IS GARETH ELLIS RIPPING UP THE NRL?

According to numerous feckwitts Gareth Ellis is ripping it up big style in the NRL for the Wests Tigers. And the feckwitted propaganda doesn't stop there either. There's even a few Aussie no-mark feckwitt journos who have also got in on the act proclaiming Ellis is like "Pommy Granite", who has played 80 minutes for his third consecutive match and he's in "the NRL's top five tacklers" despite suggestions he wouldn't be able to handle the Australian conditions. The only truth in all that is that Ellis has indeed played the full 80 minutes in three consecutive NRL games.

In my search for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I checked out the official player stats on the NRL website and discovered that Ellis's tackle stats thus far are 38 tackles against the Raiders in Round 1, 27 tackles against the Cowboys in Round 2 and 21 tackles against the Roosters in Round 3, producing a grand total of 86 tackles over the three NRL games he's played in. Do 86 tackles correspond to Ellis being in the top five tacklers in the NRL thus far? The answer is NO! Here is the list of the Top 25 tacklers in the NRL up to, and including NRL Round 3:

1. Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels) - 154
2. David Stagg (Bulldogs) - 140
3. Dallas Johnson (Storm) - 140
4. Cameron Smith (Storm) - 121
5. Nathan Friend (Titans) - 120
6. Luke Douglas (Sharks) - 114
7. Sam Thaiday (Broncos) - 107
8. Matthew Keating (Eels) - 107
9. Nathan Smith (Panthers) - 106
10. Feleti Mateo (Eels) - 105
11. Anthony Tupou (Sharks) - 104
12. Glenn Stewart (Sea Eagles) - 104
13. Dean Young (Dragons) - 96
14. Ian Henderson (Warriors) - 96
15. Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters) - 94
16. Jeremy Smith (Dragons) - 94
17. Trent Waterhouse (Panthers) - 94
18. Robbie Farah (Tigers) - 93
19. Ben Hannant (Bulldogs) - 92
20. Isaac De Gois (Knights) - 92
21. Matt Prior (Dragons) - 92
22. Ashley Harrison (Titans) - 90
23. Anthony Laffranchi (Titans) - 89
24. Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs) - 89
25. Matt Hilder (Knights) - 87

So Ellis doesn't even make the Top 25 tacklers in the NRL so far and resides outside of that select group. Nor does he make the Top 25 in terms of hit-ups or metres gained either.

None of this is an attempt to rubbish Gareth Ellis's contributions in the NRL for the Tigers because in my opinion, he's doing about as well as can be expected at such an early stage in his career down under. His future looks promising and I'm confident he will go from strength to strength in the NRL and make a bloody good fist of it.

However, some people (mainly feckwitts of course) need to gain a sense of perspective. In the wake of England's finest players disastrous World Cup followed by Leeds Rhinos being dismantled on every level in the WCC by Manly, there's a desperation to cling on to any news that places Super League and Super League players in a positive light. It just happens to go without saying that such desperation often beds in nicely with feckwittery and talking complete and utter bollox.

In my most humble and thoroughly researched opinion of course ;-)

PS: 38 tackles in Round 1, 27 tackles in Round 2 and 21 tackles in Round 3. I hope that isn't a sign of a downward trend in workrate on Ellis's part, though I'm sure he will appreciate just how tough it is backing up week in, week out in the NRL.

PPS: Oh, and Gareth, quit taking the bait from gobshite tosspot sledgers like Willie Mason. 21 tackles this weekend suggests you were spending way too much time chasing him around the pitch. Just concentrate on doing the job you're paid to do. TIA.