Manly Ox desperate to charge Premiership

Manly Sea Eagles’ captain Matt Orford is known in NRL circles as the ‘Ox’. And with good reason. He possesses 92 kilos of brute muscle and strength.

It’s hard to understand then why a player of his calibre has failed to get rid of the lingering cobwebs that still hang around his game.

Although Orford has destroyed most doubters this season after being crowned the Dally M player of the year, many fans still have question marks about his ability to perform when it counts.

Arguably displaying the most consistent form of his career, Orford has exceeded expectation for the Sea Eagles in 2008. Every expectation, that is, bar one - beating the Melbourne Storm.

Orford and his Eagles have lost four consecutive games against Melbourne, including last year’s Grand Final.

The Manly halfback was a part of all those defeats, and was often backlashed by the media due to his present inability to perform against the reigning premiers.

While Orford has been terrific this year, his performances against the Storm have left a lot to be desired.

If we can cast our minds back to the round 22 Friday night blockbuster between Manly and Melbourne this year at Brookvale Oval, there was an opportunity for Orford to squash the doubt.

But instead of silencing the whispers, Orford transformed those doubts into a noisy reality that night as he failed to display any of the form that garnered him the NRL’s greatest individual honour three weeks ago.

His kicking game was off, not helped by the fact the Storm were pressuring Orford immensely during the entirety of the match.

Orford’s demise that night ultimately proved the difference in allowing Melbourne to deal the blow to a Sea Eagles side that have loomed as their biggest Premiership threat for two seasons running.

Overall, however, Orford’s appetite for work this season has been nothing short of inspirational for the Sea Eagles.

He has kicked the most goals in the NRL this year with 79, while he ranks second in the league for most points scored (171), kicks in play (318) and try assists (33).

Ironically the man in front of Orford in both kicks in play and try assists is Storm halfback Cooper Cronk.

Although Orford has the distinction of being the NRL’s best player in League’s centenary year, it will mean little if he fails to produce a premiership winning performance this Sunday afternoon.

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