Round 23: Sea Eagles v Sharks preview
Manly look for pride against the high-flying Sharks
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles will be looking to salvage some credibility to finish the 2022 regular season when they take on the high flying and finals bound Cronulla Sharks at 4 Pines Park on Saturday evening.
It's been a season that Des Hasler and the boys from Brookvale would rather forget. Offset by a season ending shoulder injury to Tom Trbojevic, Manly have been on an inconsistent trajectory this season. They were looking good for a finals birth, until a certain week and jersey that shall not be mentioned. Since then, Manly have lost three straight matches and are out of finals contention. Now, it's about salvaging some credibility, and in some cases pushing claims for a trip to England at the end of season World Cup.
Last week officially put the cue in the rack for Manly this season with a poor performance against (at the time) the last place Titans side. The Gold Coast went on a second half raid, concerningly blitzing the feared Manly pack right up the middle including David Fifita's long range effort in which he beat two poor tackle attempts from their better middle forwards in Josh Aloiai and Josh Schuster. This week they're back at home for the final time in 2022 and they'll be keen to send their home fan a final victory against their arch rivals. There's been forced changes for the Manly side with Tolatau Koula moving onto the wing to cover the injured Jason Saab, Morgan Harper returns in the centres. Dylan Walker is lock with Jake Trbojevic also to miss the last three rounds. Ethan Bullemor joins the bench.
Cronulla have been the season's big achievers with rookie coach Craig Fitzgibbon leading the troops to an unlikely top four position. The emergence of Nicho Hynes as an out and out half-back has been impressive to watch and more so how his gotten the best out of his pack of forwards. Dale Finucane has proven that he's been value for money in the middle while Royce Hunt has emerged as a power man for Craig Fitzgibbon through the middle third.
At times, last weekend was a training run against a hapless Tigers outfit who can't put a foot right this season. The usual suspects were causing carnage with Hynes and Trindall creating all sorts of problems. Kade Dykes looked more at home in his second first grade match making a number of impressive inroads and was solid in defence. This week, they come to a ground which hasn't been a happy hunting ground for the Sharks. If they can frustrate Manly early and come up with some early points, it'll be a long and unhappy night for the Manly faithful. Toby Rudolf is out injured with Braden Hamlin-Uele comes into the starting side once more. This means Andrew Fifita gets a recall onto the bench. In better news for the Sharks Conor Tracey and Matt Moylan return, with Trindall, Ikuvalu and Colquhoun out of the 17.
Last meeting: Round 7 2022 - Sharks 34 Sea Eagles 22
Who to watch: Since making his debut a fortnight ago, Kade Dykes has burst on the scene and filled the big shoes of Will Kennedy. Dykes has had a strong opening to his career, but he takes on his toughest test against a feared Manly pack. Kade's strong carries of the footy have seen him break the line on five occasions. After watching some poor defensive miscues from the Manly side last week which flabbergasted not just myself, but Manly supporters. Dykes will be off the shoulder of Hynes on some inside passes for sure on Saturday night.
Well, it's safe to say 2022 hasn't gone the way Josh Schuster was envisioning. After missing the start of the season through injury, the 5/8 turned forward turned 5/8 again has struggled to get into games as he did last year. One of the biggest losers of the ‘PVL ball' rule changes this season, Schuster's off the cuff style of footy has been nullified and teams are catching onto his tricks. With a Samoa jersey up for grabs and the chance to cement Foran's vacant six jumper. Look for Schuster to have a strong back end to the season.
The favourite: The Sharks start as favourites for this one. As mentioned, the Sharks record at 4 Pines Park is a shocker, their last win coming all the way back in 2008, when Ricky Stuart was the head coach and Brett Kearney was the key for an opening round upset.
My tip: It's hard to go past the Sharks. They've got a lot more to play for in terms of cementing their position in the top four with a home final still up for grabs. More importantly, avoiding Penrith in the first round of the finals with Cleary and Luai due back is a must for the Sharks. Manly will want to say goodbye to Brookvale for the season in style and have a daunting record. The Sharks will defy it and collect the points. Sharks by 14.
