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Souths’ semi-final whipping of Manly should provide a wake-up call to the Brookvale boys.
Forget the 40-24 scoreline – the Rabbitohs’ had romped to a 22-0 lead at half-time and the score was 40-0 with just 17 minutes left. The Sea Eagles put on four tries to restore some credibility but this was Souths’ night, their win was never in doubt after the opening onslaught.
There were a few things not in Manly’s favour. The game was played at Allianz, one of Souths’ two home grounds, despite the Sea Eagles finishing above them. The Redfern side also had a longer break between the last round, giving them more time to recover.
But more importantly the Rabbitohs came into this match in reasonable form, having won five of their last seven, and were largely injury-free.
In contrast, Manly had limped into the finals winning three of their past five games, barely scrapping home against Penrith and the Titans. On Friday night they were without key players in Glenn Stewart, Matt Ballin and Jamie Buhrer, and they lost back-up hooker Jayden Hodges early on.
The close of the season is usually when the Sea Eagles go up a notch, not drop their bundle.
But this season has been different because of the internal feuds, bickering and divisions apparent on the northern beaches. Regardless of all the denials, things are clearly not right at Brookvale and they have disintegrated greatly over the past few months.
Glenn Stewart’s departure has opened a Grand Canyon-sized fissure and it hasn’t been closed. Brother Brett wants out, as does Steve Matai and Anthony Watmough.
The Sea Eagles hierarchy made a mistake in not offering Stewart a deal, but their thinking was they could not make respectable offer to the NSW and Kangaroo forward. In my opinion, the 30-year old is one of the most skillful forwards in the NRL and has been a key member of Manly’s recent success.
But at 30 years of age, it remains to be seen how many years at the top he has left. Two, three tops? The snubbing of Glenn means young brother Brett and close mates Steve and Anthony want to go too. All are under contract.
The Sea Eagles are under pressure with the salary cap, forcing Stewart’s departure. The exit of another big earner could prove fruitful in the long-room. Watmough is 31, Matai is 30 and Brett Stewart is 29.
Manly needs to throw big money at Daly Cherry-Evans and Keiran Foran to keep them at the club. They are the best halves combination in the NRL and you can build a team around them. They are the future.
In the likes of Peter Hiku, Clint Gutherson, Jake Trbojevic, Buhrer, Jorge Taufua, James Hasson and Brenton Lawrence, they have a strong supporting cast.
So the gamble is by letting Glenn Stewart go, they can keep Cherry-Evans, Foran and the others.
Problem is Manly’s famed culture has crumbled since the Stewart-Souths deal was announced. Foran and Cherry-Evans could depart at the end of 2015.
The Sea Eagles need to sort out this mess and fast. Andrew Webster made some good points in his Sydney Morning Herald column
The reality is no player is bigger than the club. The Stewarts, Watmough and Matai have been fantastic for the club, part of a near decade of success that rivals the grand-final laden 1970s. But they didn’t build the club. They helped rebuild it following the Northern Eagles debacle, surely, but they didn’t build it themselves from scratch.
The club is always bigger than one individual, one personality and character. It will continue long after this quartet of players has retired. Bob Fulton has learned this, as has Paul Vautin and Ken Arthurson and many others.
Manly still has the personnel, the talent and the experience to be successful in the future. They have a mountain to climb, but they aren’t completely dead in 2014 either. However, they need harmony back in their camp, and fast.
Melbourne or the Bulldogs, whoever they face, will be smelling blood in the water next weekend. If the disgruntled can’t be brought back into the fold, if the grievances can’t be solved, then they should go. It will be sad for Sea Eagles supporters, but it would be for the best.
Stewart is going, Jason King is retiring. In many ways an era is ending on the northern beaches.
Some tough decisions need to be made over the next month to ensure the new era at Brookvale is just as successful as the past one.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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