Daly Cherry-Evans says Manly are starting to feel like the Sea Eagles of old but must temper their excitement after scoring their second straight NRL win.
Cherry-Evans was superb in leading the Sea Eagles to a 30-10 victory over Newcastle at Brookvale on Sunday, a fortnight after they toppled Melbourne in a big upset.
While Manly still sit at the bottom of the NRL ladder – by just one point on for-and-against behind Parramatta – they are starting to show glimpses of form.
The side has built a dynasty over the last decade, making the finals in each of the last 10 seasons.
And while they appear to be on the wane, after losing a host of senior players in the off-season, Cherry-Evans said the light had not been completely extinguished with some key returns on the horizon.
Steve Matai will return from suspension against Penrith next week however Kieran Foran is expected to be out for a month with a hamstring injury suffered in last week’s trans-Tasman Test.
“There are some familiar faces back on the paddock and that obviously helps,” Cherry-Evans said.
“We’re still a couple of people away from being full strength but with the side we had today, everyone chipped in and everyone gave their all.”
However Cherry-Evans says they were nowhere near back to their best and he is determined to lead them to the finals in his final year at the club before moving to the Gold Coast in 2016.
“We’re definitely gaining some momentum which is helpful at this time of the year,” Cherry-Evans said.
“But it is only two in a row and we are still on the bottom of the ladder.
“We still have a lot of work in front of us but today was a good start.”
Tom G
Guest
Absolutely spot on nordburg.. The media are extremely lazy analysts so like to write about player losses and political disharmony rather than the root cause of the problem.... Injuries. The loss of Glen Stewart and Jason King in particular as key issues is laughable considering their prolonged absence last season. I even saw that Brent Kite was occasionally added to that list of player losses. He left two seasons ago! As i said lazy journalism a t its worst.
Albo
Guest
You can never write off Manly because they still have possibly the best backline in the competition. So there are plenty of points potential in them. But the fact is they have no forwards to really worry any other club pack, even if at full strength. Manly's success in the near future will all be on the shoulders of their halves and backline. They should have enough wins in them to scramble into the eight.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Brisbane have had a lot of injuries over the opening rounds of the competition. They've only just played with their preferred spine for the first time this season. They were lucky to have as much depth as they did to work with their gameplan.
Mals
Guest
Beat the Panthers next Monday and then we can say Manly are starting to hit some decent form.
Nordburg
Guest
Moronic media have been using all sorts of reasons why Manly have started season so poorly.Things like losing Watmough,King and GStewart or DCE not getting on with particular senior players.These are all BS and bad reporting.Last yr they finished equal top with King and GStewart contributing next to nothing and Watmough was in the same form he is in at the moment with Parra.The simple reason why Manly struggled was purely injuries.Take out the same no.of players from any club and they'll struggle too.Their starting front row from last yr are out injured,Starling returning yesterday and Lawrence not likely to return anytime soon.The 2 sides performing well right now,NQ and Broncos have none or next to no injuries.Manly are everyone's favourite team to bag but if the media are going to stick the boot in,why not report the truth -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Yeah, the Knights had nothing so it's hard to rate the Eagles just yet.
Jay C
Roar Guru
It's a long way back to the top. But I think they will be fighting it out for 8th comes the big dance.