Before the charts this week, I wanted to clear up the “Team Plays” column based on some feedback from Twitter. The “Team Plays” column is the total plays for a particular team, and not the minute adjusted number of plays a player was on the field for. The adjustment for minutes played is made in the Run % calculation.
I’ve left the “Team Plays” unadjusted get an idea of how many opportunities to run the ball. Generally, NRL games have around 300 play the balls and about 150 per team. If you’re seeing a team with more than that number of plays, then they’re either dominating possession or playing in a low scoring game where the ball is in play more often.
If you’re new to the site and want to learn more about Run %, you can check out this post in the articles section.
Here’s the NRL Round 10 all minutes chart for Run %
Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona was outstanding for his club on the weekend, and his 16 runs in 40 minutes resulted in 20.8% Run % for that game. It’s not usual for someone playing 40 minutes or more to be top spot overall, highlighting the impactful game Asofa-Solomona played against the Titans. Mark Nicolls from Souths and Sauaso Sue weren’t far behind him as the only other players to top 20% this round, but both played significantly fewer minutes.
Asofa-Solomona completed the double this week, topping the all minutes and 40+ minute chart for Run %. Reagan Campbell-Gillard is worth noting from this chart, playing the full 80 minutes in the front row, and running the ball 28 times at a rate of 13.15%.
Matt Ikuvalu placing eighth is unheard of for a winger, completing 22 runs in 80 minutes for a Run % of 15.38%. That is nearly double than the season average of 8.00% for wingers. The next closed back was his teammate James Tedesco, with a Run % of 11.89%.
Finally, the season Run % chart is still led by Andrew Fifita, although his lead is down to just 0.04% to Asofa-Solomona. We then drop a full 2% to Francis Molo who sits third with a rate of 16.02%. This is really a two-horse race at this rate and but Fifita’s knees will limit his performances whilst only injury would stop Asofa-Solomona from taking the crown.
Tino Faasuamaleauai will be exciting Titans fans with his performances this year, running the ball at an exceptional rate of 14.71%for a young forward.
