Round 1 Predicted Teams - Sea Eagles: Turbo returns from US hamstring rehab stint with good news

Sell him

It makes you wonder how Turbo gets a good pre season of training done? This year he’s been over in the USA having work done on his injuries . This isn’t a good , tough pre season of conditioning training. Manly would have to go light on his pre season any year, as they’d always now be worried about his hamstrings etc. Best thing Manly could do, would be to invest heavily in another top or up & coming fullback. Either internally or from somewhere else. To have them ready to go, for if the Turbo injuries take over again any time soon.

Turbo is done - never be as good as his one breakout season - doesn't matter what anyone thinks they can do with hammys....once they are badly done they are done. The corso sprint will be rugby league folklore

Dragons to be bottom these season IMO, then Dolphins

Yeah pretty thin roster in some key positions. Turbo and Schuster the keys for mine this season. Wouldn't mind Manly missing the 8 again. Hopefully they try and be overly woke again and then are shunted to the bottom of the ladder. You go woke...you go broke :) :)

I am not a Manly fan - but I do reckon: (1) jason saab should be a winger for most of the season, even if it means a reshuffle and Brad Parker drops out of the 3/4ers... (2) harper shouldn't be playing first grade this season IMHO (3) will Shuster go well at #6?! That's the biggest question for sea eagles fans.

I doubt that Parker will be in the centres and there's talk he may end up in the forwards. At this stage its likely to be a Garrick-Koula centre pair and possibly Weekes on the wing. I'd also suggest Condon for Johns on the bench

Turbo still determines how good the Manly season will be !

They have been lucky that a few locals over the years have been good ones. Yet how are they actually encouraging locals to the north of Sydney, by being in Blacktown? That’s not investing in their own area. Or even close to it. If you were a good player from around Blacktown or Fairfield right now . You’d want to play for Parramatta or Penrith. You said that they were worse as the Northern Eagles. That may be true, but they never actually made any move to the Central Coast. So the Roosters took over up there & that chance was gone. I admire your choice of players there. All good , other than Schuster at this point. He’s done nothing. Those other very high quality players, aren’t going to Manly. So Manly has to be extremely lucky , to get any players like them. They also have to compete with all the other clubs to get any of them. Looking at the recruitment for top class players. That’s not happening.

What would be your plan if you were in charge of recruitment at Manly , the Chooks or Storm? Stick to local players who had grown up in the area or recruit players like Schuster , Tedesco , Manu , Mitchell, Slater and Cameron Smith, as well, in an effort to win a title? If you think bringing in players from outside the area is some sort of weakness then you are sadly mistaken. Local players have been a vital part of every Manly title , so the idea that every player is imported is pure nonsense.

The Central Coast Roosters academy is at Shelly Beach. It’s going nowhere! They’ve made it a success, as the club overall is vastly superior to Manly. They also still buy juniors from other areas, because they can. Manly failed , as they failed to move. At the very least, Manly would then have some decent juniors in their own area. That being the Central Coast. Instead of pretending to be part of Sydney’s West, in Blacktown. Penrith had some success based on building a good juniors system. Who says that that’s finished? They are just as likely to win another competition or two , before Manly ever wins anything. Given Newcastle made a GF last season in Jersey Flegg. They have better players coming through than Manly. They also won the Women’s competition. They decided to go with a build from within plan last year. Success breeds success.

You have zero argument & can’t debate anything that you yourself put forward as examples. So you just change tack. Such as why Manly can again gain success , because Penrith, Roosters , Storm did. When the points are put in front of you , as to why those clubs had recent success & it’s explained that they have nothing in common with Manly . You then don’t care about those clubs & move in some other random direction. Such as , now look at the Broncos, Canberra, Parramatta from the past . Also irrelevant, when it comes to the current Manly squad, lower grades , or how the Manly Club is in general. Just as irrelevant to Manly now , as any Manly success from a decade plus ago. Manly was wishy washy with the Central Coast. Never actually made any move . That’s why it failed . Why don’t you just move on in some other random direction ?

Virtually every player that comes through Manly is recruited to the club. Manly’s so called juniors are from Blacktown. They mostly go to Fairfield sports high. They are imported from Parramatta, Penrith juniors. You all keep talking about Schuster . He was recruited from Blacktown.

As for your notion that the Chooks are successful because they've tied up the Central Coast and Manly haven't , you are wrong. Not only are the Chooks long gone from the Central Coast they have also vanished from Norths and will play as the Roosters in reserves. Moving to the Central Coast would not be the magic move you seem to imagine either. Look at the Knights , they have more in their favour than the Central coast but have been languishing. In case you haven't worked out the main key to success , I'll fill you in . It's recruitment and retention typically. Now and again a strong group of juniors do the job like the Pennies have done as well.

Based on your simplistic thinking , Manly had no chance of doing anything good after the Northern Eagles era. Worst ground , worst finances , worst roster , coach with zero credentials or experience. Trouble is we have been a lot more successful since then that the most powerful and wealthiest club with the strongest juniors , the Broncos. In fact we are the third or fourth most successful club since the Northern Eagles era despite our lack of everything , so I don't accept your lecture that our position means we are stuffed because history proves we can win. History also shows that teams which have dominant periods like the Chooks and Pennies are having , typically go thru eras where they struggle which fools the punters like you who somehow get deluded that it's a permanent thing, despite history proving otherwise. Do you recall how strong the Dogs and Eels were in the 80's? How about the Broncos and Raiders after that? Remember? Tally up the title wins by the Eels since 86 the Raiders since 94 , The Broncos since 2006 and the Dogs since 2004. I could be wrong but I think the tally is zero. Your simple formula could have been applied to these cubs and the conclusion would be at the time that they would carry on and Manly were stuffed but you would be wrong. I don't care how strong the Storm , Chooks and Pennies are now because history is in favour of them fading away. If you think they will just keep rolling on then good luck.

There’s another history lesson, from a decade & more ago. It’s only in your view on things , that Manly are much stronger now. I could just make some statement that other clubs are much stronger now than Manly . That’s not proof of anything. Although that would actually be viewed as a fact , by most supporters of any club. No retort , about the Storm, Roosters or Panthers. Nope…As that’s all fact . Of course anything is possible . You just keep dreaming. While you’re there. Dream that Anthony Seibold is a good coach .

Go back to 2005 and give your prospects for Manly based on what you are observing now. GF in 2007 , title in 2008 (record margin) , title in 2011 and GF in 2013. Manly are much stronger now than what they were in 2005 so you can imagine all you like about the future but it's basically a waste of time. You or I or anyone else are unable to determine which clubs will be winning titles in a few years time so don't take yourself too seriously or if you do know , how about put it in black and white right now.

Not really. It’s always Spoons! Could they please introduce the Wooden Fork, the Wooden Knife, the Wooden Splade , the Wooden Spork. For everyone that already has some Spoons. It would make it far more interesting, don’t you think? Yes, I’m saying that as a Panthers supporter, so I know what I’m talking about. We have 4 Spoons. :laughing:

Then I think Manly will do incredibly well in 2023. :laughing:

Manly could always remove any record of any future spoon from their own records. Like removing Des Hasler from the clubs premiership photos. :laughing: