Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2016 season in review

A new coach, new signings, a new era. On paper 2016 promised to be a season of fresh expectation at Brookvale after the club failed to make the finals in 2015 for the first time since 2004. The Sea Eagles had a roster overhaul with rookie coach Trent Barrett taking the reins, which were headlined by four internationals joining the club in Nate Myles, Dylan Walker, Martin Taupau and Lewis Brown coming on board. 

Fans north of the Bridge expected the successful club to return to the Top 8 and perhaps even an outside chance to challenge for the title should these promising new signings immediately gel with the exciting talent already at the club including star halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, club stalwarts Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart and Steve Matai as well as exciting rookie Tom Trbojevic.

The 2016 season didn't get off to a blinding start when Manly went down to bitter rivals the Canterbury Bulldogs 28-6 in Round 1, a first half blitz from the Des Hasler coached Bulldogs saw them out of the game early, giving up a 24-0 lead at halftime. The Eagles then followed up that performance to make it back to back losses, going down Wests Tigers 36-22, where a James Tedesco hat trick got the Eagles season off to a winless start.  It wasn't until Round 3 that Trent Barrett got his first win as coach where the Trbojevic brothers starred, defeating eventual premiers Cronulla 22-12, which proved to be one of their best performances of the season. 

By Round 8 an inconsistent Eagles side were in 8th position and were looking like building towards a Top 8 force, however a seven match losing streak combined with injuries to several key players severely hampered any hope that the Sea Eagles had of being a serious threat in this year's premiership race. July was a kind month to the Eagles, where they had a mid-season revival, fighting back to win four games in a row, including a heart stopping Round 19 Golden Point win over the Warriors in Perth thanks to a match sealing Daly Cherry-Evans field goal.

Manly fought back to sit on the cusp of the Top 8 with five rounds remaining and through the outstanding form of fullback Tom Trbojevic looked like they could be a dark horse coming into September. Their momentum came to a sudden halt though in Round 22, where they were defeated by arch rivals Parramatta 10-9 thanks to a late Michael Gordon penalty goal with minutes remaining. This loss effectively shattered their confidence, as they then ended the season on the back of five straight losses to finish in 12th place, their worst result since 2004.

Turning Point

Sitting in eighth position in Round 8, the Sea Eagles lost seven matches on the trot between Rounds 9-16 and this losing streak was ultimately what brought their season undone. This period saw a host of big name players fall in and out of the side through injury including Daly Cherry-Evans, Steve Matai, Matt Parcell, Jamie Buhrer and Jamie Lyon just to name a few. Inconsistent appearances from key players led to makeshift combinations on a week to week basis and this period proved too difficult to overcome.   

What worked

Tom Trbojevic at fullback worked. The nineteen year old stamped himself as the Sea Eagles next superstar when he was handed the famed No.1 jersey of Brett Stewart early in the season. Trbojevic scored 10 tries, made 23 line breaks and an incredible 72 tackle busts in just his second season in the top grade. He also carried an ankle injury into the back half of the season and managed to play through, which not only shows tremendous character from the teenager but shows that the sky's the limit in 2017 if he comes back from surgery at 100%. 

What didn't work

Replacing Keiran Foran at five-eighth. Dylan Walker, Api Koroisau and Jamie Lyon all tried, however the Eagles failed to find a solid replacement to accompany Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves. Finding a long term five-eighth was the big piece missing on the Northern Beaches this season and Coach Trent Barrett will be hoping that the recruitment of Melbourne Storm five-eighth Blake Green will be the solution in 2017.

Best Players

As mentioned Tom Trbojevic was outstanding and will no doubt be pushing for representative honours in 2017, however the form and leadership of his older brother Jake Trbojevic can't be underestimated. Trent Barrett moved the promising Trbojevic from the front row to lock in 2016 and the move proved a masterstroke with the hard as nails forward emerging as a leader of the Eagles pack and it won't surprise if he is named to skipper the side in 2017 with the retirement of club legend Jamie Lyon. Trbojevic has an impeccable defensive technique and a workhorse with the ball in hand, so well did he perform in 2016 that he was selected in the Australian Kangaroos squad as a replacement for the injured Josh Papalii and is a big chance of forcing his way into the NSW pack next year.

Disappointing Players

Club legends Brett Stewart and Steve Matai were unavailable for the majority of the season only appearing in 11 and 8 games respectively. Stewart in particular is under enormous pressure to be retained next year given the emergence of Tom Trbojevic in the #1 jersey. At 32 years of age, Matai has been carrying a serious neck injury for some time and could also be looking at retirement. How the club handles the possible departure of both players will be very important for club morale given what they have produced for the Sea Eagles over their decorated careers.

Nate Myles was one of Manly's marquee recruits in 2016, however failed to find form at his new club and it is fair to say that he was only selected for Queensland on loyalty alone. There is no doubt that Myles is a quality forward given his representative experience for Queensland and Australia and he will certainly be looking to improve dramatically in 2017 for the maroon and whites.   

Rookies

Addin Fonua-Blake made his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles in Round 7 against Parramatta and didn't look back, going on to make 14 appearances for the club providing solid impact off the bench. Fonua-Blake found his feet in first grade in Round 16, when he scored a double against defending premiers North Queensland in Townsville. He was named the clubs rookie of the year for 2016 and will no doubt improve further with the experience gained in his debut year. 

Lower Grades

Intrust Super Premiership NSW

It was a disappointing season for the Sea Eagles NSW Cup side who managed just six wins and sixteen losses to finish second last in the Intrust Super Premiership.  The Sea Eagles lacked the depth to compete with the top sides, however youngsters Addin Fonua-Blake and Brad Parker by passed the Holden Cup to get some much needed experience before making their first grade debut later in the year.

Holden Cup Under 20s

After making the Holden Cup Grand Final in 2015 (eventually losing to a rampant Penrith side), the Under 20's Sea Eagles had a nightmare 2016 season, finishing in last place and managing just 3 wins for the year.

2017 Chances

There is certainly a lot of pressure on the side heading into 2017 after missing the finals for the second consecutive season. The Sea Eagles have again swept the broom through their roster with a whopping 17 players let go, along with the retirement of their champion captain Jamie Lyon. The next big call on their roster is the futures of fellow club legends Brett Stewart and Steve Matai. How this situation is handled by the club will likely be telling for the squad and the attitude of fans heading into 2017.

The recruitment of Storm five-eighth Blake Green promises to find star half Daly Cherry-Evans some stability in the halves which was clearly lacking in 2016. The emergence of the Trbrojevic brothers is where the Eagles future lies, having locked up the pair to long term deals and they can potentially build a side around the talented brothers in the coming years.

Coach Trent Barrett will be under pressure early should the expectations not be met in his second season as Head Coach and will need to hit the ground running from Round 1. With so many players again departing the Northern Beaches club in the off-season, expect some more signing announcements prior to kick off in 2017.

Best line-up for next season

1.       Tom Trbojevic
2.       Jorge Taufua
3.       Dylan Walker
4.       Steve Matai
5.       Akuila Uate
6.       Blake Green
7.       Daly Cherry-Evans
8.       Darcy Lussick
9.       Apisau Koroisau
10.   Nate Myles
11.   Lewis Brown
12.   Martin Taupau
13.   Jake Trbojevic

14.   Matt Parcell
15.   Addin Fonua-Blake
16.   Brenton Lawrence
17.   Shaun Lane