2019 in review - Jack Wighton
Posted: November 11, 2019, 8:27 am
2019 in review - Jack Wighton
This is the sixth instalment of 2019 in review. As usual, now the Raiders' season is over - the best for 25 years - we are reviewing all 26 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade this year. So far, we've looked at Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Joey Leilua and Jordan Rapana.
2018 was not the best of years for Canberra Raiders fullback Jack Wighton. That had nothing to do with how he performed on field, rather off field indiscretions that saw him found guilty of assault and suspended by the NRL for the final 10 weeks of the competition. 2019 saw him turn that right around, successfully making the transition from fullback to five eighth, making his debut for the Blues and the Kangaroos and winning the Clive Churchill Medal, the best on the ground in the Grand Final.
For mine, his best game of the season came in the Grand Final, when I rated him a "9". He scored the Raiders' only try of the game, and produced 10 runs for 97 metres, 31 post contact metres, one line break, six tackle breaks, 17 tackles, 85 per cent tackle efficiency, 253 kicking metres from 13 kicks and one forced line drop out. I rated him an "8" in six games (Rd 7 V Sea Eagles, Rd 8 V Panthers, Rd 9 V Roosters, Rd 11 V Cowboys, Rd 23 V Sea Eagles and the Preliminary Final)... and an average of 6.9/10 during the season. My overall rating of 8/10, reflects his strong contribution to the Green Machine's season.
Wighton finished fourth in Fans' Choice voting, second behind Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad amongst the Raiders' backs. He took Fans' Choice Man of the Match honours in six games (Rd 7 V Sea Eagles, Rd 8 V Panthers, Rd 11 V Cowboys, Rd 14 V Sharks, Rd 23 V Sea Eagles and the Grand Final).
Wighton made 26 appearances in green in 2019. The only match he missed was due to State of Origin duty. He ranked third at the club in the try scoring stakes (9), and equal third amongst regular NRL five eighths. No player at the Raiders produced more try involvements (25) and he was second only to Josh Hodgson for try assists (10). He also delivered 13 line break assists. He was outside the top 10 NRL five eighths for try assists and line break assists - but his running game was a real strength. He ranked first amongst the regular NRL five eighths for total running metres and running metres per match. He was second at the Raiders for total tackle breaks (72) and second amongst regular NRL five eighths. He finished equal fifth for line breaks at the club (10).
Wighton took on a leading role in the Raiders' kicking game in 2019, and overall, he performed admirably. He averaged more kicking metres than any player at the club (235 metres from just under eight kicks per game). That placed him inside the top 20 NRL players for kicking metres per match. He got two 40/20 kicks and forced 15 line drop outs. He was inside the top 10 NRL players for 40/20s and just outside the top 10 for FDOs. Though he ranked equal first with Anthony Milford and Mitchell Pearce for kicks dead (10), his weighted kicking game was good. Overall, he was well down the list of NRL players for kick errors.
Jack Wighton was often criticised for his error rate and positioning in defence at fullback. But he's always been a tough, aggressive defender, with good technique. His tackling ability was a key reason that Ricky Stuart wanted him at five eighth. It was part of the overall strategy to fix the Raiders' defensive woes. It paid off. Wighton was second only to Josh Hodgson at the Raiders for one on one tackles (26). He averaged two missed tackles per game (0.5 per game in 2018), ranking fifth at the club. But he lifted his tackle efficiency to 84 per cent (82 per cent in 2018), while quadrupling his defensive workload. He produced just nine try causes, compared with six in half a season in 2018. He was way down the list of NRL five eighths for try causes, line break causes and missed tackles. That said, his tackle efficiency rate was below the bench mark amongst NRL five eighths.
Wighton's error count rose in 2019, doubling to 1.5 per match. That's going to happen when you touch the ball as often as one of the halves. He was by no means the worst amongst NRL five eighths in this department, and was on par with Luke Kearey. His discipline was good, conceding just one penalty every two games.
When Ricky Stuart first came to the Raiders, he shifted Jack Wighton to five eighth - and he played the first nine games of 2014 in the No. 6. It was a failed experiment and the move came too early in Wighton's career. Five years later, Wighton's shift to the halves has been an unqualified success. A Clive Churchill Medal, three appearances for the Blues and two for the Kangaroos followed. Wighton has given us a great redemption story in 2019 - after the off field incidents of 2018. Too often, those redemption stories for Raiders players have come after they've moved to other clubs. Gladly, not in the case of Jack Wighton.
How did you rate Jack Wighton's 2019? Tell us below.
Jack Wighton's 2019: 8/10
2019 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 26
Average minutes: 80
Points: 36
Tries: 9
Try assists: 10
Try contributions: 6
Total try involvements: 25
Total kicks: 198
Kick metres: 6123
40/20’s: 2
Forced line drop outs: 15
Average kicks per match: 7.6
Average kicking metres per match: 235
Kicks dead: 10
Kicking errors: 11
Total runs: 224
All run metres: 2375
Average metres per carry: 10.6
Average metres per game: 91
Tackle breaks: 72
Offloads: 10
Line breaks: 10
Line break assists: 13
Tackles: 414
Average tackles per game: 15.9
1 on 1 tackles: 62
Missed tackles: 52
Average missed tackles per game: 2
Tackle efficiency: 84 per cent
Try causes: 9
Errors: 38
Penalties conceded: 14
Sin bins: 1
This is the sixth instalment of 2019 in review. As usual, now the Raiders' season is over - the best for 25 years - we are reviewing all 26 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade this year. So far, we've looked at Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Joey Leilua and Jordan Rapana.
