year-old has struggled for form himself since returning from an ACL injury earlier in the season but again he proved how important he can be to this side as he looked back to his best despite the loss to the Dragons. The dynamic dummy-half’s game management proved to be big asset in the first half helping his side create a lead after securing a try assist whilst setting the tempo for his forwards. Despite missing a few games this year, Hodgson now leads all Canberra players in try assists with seven whilst continuing to climb up his side’s tackle charts after making 46 against St. George Illawarra to sit with the third most at 361.
Tom Burgess
The 28-year-old was one of several Rabbitoh’s forwards who were able to power through the Brisbane defence to help give their side a big victory last Thursday and further cement a place inside the top four. The barnstorming prop as he so often does showed how difficult an entity he is to stop with 154 metres and 62 post contact metres to his name against the Broncos. Those figures see him remain as South’s top metre and post contact metre maker with 1,808 and 758 retrospectively.
Ryan Sutton
The 26-year-old came off the bench in the loss against the Dragons and showed once more how difficult he can be to handle when he was the ball in his hand. It may not have been a huge game productivity wise but with 88 metres, 33 post contact and a try assist, it still goes show how impactful he can be when going forward. The talented back rower also put in plenty of effort on the defensive side of the ball with 29 tackles all in all. Overall, Sutton has the fourth most metres (1,456) whilst also having the second most tackles (390) all by a Canberra player.
Bailey Hodgson
The 18-year-old keeps impressing for Newcastle in the New South Wales Cup as he was back in the starting line-up in the Knights 14-14 draw against Western Suburbs Magpies. The young and talented fullback played the full 80 minutes and further showcased his ability as an elusive ball carrier with 17 carries, 158 metres, 42 post contact metres, five tackle busts and two offloads.
Harry Rushton
After spending plenty of time in the back row, Rushton was moved into the front row this time round for Canberra’s game against St. George Illawarra in the New South Wales Cup. The switch in positions certainly did not do anything to affect the 19-year-old’s performance as he powered his way to 148 metres and 63 post contact metres alongside two tackle breaks in the 14-10 loss to the Dragons.
Luke Thompson
It was a much more reserved display from what we have been used to seeing from the 26-year-old in Canterbury’s loss to Parramatta. The former Saints man started in the front-row but was not able to put up another 100-metre effort this time with 66 in total. However, his toughness and work rate in defence was on show as he put in plenty of effort despite defeat to make 35 tackles altogether.
