- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
My brother-in-law is a keen Manly fan. I have told him constantly he is an ordinary judge when it comes to football, but he did marry my sister, so he’s not a a totally bad judge.
He asked me on the weekend if the Sea Eagles were actually participating in the 2015 premiership, such was the monumental public swing against his long-time favourites.
“The bookies have us at 15/1,” he said with a Silvertail smirk.
“No point in turning up, huh? We’re cactus before a ball is kicked. The slump the experts have been predicting for more than a decade is finally here. We won’t make the eight, we’re chumps, not champs.
“I’ll be having a sniff at those odds. Money for jam, I reckon.”
The bro-in-law had a valid point. Only a handful of tipsters have Manly in their projected eight. They have lost a fair smattering of forward muscle in the shape of Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough, and long-time bookend and co-captain Jason King has retired.
Way too much has been said and written about the futures of star halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran, but the fact remains that they are there this year, lacing up the boots for what many believe is one last hurrah.
I thought again about the 15/1 being offered and found myself looking at the Eagles seriously when so many are tipping them to headline the comp’s also-rans.
OK, rational thinking suggests having this halves pairing is a fair springboard for any title quest. Let’s say they really fire from go to whoa in 2015, propelling Manly to a lofty position on the table with the finals in sight. Never mind about next year or beyond when this dynamic duo could be plying their trade elsewhere. Would you write off Manly if they were there or thereabouts? I certainly would not.
So why have most pundits taken a set against the maroon and whites?
They say that the loss of crafty ball-player Stewart to premiers Souths is a mortal blow. Well, he only made six appearances last season and they still made the semis.
King was a constant for the Eagles over his 14-year career, but at 33 his time had come. It was time for fresher, stronger and younger bodies to do the tough stuff in centre field, and Manly have a number of eager candidates.
Watmough has switched to Parramatta and the Eels believe he could be a cornerstone of their young and mobile forward pack. Maybe so, but only if he stops running crab-wise across the field, losing the ball in the most innocuous tackles, and giving up penalties when the team can least afford them.
Watmough’s best days are well and truly behind him. But if he aims up with his new club, I’ll gladly eat my words right here on The Roar.
Manly were relatively quiet in the off-season player market, but the signing of veteran forward Willie Mason will prove to be a winner.
Mason was a major contributor for the Newcastle Knights last year. His vast experience and ability to inspire and lift those around him will make him a Brookvale favourite.
Yes, my brother-in-law might be on a good bet if he puts some cash on his beloved Sea Eagles.
Any side boasting the backline skill and strike power of Brett Stewart, Jamie Lyon, Peta Hiku and halves Cherry-Evans and Foran has plenty in its favour.
I’m a big fan of hooker and dummyhalf Matt Ballin, who never seems to hand in a bad game, and there is a lot to like about fellow forwards Brenton Lawrence, Feleti Mateo, Justin Horo and Jesse Sene-Lafao.
The Manly boys are well and truly flying under the radar as we embark on a new season, even if they are purported to be at sixes and sevens.
And that’s precisely the way they like it.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.