News of Leeds Rhinos' interest in Derrell Olpherts has certainly split opinion. Rugby League Live revealed on Monday the club is in talks with Castleford Tigers' off-contract winger ahead of a potential move in 2023.
The 30-year-old is currently in his fifth season as a Super League player following spells with Salford Red Devils and Cas and has been a regular throughout his time at the Jungle.
Here, we take a look at how he has fared so far this season and compare that to some of Leeds' current wingers so far this season.
Read more: Leeds Rhinos set sights on Castleford Tigers winger as part of 2023 plans
Attack
Work in back play
What quickly becomes apparent is that Olpherts does a very good job coming away with the ball early in sets. His stats see him come out as one of the strongest players in that department.
So far this season, Olpherts has produced 264 carries. That is the third-highest in Super League and only bettered by Tom Davies and current Rhinos winger Ash Handley. On average he makes 16.5 carries per game. That, again, is the third highest in Super League. Again, he is only behind Handley and Davies.
The efficiency of his carries is impressive too. Olpherts is currently ninth in Super League for metres made having amassed 1,858 so far. That is an average of 116.1 metres per game. Handley and Davies remain ahead of him in this department while the likes of Jai Field, Tommy Makinson and Ryan Hall join him in the top ten.
It's fair to say Olpherts is one of the best back play performers in Super League.
Compared to Leeds Rhinos' current wingers
Carries
Ash Handley - 286 (16.82 per game)
Derrell Olpherts - 264 (16.50 per game)
David Fusitu'a - 128 (14.22 per game)
Metres made
Ash Handley - 2412 (141.88 per game)
Derrell Olpherts - 1858 (116.12 per game)
David Fusitu'a - 994 (110.44 per game)
Tackle busts
This is where Olpherts really stands out. No player in Super League has made more tackle busts this year than Derrell Olpherts.
He has made 78 in total, seven more than any other player in the competition. It means he is making 4.8 busts per game and bumps off a defender once every 3.3 carries.
In that department, he is the best at his craft in the competition. He also creeps into the top twenty in Super League for clean breaks with eight.
Compared to Leeds Rhinos' current wingers
Tackle busts
Derrell Olpherts - 78 (4.87 per game)
Ash Handley - 53 (3.12 per game)
David Fusitu'a - 31 (3.44 per game)
Tries
Olpherts has bagged nine tries in 16 appearances so far this season. A ratio slightly above one every other game. During his time at Castleford, he has maintained a similar record having bagged 27 tries in 54 games, which is exactly one every other game.
By comparison, Handley has fared better during his Super League career, scoring 85 tries in 140 appearances, an average of 0.61 per game. Nevertheless, it's not a record that should be looked down on. He is joint 13th in Super League's try-scoring charts this year.
Defence
Tackles
Stats never train a true picture of a winger's defensive ability as it is largely a case of reading the play correctly. What the stats do tell us is that he has completed 61 tackles and missed 18, That's a tackle completion rate of 77.2 per cent.
Errors
Olpherts has made 13 errors this year, an average of less than one per game. This sees him compare similarly to most wingers in the competition.
Compared to Leeds Rhinos' current wingers
Tackles
Ash Handley - 72 (4.23 per game)
Derrell Olpherts - 61 (3.81 per game)
David Fusitu'a - 26 (2.88 per game)
Tackle completion rate
David Fusitu'a 86.6%
Ash Handley 82.7%
Derrell Olpherts 77.2%
Errors
Ash Handley 15 (0.88 per game)
David Fusitu'a 14 (1.55 per game)
Derrell Olpherts 13 (0.81 per game)
Durability
It's no secret that Leeds Rhinos don't boast the best injury record. In their outside backs alone, the likes of Jack Walker and Harry Newman have both missed considerable chunks of time due to injury while David Fusitu'a has only been able to play in half of Leeds' games since arriving at the club so far.
By comparison, Olpherts has proven to be a very durable player and rarely misses games. During his three seasons with Castleford, the Tigers have played 63 matches in all competitions and Olpherts has featured in 55 of them. That's 87 per cent. He hasn't received a single suspension in the last five seasons either.
Given the club has become accustomed to an injury crisis, having a durable player in their ranks may not be a bad idea.
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