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Des Hasler won’t make immediate cuts to Manly’s edges but has told them they need to step up fast after their horror start to the NRL season.
Manly’s 46-4 flogging at the hands of the Sydney Roosters was their worst opening to a season in their history, conceding nine tries.
Of particular concern was their left-edge defence, with the Roosters running in their first seven four-pointers down that side in an absolute clinic.
The Sea Eagles are still missing Tom Trbojevic at the back for the next fortnight, and Hasler described Dylan Walker’s performance filling in at fullback as “solid”.
But he warned the team’s edges needed to measure up, already fielding questions on whether he will wield the axe after 33 missed tackles.
“Not yet (I won’t make changes). But we need to be better,” Hasler said.
“I thought particularly our edges, defensively we missed too many tackles. The middle were matching it.
“We need to give a better account of ourselves and themselves individually and for the club and for the fans.
“We need to make that pretty quickly.”
Of more concern for Manly fans will be that Kieran Foran left the field early after showing some promise with ball in hand but caught out in defence by James Tedesco.
Hasler put his exit down to a cork, but the 30-year-old has had an ugly history of injuries with Manly having a seven-day turnaround into their clash with South Sydney.
“I’ll have to assess (the cork),” Hasler said.
“He picked up a little injury there at the end, but as a team we need to be a lot better.”
Hasler said utility Cade Cust (broken thumb) should be available next week, but indicated he was likely to continue using Lachlan Croker as an 80-minute hooker.
© AAP
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