[Highlights] Manly claw off bottom of NRL ladder

I'm hearing you regarding those losses.... the games against the Warriors and Panthers were 4 competition points gifted away and the same happened earlier in the season when they went the first 4 games without a win... somehow managed to throw a intercept to James Roberts with to 2 minutes left on the clock after leading the titans all game in round 4 and gave the game away against the Raiders as well. Those games are the difference between sitting in 10th or being in 3rd spot right now...I may be a little favourable towards them but i honestly think they've been a better side this year than their current ladder position reflects. Yeah fair call on this weekend.... why i'm saying it's a big deal is because they've been away for 5 weeks, played pretty poorly yesterday and are now back at home against their arch rivals in the local derby who put 40 on them in the last meeting.... I want to see them bounce back and put the dragons to the sword. They've lifted in games against the best - the roosters, souths, cowboys, etc but struggle against weaker teams.... it's a mental thing, so i want to see a decent bounce back this week. They can't win the comp this year but I certainly think they should be playing in September.

Those wins deserve a little closer examination. Titans were totally out of troops (2 injured outside backs and Nate Myles failed a concussion test), credit as is due though, Luke Lewis and Valentine Holmes put in huge efforts. Cowboys absolutely butchered the second half, but as above, credit as is due Cronulla took advantage, they looked very tired late in the first. Not sure I'd call the Knights game a big come from behind, the score didn't blow out too much and the Lewis and Barba show was only 50mins into the game. It's the losses I'm seeing that fitness question in, they looked gassed at the 25 minute mark yesterday, and it's far from the only time that has happened -- credit to Cronulla for finding some extra when they're tired, but games like the Panthers and Warriors losses seem largely down to tired defensive errors. Hard to know what to make of the coming weekends game, the Dragons have been pretty poor recently.

3 of the past 4 wins have involved some big come from behind wins.... I don't think fitness or lack thereof is a problem - they've got a lot of heart.... the backs are young but doesn't mean their terrible, Valentine Holmes and Bird could be anything. The problem has been the lack of creativity and kicking game in the halves.... yesterday they were not very clinical either and tried to play sideways rather than direct, largely attributed by the fact there was no ennis. I'm not reading too much into yesterday's loss... this weekend will be a better gauge.

It's not just the halves.. their backs are average, their forwards have terrible discipline, and the fitness of the squad is up for debate too -- they looked very gassed very early yesterday.

Have another look, Manly has had the extra bye Wait till after next round when ALL teams have had 2 byes each and lets see then!

Clearly a fan of DCE Jaybob.. Thought his game was not terrible but by no means his best. I like him to keep going for 40/20's I would prefer him to keep going for them as a fan of Manly. When they are playing a top team over the next month they will need a 40/20 to help their pack out it is a massive momentum changer.

In the Balance of Propability's no shades but they need to win next week and win well. They need to concentrate on winning each week. Manly need to work on their for and against. Every so often a team on 26 makes it and they will need to be positive F & A to get that position. My belief is that they have just about everyone covered when it comes to back line. I dont think they are the best backline but they are not far behind many. With a bit of field position and momentum they can beat anyone. This does not necessarily mean forwards dominating. eg 7 tackle six from 20 has become a massive thing in our game. Or a penallty. 12 point turn around are common and have a massive effect. eg A strip or a loose carry. The difference is MASSIVE. Imagine you score a try. You get the ball kicked back to you and it get stripped/or a penalty. on your 20 metre line...

Bizarre assessment of the game. The referees gave the Sharks multiple soft penalties when they were down by only 6 points so they had plenty of ball & chances to draw level but they didn't do much with it. Did you actually take the time to listen to Toovey post match? He was very realistic about Manly's position on the ladder.

I still expect the Sharks to be playing finals footy.... Their forward pack and bench impact is as good as any in the comp and should be enough to carry them there even without elite halves. It's those games they let slip from winning positions earlier in the year that may come back to hurt them... If they can't win this coming Sunday, then I'd start to write their chances of a finals appearance off.

To tell you the truth, I only checked from 1908 to 1940, but I have checked the records on numerous occasions over the years and from memory, nothing stood out about a team starting a season undefeated to becoming the wooden spooner at seasons end. I may check the records again in the next few days as university is over for the semester and it is really difficult finding work, so I've got time to check.

It was a replay of the Sharks Dragons match. Sharks look good in the arm wrestle early then a bizarre soft penalty invites opposition down the other end to score against their soft right edge and they kick out from the kick off. Absolute carbon copy. Who writes these scripts. More absurd penalties, somehow the Dragons only lead 10-6 at the half, but the damage is done. Dragons then put forty on the Sharks as they implode, kick out on the full again, can't even get the line drop out ten metres. The Dragons then begin to think they are world beaters and have now lost four in a row. If Manly believe their performance today was anything at all then they will probably lose ten straight. I wouldn't write Manly off for the spoon just yet although they are probably slapping themselves on the back tonight.

I can see where you're going. They have to win at least seven of their last 9 games to make the eight. (Reference NRL.com Sea Eagles Sharks Five Key Points).

Seems like the battle for the spoon will be between the Knights and the Tigers, too much class in the Sea Eagles side to end up last.

JayBob Spot on , it should have read "Cherry-Evans was gifted Sunday’s match-sealing try"

Mid table is a rather charitable assessment. Manly have a weak pack and their back line while good isn't getting any younger, Cronulla can surprise teams with physicality but have nothing else to offer.

In all honesty both sides are mid table finishers,who are going to have their good days but going to have more bad ones.. Which is fine for Manly all things considered,but not for the Sharks who are underperforming dismally Feleti Mateo,another good game and has quietly come back into the form which had him a borderline NSW selection pre-Warriors days..

Yeah it's tough ask to go through the records but my guess is that it's never happened before.

Nah Manly aren't any chance of making the 8. Technically possible but it won't happen. Still I think they'll cause a few more fancied teams some headaches along the way

It should read "Daly Cherry-Evans has responded to his State of Origin axing by having a shocker". Kicks out on the full, passes 5 metres behind everyone, bombs an opportunity for a Try by completely missing the ball. And I can't think of anything positive he done for Manly other than a Try which was setup by everyone else, that I could have scored.

From my research, it doesn't look like that any team started the season undefeated but ended up finishing last the same season. St George did go undefeated for a period for a whole season and one team did go through a two year losing streak, that's what I can give you. The articles a very limited in what actually happened during the season, really all you can get is the premiers, minor premiers and wooden spooners.