Huddersfield Giants have named Joe Wardle as the player in their squad who is the hardest to tackle using a unique mathematical science.
Making the most of the lockdown, the Giants have created a formula to produce a rating for player elusiveness.
The measurements are based on defenders beaten, carries, metres after contact and the number of carries.
“We combine a runner’s carries and receptions to give a total ‘ball-handling opportunities figure’,” they explained.
“We then combine the number of missed tackles that that player forced against both the run and the pass to get a total ‘missed tackles forced’ figure, which is then divided by the ball-handling opportunities.
“This figure then gets multiplied by a player’s yards after ‘contact per carry average’ (*100) to get the final Elusive Rating. In essence, the rating is a combination of how often players force missed tackles and how much yardage they generate after contact on a per-carry basis.”
The end result was that Wardle was triumphant by a landslide, picking up a 92 rating. He was far and away stronger than his nearest competitor Suaia Matagi. The other Wardle, Jake, came in third.
Like every other club, the Giants are unable to train together at present but Ashton Golding’s recovery is reportedly progressing well and he will be fit to resume once the season restarts, which will come as a significant boost to coach Simon Woolford.
Leroy Cudjoe is also closing in on a return to fitness.
