The Manly Sea Eagles sent a massive shockwave in round nine last season when they outclassed the St George Illawarra Dragons 24-6 at Brookvale Oval. Unfortunately, such great heights were never reached again for the rest of the year.
Injuries and inconsistency took their toll on Des Hasler’s men as they bowed out meekly in week one of the 2010 finals series.
While the Sea Eagles casualty ward played a significant role in Manly’s inability to crack a top four spot, they will no doubt be ruing their opening two losses to start last season, giving up huge leads to succumb to the Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels respectively.
In the first round, Manly held a 16-point lead at halftime against the Tigers, only to lose the match 26-22. The Sea Eagles followed that capitulation with a 24-20 defeat against the Eels, despite leading by 20 points well into the second half.
Had they won those two matches, the Sea Eagles could have finished in sixth position and played the Wests Tigers in week one of the finals, instead of a sudden death match-up against the table topping Dragons.
Having made two grand final appearances over the past four seasons, the Manly Sea Eagles now approach a challenging period come 2011, and will pray that injuries and suspensions take a backward seat in a bid to make the finals.
The Sea Eagles have made very little impact in the transfer market, buying only three footballers who have played just three NRL games between them.
Add the departures of several established first graders such as Chris Bailey, Josh Perry, Trent Hodkinson and Ben Farrar, depth could count against them throughout the course of this season.
A fit and firing Manly however still possess a top 17 capable of making the top four. The Sea Eagles backline of Brett Stewart, David Williams, Tony Williams, Steve Matai and Jamie Lyon is to be respected.
Lyon finished last season as the Dally M centre of the year, while the return of Stewart and Williams from injury this season will re-install the potency that led the Sea Eagles to the 2008 premiership.
One will be interested to see whether or not Stewart can rediscover the form which made him the NRL’s most lethal fullback three seasons ago.
Statistically, Stewart remains the most dangerous custodian in the competition, having scored 98 tries in just 118 matches for the Sea Eagles.
Stewart’s last two seasons, however, have been cruelled by injury and sexual assault charges which have since been cleared from his name.
With those off field dramas now behind him, Stewart is more than capable of picking up from where he left off in 2008, and if he does hit form, the Sea Eagles will be certainties to make the top eight.
No doubt Stewart and the rest of Manly’s backline will have ample opportunities to score points, given the platform the Sea Eagles forwards are capable of producing.
Origin and Test stars such as Anthony Watmough, Brent Kite, Joe Galuvao, Glenn Stewart, Matt Ballin and Jason King make-up a formidable Sea Eagles pack, and will be difficult to contain for any opposition defence.
Manly’s main headache heading into season 2011 concerns the Sea Eagles halves combination, with last season’s promising pair of Kieran Foran and Trent Hodkinson now broken.
While Foran is one of the most promising young halves in the NRL (He has already played Test football for New Zealand), just who will partner him remains a mystery.
Indeed, Foran’s older brother, Liam, looks the best bet to capture the vacated halves spot left by Hodkinson, having already played some NRL matches for the Melbourne Storm.
Based on the time Hasler gave Hodkinson to feel his way into the No.7 jersey last season, one feels Liam Foran will get ample opportunity to prove his worth alongside his more experienced brother.
Another scenario could involve Hasler moving the experienced Jamie Lyon to five-eighth with Kieran Foran shifting to halfback. Such a move however is unlikely, given the great form Lyon showed last season at centre.
If Stewart and company can remain injury free this season, the Sea Eagles should make the finals. Whether or not they make the top four will largely depend on the success of a halves combination that is untried at NRL level.
Why they’ll win:
Why they won’t:
TAB Sportsbet odds
Additions: Daniel Harrison, Liam Foran, Tim Robinson
Departures: Chris Bailey (Harlequins – Super League), Josh Perry (St Helens – Super League), Trent Hodkinson (Canterbury-Bankstown), Ben Farrar (Catalans Dragons – Super League).
