Who’s Hot and Who’s Not?

Form. Arguably the most important intangible thing in rugby league.

We realise that this will sound ridiculous, but give us a team of players playing well rather than big-name players not playing well (Duh!).

For instance, we'd say Anthony Milford is probably a better player than Clint Gutherson. That said, who would you rather lining up for your side this weekend? Gotta be the King!?

Below we take a look at three players who are in red hot form compared to their 2019 selves, and three players who have really struggled.

Players such as Harry Grant and George Williams won't be considered due to having no NRL data to compare to last year.

Who's Hot?

Reagan Campbell-Gillard

Sometimes a change of scenery can rejuvenate a career. Former NSW Prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard is the personification of that statement, having emerged a completely different player since his switch to the Eels.

RCG made the short trip across Western Sydney after a less than stellar season at the Panthers, which saw him fall from a representative prop to a discarded bench option.

So far in 2020 RCG has run for 1481 metres in just nine games, compared to 2471 metres in 23 games in 2019. His average metres per game is up to almost 165 compared to 107 last season.

He's on track to obliterate his 2019 stats based on current form and has once again put his name in Origin contention. Last year we wouldn't have RCG in the top 15 props, right now he's in the top five or six.

RCG is well on track for a career-best season in the blue and gold. That does not bode well for opposition middles for club, state and possibly even country. What a massive turn around!

Angus Chrichton

Angus Crichton's signature in 2019 was a massive one for the defending premiers. Although come Grand Final time he was a valuable member of the Tri-colours set up, it's fair to say that his start to the 2019 season was less than stellar.

He was relegated to a bench position and was overlooked for Origin. Fast forward to round 10 in the 2020 season and Crichton is by far the best option for the Blues on that right hand side.

He already has five breaks after eight games, compared to eight in last season's 26 appearances. He already has four tries to last season's two, and has raised his average running metres by 25.

Chrichton's confidence is sky high right now in a side looking for a three-peat. He is just six offloads shy of last year's tally of 19, and is tracking well to set new records in almost all positive stats.

The Chooks are crowing right now and have found a new red hot weapon in the form of their right wide-running second rower. Yikes.

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Apisai Koroisau

The Panthers number nine may very well be the hottest form holder in the game right name compared to his 2019 self. He has gone from Manly's second choice to a genuine shout for Origin honours at the end of the season.

Last season Api was hardly used by Manly and ultimately let go, which worked out extremely well for both the player and the Panthers.

Koroisau has three try assists already in 2020, compared to one across 22 games in 2019. His average run metres are up over 30 metres per game.

Simply put, Api is a far more dangerous player since returning to the Panthers. He's playing with confidence and dare I say swagger, and it's really fun to watch.

Cook is still the frontrunner for the Origin number nine, however you'd find few would disagree that the Panthers nine is well ahead right now if it was picked purely on form.
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Who's Not

Blake Ferguson

The Eels are absolutely flying right now but one of their stars from 2019 has failed to hit his straps just yet. That player is Origin hero Blake Ferguson.

We feel a little guilty placing Fergo on the list here as he's not having a bad season per se, but his form is well down. The highlight here is that we're now nine rounds in and are yet to see a Blake Ferguson try.

You'd have to go back to his early Cronulla days for a nine game stretch without a four pointer for the try scoring freak, surely!? He has scored 10 tries or more in every season he's played since 2011. With 0 from 9 games, there's a very real chance that streak may be broken.

He also has 0 try assists and just the one line break. His average running metres are up on last year but they don't have the same impact.

There's still plenty of time for Ferguson to move, quickly up the try scoring charts, but right now there's no way he can be assured of retaining his Origin spot.

Wade Graham

This one may be a little hard to justify being that Graham only played 10 games last season after returning from a serious ACL injury, but the Sharks skipper is one of the most out of form players in the competition right now.

He has missed a whopping 38 tackles, with six directly leading to tries. His running metres are down to just 70 per game, from over 100 last year.

We're not convinced that Wade is fully fit. The Sharks are obviously missing the experience of Prior and Gallen and perhaps Graham is being too heavily relied on both on and off the park.

He had that one half of footy against the Tigers where he was, by far, the best player on the park, but nothing of note since.

We fully expect one of the game's elite left sided players to turn it around, however, it will have to come sooner rather than later if the Sharks are any hope of playing finals in 2020.

Damien Cook

There isn't a more criticised player (from his own fan base) than Damien Cook right now. Souths fans were absolutely salivating when the new rule changes were announced after they were seemingly written for Damien Cook.

Fast forward to round 10 and Cook, although playing well, is a far cry from his 2019 self. After 10 rounds last year Cook was the form player of the competition, the first NSW player picked for Origin and odds on to romp home in the Dally M medal count.

Although his average run metres are slightly up in 2020, those metres are nowhere near as important as they were last season.

He only has two try assists in 2020, a far cry from his 18 in 2019. It's hard to see him finding 16 more on current form.

We think this mainly comes as a result of expectations with the fast ruck, however, Cook after 10 rounds in 2019 was undoubtedly the best hooker in the game. Right now he's nowhere near it.

We fully expect Fergo to score a hatty this week, Wade to lay on three tries and Cook to win Man of the match. Right now though, three of our favourite players to watch are all struggling to match either their 2019 selves or expectations.