This is the ninteenth instalment of 2020 in review. As is the tradition, now the Raiders' season is over, we are reviewing all 32 players who pulled on a green jersey this year. So far, we've looked at Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Jordan Rapana, Jarrod Croker, Curtis Scott, Nick Cotric, Bailey Simonsson, Semi Valemei, Michael Oldfield, Jack Wighton, George Williams, Josh Papalii, Josh Hodgson, Tom Starling, Siliva Havili, Dunamis Lui, Sia Soliola, Ryan Sutton and Hudson Young.
Elliott Whitehead appeared in 22 of 23 Raiders games this season, starting in each of them in the second row. I rated him 6.6/10 during the course of the season, but he finished fifth for total points, not far behind my top two players, Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton. For the first time, he shared in the Canberra Raiders Fans' Choice Player of the Year - with Papalii, Wighton and George Williams - in an incredible four way tie. His overall rating for the season reflects that.
He's underrated by many commentators. His coach Ricky Stuart says that "he's the most underrated footballer in the competition." Perhaps I've been guilty of that too, in my own ratings. I rated him an "8" in one game, the Round 19 win over the Warriors. In that game, he produced eight runs for 103 metres, one try assist, one tackle break, 17 tackles and three kicks for 48 metres. Whitehead was just terrific filling in in the halves, after an early injury to George Williams. He was slammed into the ground in one tackle in the second half, and it shook him. He ended up throwing up on field, but he got to his feet and continued on. The match said a lot about his courage and character, as well as his skill with the ball in hand. Not many forwards can fill in, in the halves.
Whitehead received "man of the match" honours in three matches in Fans' Choice voting - the win over the Warriors, the Round 6 loss to the Sea Eagles and the Round 8 win over the Dragons. Whitehead also picked up Fans' Choice points in three other matches (Round 5 V Tigers, Round 7 V Eels, Round 9 V Storm).
Against the Sea Eagles, he scored a try and made 10 runs for 102 metres, 21 post contact metres, two line breaks and 44 tackles. That was probably his best performance statistically. Against the Dragons, he made a number of critical tackles and very nearly set up a try in the first-half. He left the field for an HIA, after copping a poke in the eye from team mate Emre Guler. He came back on and helped steady the ship in the final minutes. It was after that game that his coach labelled him the most underrated player in the NRL.
"He went back on, he's a tough player. I have all the admiration in the world for Elliot," Stuart said.
"A lot of the stuff he does goes unnoticed but it doesn't go unnoticed by myself. That was my message to him at halftime. He doesn't like compliments but I told him I don't miss what he does."
No forward at the Raiders produced more total try involvements (14) than Whitehead in 2020, and he was equal first, with Papalii, for tries scored. He also ranked first for try involvements amongst his NRL second row peers. He was equal second for line breaks amongst the NRL second rowers, behind Villiame Kikau. He was, however, well down the list of second rowers for running metres, metres per run and tackle breaks.
Whitehead ranked first for total tackles at the Raiders, and sixth for average tackles per match. He essentially maintained his defensive workload in 2020 - and his tackle efficiency rate. His average missed tackles per game were roughly the same as 2019, but his try causes rose from six in 2019 to 10 this year. He ranked in the top 10 NRL second rowers for most tackles... but also first for missed tackles. His tackle efficiency rate was not in the top 20 second rowers - and only Corey Harawira-Naera, Emre Guler and Josh Hodgson had a lower rate at the club. It is tougher defending on the edge... and the bottom line is his tackle efficiency probably won't ever change much. The high number of missed and ineffective tackles come with Whitehead's high defensive work load.
I said earlier that I was possibly one of those people who had underrated Elliott Whitehead in 2020. In my own defence, however, I rated him a "7" in most weeks, and never lower than a "6". He's an incredibly consistent player and he was definitely in my top five Raiders of 2020. The manner in which he stepped up as an on field leader, in the absence of Josh Hodgson, really impressed me. He virtually became the vice-captain.
Late last year, Whitehead was re-signed by the Raiders to the end of 2022. He's hoping he can continue playing beyond 2022. He also plans on hanging up the boots as a Raider.
"I've still got two more years, I'll be hanging around for a bit longer. So I'll see how my body is in two years. But I'd like to finish my career here," Whitehead said as the finals loomed this year.
"Canberra have been great with me and hopefully I'm still performing well enough to extend when my contract comes to an end in two years. But it's a long way away yet."
"When I first came here I always said, nah, I’d stay here for two years then go home, but I’ve been here for five years now and I love it. Me and my missus are just going through residency now."
"So I’ll be looking probably to stay here once my career finishes and I’d like to get involved in coaching."
There is no doubt Raiders fans everywhere would love to see that. In the meantime, he'll be one of the first forwards picked, and certainly, in 2021, the first second rower picked.
How did you rate Elliott Whitehead's 2020? Tell us below.
Elliott Whitehead's 2020: 8/10
2020 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 22
Average minutes: 79
Points: 20
Tries: 5
Try assists: 4
Try contributions: 5
Total try involvements: 14
Total kicks: 7
Kick metres: 110
Kick errors: 1
Total runs: 178
All run metres: 1455
Average metres per carry: 8
Average metres per game: 66
Tackle breaks: 21
Offloads: 9
Line breaks: 9
Line break assists: 3
Tackles: 623
Average tackles per game: 28
1 on 1 tackles: 66
Missed tackles: 57
Average missed tackles per game: 2.6
Ineffective tackles: 23
Tackle efficiency: 89 per cent
Try causes: 10
Line break causes: 6
Errors: 17
Penalties conceded: 11