John Davidson
Roar Guru
a[away, agree with your comments. Good start to the season is essential. Though I think Manly lost its first 4 or 5 games in 2008 and won the comp, so you never know! Manly's first game is the Storm away, which will be very tough. First game at AAMI Park for the Storm, who should be very fired up and motivated to perform after their 2010 year from hell. Will be interesting to see
The Link
Guest
Crunch year for this generation of Manly players. If they make the eight again for the seventh year in a row then, if healthy, they'll give the likes of the Dragons, Tigers and Bulldogs a shake. If not, then there's a case for a refesh of the roster by getting in the market for players and cutting some dead wood.
seanmaguire
Guest
I think Lyon is a fantastic leader. In a lot of ways Beaver was too nice to really rev players up. Anyway it will come down to injuries and how DCE/Foran goes. B Stewart is a fantastic player and if he stays in one piece we'll be a chance in the finals.
apaway
Guest
Tom Steve Menzies is largely irreplaceable, probably the best Manly player of all time. Manly's 2009 season was blighted by the disaster of the pre-season launch, whereas 2010 was a struggle due to a lack of depth exposed by a long injury list. It seemed like Manly were not fit enough over the first few weeks, unimaginable of a Des Hasler-coached team. I can only assume that a lot of the squad carried injuries into the start of the season and were not able to train a their peak. Those two early losses giving up big leads were very costly. A good start to this season is essential for success as it seems Manly play better from in front. The inconsistencies of 2010 need to be eliminated. I may be mistaken but I believe Manly were the only club to beat Melbourne twice, with the first win coming before the salary cap scandal. They also swept aside the Tigers in Gosford then backed up by losing to the Knights.
peeeko
Roar Guru
sorry my mistake, it was the game played the night after city country and the ANZAC test and there were a heap of players backing up
Tom
Guest
My concern is the lack of a proper leader. Since the departure of Steve Menzies the players have been in the news far too often. They lack a father figure to keep the younger players in line and set a good example.
Mals
Guest
As a Manly member I hope they make the top 8 but as John Davidson has mentioned it will largely come down to how the halves pairing of Cherry-Evans/Foran performs. Also this year I think fewer Manly players will make rep teams so over the SOO period if Manly can pick up some key wins this may also help them squeeze into the 8.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
I think Des is a very underated coach and will continue to get the best out of this players. Definately make the eight.
John Davidson
Roar Guru
Alan, nice piece. Dale Cherry-Evans is the frontrunner for the halfback spot. Like Hodgkinson he is a former Queensland Cup player of the year, and is very highly rated. Obviously the Sea Eagles rate him otherwise they wouldn't have let Hodgkinson leave. It is an issue having two very young halves, but Manly has enough experienced players around them. They have one of the best backlines in the comp and if Stewart and the Wolfman can recapture their past form, it will be interesting. You thrown in Lyon, Tony Williams (who needs to get more involved and could be moved into the forward pack), Matai and young Will Hopotae and they can score some points. They have lost some forwards but still have Watmough, Rose, Kite, King, Glenn Stewart and Gulavo up front, which is a very solid pack. Key lesson from 2010 was the impact of injuries, suspension (a lot of indiscipline) and fading in the second half of games. They never should have lost their opener against Wests Tigers or the second match against the Eels (though Parramatta were helped by two blatant forward passes in their winning try). You would think Hasler would have his team primed to play the full 80 and close out matches this season. Again, it all comes back to Foran and Cherry-Evans. If they fire, I can see Manly finishing sixth. If they struggle, or others fail to repeat the form of 2007/2008, then they could end up 10/11th. I see a finish of 8th, just scraping into the eight, as a fair result.
alan nicolea
Guest
Peeko - The Dragons were at full strength and were hardly missing any players. Darius Boyd, Brett Morris, Matt Cooper, Ben Hornby, Ben Creagh, Neville Costigan, Jamie Soward and Dean Young all played. The Sea Eagles had all their rep stars as well.
peeeko
Roar Guru
i thought it was consensus that Daly Cherry evans was taking the vacated halfback spot? also their victory over the Dragons last year was when a stack of rep players were missing from both teams ( as many as 9 from the dragons from memory)