Simon Mannering keeps churning out numbers which continue to amaze. Case in point, his 67 tackles in 83 minutes in the Vodafone Warriors’ cruel 18-19 golden loss to Cronulla last Saturday.
The man himself doesn’t take notice of stats like that and even the major landmarks, like his 250th career appearance this Saturday, don’t register until he’s made aware of them.
So Vodafone Warriors #125 is unable to escape attention from all in sundry once again, just 25 months after he was feted when he played his 200th NRL game and led the Vodafone Warriors for the 100th time.
A special interest then for the statistically-inclined was digging deep.
In his first 199 matches to that point key numbers included 45 tries, 5400 tackles, 2134 runs, 17,326 metres and 191 off loads; per game he averaged 27 tackles, 11 runs and 87 metres.
For most of his 50 matches since and including his 200th, Mannering’s role has changed and so has his output. After mainly being a second rower operating on either edge (and sometimes used in the centres), the arrival of Ryan Hoffman and Bodene Thompson saw Mannering moved to loose forward tasked with generally playing 80 minutes a game in the middle. Tough tackles and tough runs – plenty of both – are de rigueur.
In his last 50 matches his game averages have been up to 12 runs, 112 metres and 41 tackles while he has scored another nine tries to lift his tally to 54 (behind only Manu Vatuvei, Stacey Jones, Francis Meli, Lance Hohaia and Clinton Toopi on the club’s all-time list). Since moving to loose forward last year, he is averaging about 46 tackles a match across 37 matches.
The numbers don’t take into account the huge amount of territory covered each game moving up and back in the defensive line, scrambling to get back into the line after being left on the ground after making a tackle, the metres travelled leading the kick chase. Small wonder the man reaches exhaustion levels every time he plays.
While admirable consistency, an exceptional work rate and astonishing endurance stand out as hallmarks of Mannering’s game then his durability is amazing.
Since establishing himself in the side in 2006 after seven games in his rookie year in 2005, he has played 242 of a possible 258 matches.
Seven of those were in 2010 when he was troubled by a hamstring injury and another five late in 2012 when he had an ankle complaint. Outside those games the only times he has been absent through injury were once in 2013 and once in 2009 plus two games this year after having his mouth gruesomely torn open against Melbourne.
SIMON MANNERING #125 | BY NUMBERS
Matches | 249
Minutes played | 18,924
Hours played | 315
Tries | 54
Line breaks | 55
Tackles | 7446
Average tackles per game | 30
Runs | 2733
Average runs per game | 11
Total metres gained | 22,333
Average metres per game | 90
Total offloads | 255
BUY TICKETS NOW | VODAFONE WARRIORS v GOLD COAST, MOUNT SMART STADIUM, JULY 2 (5.00PM)
