2018 in review - Joey Leilua

[greeneyed]

2018 in review - Joey Leilua



This is the fourth instalment of 2018 in review. As usual, now the Raiders' season is done, we are reviewing all 25 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade in 2018. So far, we've looked at Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric and Jarrod Croker.

Joey Leilua was named Dally M Centre of the Year in 2016. He became part of "Leipana" - with Jordan Rapana - the most lethal centre-wing combination in the NRL. They made more metres, more tackle breaks, more line breaks and scored more tries than any other pairing. But Leilua's form slid in 2017... and while 2018 saw some improvements in key areas, there were still some rocks amongst the diamonds.

There is no doubt that Leilua is a very damaging attacking player. He scored 14 tries, up on the 10 he scored in 2017. That put him amongst the top 10 try scorers in the NRL and equal second amongst NRL centres. He was also the top try scorer at the Raiders. However, his try assists and try contributions were down, with his total try involvements falling from 23 to 17. His running metres per match (97) were up slightly, but again well off the benchmark amongst his centre peers. He did make just as many tackle breaks in 2018 as in 2017. He ranked inside the top 15 players in the NRL on that score - and was second only to Latrell Mitchell amongst NRL centres.

Leilua played a more controlled style this season. So while he was perhaps not as spectacular as he can be, he was probably more effective as a result. His error count fell (21 in 2018, compared with 26 in 2017 and 31 in 2016) and his discipline improved a little (16 penalties conceded in 2018, compared with 19 in 2017). His error rate per match (just under one per game) was well down the list of NRL centres. And after finishing top 10 in the league for penalties conceded last year, he was nowhere near the top 10 this year, finishing well behind the most penalised player in the NRL (Andrew Fifita at 35). Despite playing a more controlled style, he actually produced more offloads (39, compared with 29 in 2017).

Defence continued to be an issue for Leilua, with his missed tackles rising slightly and his tackle efficiency rate falling (78 per cent, compared to 80 per cent in 2017). There were particular communication problems whenever he played alongside Blake Austin, with opposition teams targeting that weak point in the Raiders' line. He finished second behind Austin for total try causes this season at the Raiders, and was amongst the top 15 players in the NRL for tries conceded. However there's no doubt he looked better in defence when not playing alongside Austin.

I rated Leilua an average of 6.1/10 through the season, but that rating was affected by his early injury in the Round 14 loss to the Panthers (a 0/10). That average is also probably a little harsh given the improvements he's made in his game this year.

Unfortunately, his best performances mostly came in Raiders losses. He was rated as man of the match in Fans' Choice voting in the Round 3 loss to the Warriors. I rated him an "8" in three matches. In the Raiders' first win of the season, the Round 5 victory over the Bulldogs, he produced two tries, 11 runs for 118 metres, four tackle breaks, two line breaks, two offloads and 11 tackles. In the narrow Round 19 loss to the Sharks, he scored two tries, made 14 runs for 155 metres and delivered one try assist, nine tackle breaks, three line breaks, one off load and eight tackles. The only blot on the copy book was four missed tackles. He also took the Fans' Choice man of the match in that game. Finally, in the Round 21 loss to the Panthers, he scored three tries, and produced 11 runs for 108 metres, seven tackle breaks, three line breaks, one off load, nine tackles. That was probably his best performance of the season.







Because Leilua can be "rocks and diamonds" player, he attracts some criticism from some fans. And there's no doubt there are areas where he will be looking to improve further. He was a surprise winner of the Dally M Centre of the Year Award for 2018. And for mine, his form this season was certainly not at the level he showed when he last won that award. But overall, he made a very solid contribution to the Raiders' season.

How did you rate Joey Leilua's 2018? Tell us below.

Joey Leilua's 2018: 6.5/10

2018 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 24
Average minutes: 73
Points: 56
Tries: 14
Try assists: 3
Try contributions: 0
Total try involvements: 17
Total kicks: 5
Kick metres: 32
40/20’s: 0
Total runs: 252
All run metres: 2339
Average metres per carry: 9m
Average metres per game: 97m
Tackle breaks: 84
Offloads: 39
Line breaks: 12
Line break assists: 4
Tackles: 192
Average tackles per game: 8
1 on 1 tackles: 30
Missed tackles: 39
Average missed tackles per game: 1.6
Tackle efficiency: 78 per cent
Try causes: 17
Errors: 21
Penalties conceded: 16

[woppadingo]

I think he's brilliant. With a good 5/8 inside him, I think the defensive issues will improve in 2019.
If he maintains a positive attitude in 2019 he will again he one of my favourites. I dont care what the whingers say.

