Thompson Finding His Way Again in the Pack

[Archie]

Stats Insider - Thompson finding his groove

Canberra’s re-deployment of Joel Thompson into a backrower after a couple of seasons in the centres is starting to bear fruit, after the 23 year old forward had his best game of the year against the Eels.



Thompson scored two ‘johnny on the spot’ tries but it was his 74 minutes in the middle of the park that impressed. By the end of the day he had run the ball 14 times for 107 metres with a tackle break, an offload and 34 tackles.

While Bronson Harrison returned from injury from the bench, it appears only the arm injury to Josh Papalii will be Harrison’s or Joe PIcker’s ticket into the starting team, especially given Thompson’s recent form.
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Here are a few more stats coming out of Canberra’s 40-34 victory over Parramatta on Sunday.

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It was an absolute try-fest at Canberra Stadium on Sunday. But the 74 total points and 13 tries (7 to Canberra and 6 to Parramatta) in total were scored primarily in the latter stages of the game. Canberra led 24-6 with approximately 25 minutes to play and in the final 8 minutes a total of 20 points were scored.
The carnage from the 57th minute onwards: PAR Try (57min), PAR Try (62min), CAN Try (65min), CAN Try (68min), PAR Try (73min), PAR Try (75min), PAR Try (77min), CAN Try (79min).

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Josh Dugan did everything he could to reclaim his Origin spot with a standout display at the back. Dugan was just about the best player on the park and finished the day with 2 try assists, a line break, a line break assist, 4 tackle breaks, 12 runs for 139 metes, 4 kicks for 138 metres and he made 6 tackles including at least one try saver.
But NSW’s loss is Canberra’s gain.

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David Shillington continued to put his best foot forward to regain his Origin jersey with a 64 minute performance in the front row. Shillington had his second highest tackle count of the season with 30 and ran the ball 17 times for 139 metres. He appears to be locked in a tight race for a spot in the Queensland team but his form and Australian jumper from the mid-year test certainly help his chances.
Shillington’s front row partners - Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Dane Tilse also did their job against Parramatta. Learoyd-Lahrs had 14 runs for 131 metres and 18 tackles in just 38 minutes, while Tilse had 12 runs for 109 metres with 16 tackles in 45 minutes.

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Jarrod Croker pulled himself back to the top of the NRL point scoring charts with a 12 point haul from a near perfect day with the boot. In fact it wasn’t until Croker attempted to convert Jack Wighton’s runaway match sealing try in the 79th minute that Croker miscued a shot.
Croker now has 82 points on the season and he also set up Reece Robinson for a try with a nice offload in the first half.

Next Up
In Round 11, the Canberra Raiders have the bye, but are back in action on Friday May 25 when they travel to ANZ Stadium to take on South Sydney in Round 12.

Source: Raiders