Sea Eagles v Raiders preview

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders
Lavington Sportsground - Saturday 5:30pm

Manly will be desperate to snap a two game losing streak and get back in the winners circle against Canberra as we travel down to the Victorian border for a rare game at Albury's Lavington Sports Ground on Saturday Night.

Manly's poor start to the season continued last weekend as they were nullified 12-4 by a committed Dragons outfit at Wollongong. Not only did Manly miss out on the 2 points, they also had to deal with a host of injuries. Those that joined the injury list this week include Jamie Lyon, Feleti Mateo and Josh Starling. They join a list that already includes Jorge Tafua, Clinton Guntherson and Blake Leary to just name a few. These injuries are curtailing Manly's season and the Northern Beaches club will be hoping for their luck to change not only on the injury front but also out on the field.

Manly were not at their best last week as silly errors and a lack of possession hurt them. In the end they only completed 59% of their sets, no matter how good you are, it's incredibly hard to win with those stats. No doubt Geoff Toovey will be focusing on ball retention this week.
Manly due to their injuries have a reshuffle. Steve Matai returns to replace Jamie Lyon in the centre's, Tom Symond's moves from the bench into the back row and Both James Hasson and Ligi Sao move onto the bench.

Canberra will be desperate for the points in this one. A 34-6 drubbng at the hands of the Roosters last week didn't inspire confidence withing the Canberra camp and pressure is quickly mounting on the head of embattled coach Ricky Stuart. He has reacted by dropping talented Half back Mitch Cornish and has recalled Sam Williams who has shown some promising form in the NSW Cup with the Mounties. Will this change be enough to spark some points for the green machine? This is the only change for the Raiders this week who will be desperate for their impact players in Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton can stand up and show some class and lead from the front.

Last meeting: Round 8 2014 - Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 54 Canberra Raiders 18
Manly have won 9 of their last 10 against the Green Machine, although 7 of those clashes have been at Brookvale where this game won't be played.
The last time these two teams played at a neutral ground that wasn't a finals game was at the WACA ground in Perth in Round 9, 1990 where Canberra triumphed 29-12 in front of more than 23,000 fans. Could the neutral ground setting help Canberra to get a win?

Who to watch: Looking for redhead Tom Symonds to have a big impact in this one folks. Has been used as a bit player since his move from the Roosters in 2013. His versatility is what makes him valuable but he is also a very good second rower capable of busting through tackles and he has a killer offload that can get some second phase play going through the middle of the ruck. He also has very good pace for a big guy and if he is playing out wide on the fringes then look for him to get on the outside of his defenders and create havoc.

If Canberra want to win then Five-Eighth Blake Austin needs to stand up for 80 minutes and be counted. He had a tremendous game against the Dragons, scoring one try and harshly disallowed for a second. His ability to draw in defenders and his short kicking game are his best attributes as a half. If Austin can take on the line and have the Manly defenders second guessing then it could lead to some holes opening up in the defensive line and some success for Canberra's classy outside backs.

His leadership will also need to be top notch as his team mates will be looking for him to lead them around the park with Sam Williams playing his first game of the season.

The favourite: Lots of money rolling in for Manly even though this match isn't at Brookvale.

My tip: Manly have been poor of late and injuries have hurt them dearly, however they still have a lot of class over the park particularly with Daly Cherry Evans and Kieran Foran in the halves. I expect them to dominate proceeding and lead Manly back into the winners circle. Canberra just don;t have enough talent in that squad and I don't know if Ricky Stuart can get the best out of them. Manly by 10.


1. Brett Stewart 2. Cheyse Blair 3. Brayden Wiliame 4. Steve Matai 5. Peta Hiku 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Luke Burgess 9. Matt Ballin 10. Willie Mason 11. Jamie Buhrer 12. Tom Symonds 13. Dunamis Lui
Interchange: 14. Jesse Sene-Lefao 15. Jake Trbojevic 16. Justin Horo 17. Ligi Sao 18. James Hasson

1. Jack Wighton 2. Edrick Lee 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Jeremy Hawkins 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Blake Austin 7. Sam Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Dane Tilse 11. Jarrad Kennedy 12. Iosia Soliola 13. Shaun Fensom
Interchange: 14. Glen Buttriss 15. Frank Paul Nuuausala 16. Paul Vaughan 17. Mark Nicholls


Referees: Henry Perenara, Gavin Reynolds; Sideline Officials: Russell Turner, Lawrence McDonnell; Video Referees: Shayne Hayne, Steve Folkes;


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