LAST-DITCH DRAMA
PALM Beach Currumbin have edged closer to stamping their claim as the most dominant Gold Coast schoolboy rugby league team.
PBC overcame a 14-0 deficit to triumph over arch rivals Keebra Park 22-18 in a Langer Cup thriller decided in the final play.
Both schools have eight Langer Cups to their name and PBC’s win puts them closer to claiming a decisive ninth.
ASK Gold Coast Titans prop Jarrod Wallace to name the hardest-working forwards in the NRL and the names rattle off rapid-fire.
Jake Trbojevic, Fonua Blake and Josh Papalii are his first guesses but, according to advanced statistics calculated by the Rugby League Eye Test, they’re all incorrect.
“Involvement rate” is a new statistic measuring the percentage of a team’s runs and tackles that each player takes while on the field. Ahead of last week’s game against the Sharks two Gold Coast Titans sat atop the statistic across all positions in the NRL.
At No.1 was prop Jaimin Jolliffe, the Titans rookie whose industrious play saw him rise from a train-andtrial pre-season contract to a bona fide NRL starter.
Of the Titans 3967 runs and tackles to date with Jolliffe on the field, the former Newtown Jet was involved in 412 for a season involvement rate of 22.87 per cent, the best in rugby league.
At No.2, responsible for 22.6 per cent of 3262 plays, was Jarrod Wallace – one name the humble 29-year-old would never have guessed.
“Am I really?” the surprised Titan asked.
“That is a surprise. I just do my job. I don’t overplay my hand or do more than I’m capable of but it’s pleasing to know that I’m doing something right.”
Wallace’s relentless play has been a key factor in the
Titans’ improved staying power under coach Justin Holbrook.
On a personal level, Wallace has tightened up his discipline considerably since ending the 2017 season as the Titans’ most penalised player.
A shoulder injury to Jai Arrow has opened the door to a return to the starting team alongside Jolliffe and Moeaki Fotuaika, who fills in at lock.
Wallace said the new pack combination would bring stability ahead of a big clash with Canberra, and Origin prop
Josh Papalii, on the horizon.
“It should give us more go forward and direction because me and Jimmy run a very straight line,” Wallace said.
“With our structure we really have three middles who share the workload together, we don’t have one guy to do one thing, we’re all on the same page and running the same system.”
Interchange prop Sam Lisone sits 13th on the NRL “involvement rate” ladder after Round 14.