[edwahu]

6/10

I think he was more solid than previous years, especially for the first two thirds of the comp. He was quieter in attack as we relied on the left side sweep way too much.

Then when Wighton went he was destructive as ever but there were more defensive lapses and errors that crept in, maybe from the extra fatigue and defending next to Williams and Austin at different stages. Still he really needs to get better at this side of the game to justify the kind of deal he would be on.

[Matt]

Id say 6 as well Ed.
Rock and Diamonds has been his go for his career. Errors, penalties and missed tackled have plagued him. This is annoying, because with ball in hand he is probably a Top 3 or 4 centre. He is big, strong and fast, which make him very hard to defend against. He can also do some amazingly brilliant things that are just 'unplayable'.
I hope he can find that composure even more in 2019, and build on his improvements from this season.

[Rick]

Still one of our most destructive players. Had a very disruptive preseason with talks of him being shopped around and being unfit after the World Cup.

Hoping he can turn up for and ready to go for 2019.


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[Sid]

Y’all on here giving the centre of the year less than 7/10! Shaking my damnn head!

[BadnMean]

There was a pretty good picture going around that compared "ill-disciplined, lazy Joey Leilua" to media darling Latrell Mitchell in cold hard stats over various years. Guess who came out looking better?

[Coastalraider]

And he has just been awarded Dally M centre of the year.

[greeneyed]

You can check out the statistics for centres for yourselves in detail: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... ion=centre

The areas where Leilua clearly out performed Mitchell was in runs and running metres, offloads and effective offloads and penalties conceded. Mitchell was overall the stronger player this year in my view. But Leilua was statistically strong in a lot of areas and defence was what let him down.

[BadnMean]

Found 'em

(one is from 2016, makes his origin case look interesting)

[greeneyed]

You need to take defence into account as well however. Try causes - Joey Leilua 17, Latrell Mitchell 5. Missed tackles - Joey Leilua 39, Latrell Mitchell 28. Tackle efficiency - Latrell Mitchell 80 per cent, Joey Leilua 78 per cent.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... rtBy=games

The tackle efficiency stats are pretty average for both, but the try causes... could be the counter point to penalties conceded.

[El_Capitano]

I think all they take into account is dally m votes... #StatsDontMatter #SorryMatt


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[RedRaider]

5/10. Try Involvement 17 = Try causes 17. Missed tackles of 39 does not take into account the number of times he stayed out on his opponent or worse simply followed an opponent without the ball across field, opening up a hole to allow tries. Love the bloke with ball in hand, but his defensive decision making ranges from average to poor. Other than the stats GE used, none of the others give a picture on his defence. It is half the game yet doesn't appear in his rating.

[gangrenous]

I’ll have what Red’s having

[Botman]

BJ isnt a good decision maker but lets try and remember, when Stuart moved Sezer and Austin to opposite sides due to the issues between Austin and Beej... Croker suddenly reverted back to being a very poor defender, and Beej became a solid defender.

If you actually DO want to give the full picture of his game, this is a pretty big part of it. He's not a particularly good defender, but he has proven he can be OK if he's got inside players he trusts.
His issues have been exacerbated by Blake Austin and Sam Williams, who are not NRL standard footballers.

[dubby]

Yep, he's got issues in Def like Croker did years ago.

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[Ruben Daley]

BJ is a awesome and showed this year he can be dependable while still being effective.

Agree with the comments that he’d be a much better defender with a decent half inside him (though I’ll acknowledge he’ll never be a freat defender).

He did a fantastic job this year in a side playing badly while being hugely frustrated. Imagine what he could do in a well-led side in which he gets good regular ball and has confidence in his inside defender.

[RedRaider]

BJ isnt a good decision maker but lets try and remember, when Stuart moved Sezer and Austin to opposite sides due to the issues between Austin and Beej... Croker suddenly reverted back to being a very poor defender, and Beej became a solid defender.

If you actually DO want to give the full picture of his game, this is a pretty big part of it. He's not a particularly good defender, but he has proven he can be OK if he's got inside players he trusts.
His issues have been exacerbated by Blake Austin and Sam Williams, who are not NRL standard footballers.

It didn't matter who was to BJ's left he stayed out on his man or followed his opposite across field. He did it even when circumstances meant a backrower was to his immediate left. I can only put it down to him being coached to do it. At some point someone has told BJ to stay on his opposite center, regardless of where the ball is. It was a dumb instruction which opened up plenty of holes in our defensive line all season imo. Communication may be a problem for BJ. As the line moves forward the players should be talking and nominating the bloke with the ball. Fullbacks are vital with this communication, but due to circumstances within his control our No1 missed more than half the season.