2018 was not the best of years for Canberra Raiders fullback Jack Wighton. That had nothing to do with how he performed on field, rather off field indiscretions that saw him found guilty of assault and suspended by the NRL for the final 10 weeks of the competition. 2019 saw him turn that right around, successfully making the transition from fullback to five eighth, making his debut for the Blues and the Kangaroos and winning the Clive Churchill Medal, the best on the ground in the Grand Final.
For mine, his best game of the season came in the Grand Final, when I rated him a "9". He scored the Raiders' only try of the game, and produced 10 runs for 97 metres, 31 post contact metres, one line break, six tackle breaks, 17 tackles, 85 per cent tackle efficiency, 253 kicking metres from 13 kicks and one forced line drop out. I rated him an "8" in six games (Rd 7 V Sea Eagles, Rd 8 V Panthers, Rd 9 V Roosters, Rd 11 V Cowboys, Rd 23 V Sea Eagles and the Preliminary Final)... and an average of 6.9/10 during the season. My overall rating of 8/10, reflects his strong contribution to the Green Machine's season.
Wighton finished fourth in Fans' Choice voting, second behind Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad amongst the Raiders' backs. He took Fans' Choice Man of the Match honours in six games (Rd 7 V Sea Eagles, Rd 8 V Panthers, Rd 11 V Cowboys, Rd 14 V Sharks, Rd 23 V Sea Eagles and the Grand Final).
Wighton made 26 appearances in green in 2019. The only match he missed was due to State of Origin duty. He ranked third at the club in the try scoring stakes (9), and equal third amongst regular NRL five eighths. No player at the Raiders produced more try involvements (25) and he was second only to Josh Hodgson for try assists (10). He also delivered 13 line break assists. He was outside the top 10 NRL five eighths for try assists and line break assists - but his running game was a real strength. He ranked first amongst the regular NRL five eighths for total running metres and running metres per match. He was second at the Raiders for total tackle breaks (72) and second amongst regular NRL five eighths. He finished equal fifth for line breaks at the club (10).
Wighton took on a leading role in the Raiders' kicking game in 2019, and overall, he performed admirably. He averaged more kicking metres than any player at the club (235 metres from just under eight kicks per game). That placed him inside the top 20 NRL players for kicking metres per match. He got two 40/20 kicks and forced 15 line drop outs. He was inside the top 10 NRL players for 40/20s and just outside the top 10 for FDOs. Though he ranked equal first with Anthony Milford and Mitchell Pearce for kicks dead (10), his weighted kicking game was good. Overall, he was well down the list of NRL players for kick errors.
Jack Wighton was often criticised for his error rate and positioning in defence at fullback. But he's always been a tough, aggressive defender, with good technique. His tackling ability was a key reason that Ricky Stuart wanted him at five eighth. It was part of the overall strategy to fix the Raiders' defensive woes. It paid off. Wighton was second only to Josh Hodgson at the Raiders for one on one tackles (26). He averaged two missed tackles per game (0.5 per game in 2018), ranking fifth at the club. But he lifted his tackle efficiency to 84 per cent (82 per cent in 2018), while quadrupling his defensive workload. He produced just nine try causes, compared with six in half a season in 2018. He was way down the list of NRL five eighths for try causes, line break causes and missed tackles. That said, his tackle efficiency rate was below the bench mark amongst NRL five eighths.
Wighton's error count rose in 2019, doubling to 1.5 per match. That's going to happen when you touch the ball as often as one of the halves. He was by no means the worst amongst NRL five eighths in this department, and was on par with Luke Kearey. His discipline was good, conceding just one penalty every two games.
When Ricky Stuart first came to the Raiders, he shifted Jack Wighton to five eighth - and he played the first nine games of 2014 in the No. 6. It was a failed experiment and the move came too early in Wighton's career. Five years later, Wighton's shift to the halves has been an unqualified success. A Clive Churchill Medal, three appearances for the Blues and two for the Kangaroos followed. Wighton has given us a great redemption story in 2019 - after the off field incidents of 2018. Too often, those redemption stories for Raiders players have come after they've moved to other clubs. Gladly, not in the case of Jack Wighton.
How did you rate Jack Wighton's 2019? Tell us below.
Jack Wighton's 2019: 8/10
2019 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 26
Average minutes: 80
Points: 36
Tries: 9
Try assists: 10
Try contributions: 6
Total try involvements: 25
Total kicks: 198
Kick metres: 6123
40/20’s: 2
Forced line drop outs: 15
Average kicks per match: 7.6
Average kicking metres per match: 235
Kicks dead: 10
Kicking errors: 11
Total runs: 224
All run metres: 2375
Average metres per carry: 10.6
Average metres per game: 91
Tackle breaks: 72
Offloads: 10
Line breaks: 10
Line break assists: 13
Tackles: 414
Average tackles per game: 15.9
1 on 1 tackles: 62
Missed tackles: 52
Average missed tackles per game: 2
Tackle efficiency: 84 per cent
Try causes: 9
Errors: 38
Penalties conceded: 14
Sin bins: 1