Round 23: Roosters v Sea Eagles preview
Sea Eagles to play for season, Roosters for pride...
The 14th placed Roosters and 10th placed Sea Eagles will contest the 2nd ever Gotcha4life cup with both sides in contrasting form.
In a season that has had many surprises, the Sydney Roosters paltry form has arguably been the most surprising.
Despite possessing one of the most star studded and established rosters in the competition, for some reason, they have not been able to click as a side with coach Trent Robinson having one of his most challenging seasons yet.
Their biggest problem, which continues to be under the microscope is their attack, with the Bondi club placing second last in terms of points scored, only above the last placed Wests Tigers.
Languishing in 14th on the NRL ladder, they will look to bounce back from last week's heavy 10-32 defeat to the Broncos at the Gabba and topple a manly team that has won back-to-back matches.
Although those wins (against the Sharks and Dragons) were very unconvincing, Anthony Seibold's side will go into this clash in the better form.
The Sea Eagles have been a mystery all year to say the least, after starting the season with back-to-back wins, they have been very up and down with their form.
After star fullback Tom Trbojevic was ruled out for the rest of the season in origin II, many wrote them off with experts and fans adamant, they would not be a top 8 team.
Since his injury, they have actually won 3/5 games with two of those being away from the home and one in Wollongong where the side broke a 20-year hoodoo at the ground.
In terms of injury and team news, the Roosters have been forced to make one change with Siua Wong coming in for the injured Egan Butcher and have also decided to bring Drew Hutchinson in for Jake Turpin as the utility on the bench.
Manly have also made a few changes, with Raymond Tuimaolo-Vaega coming in for Christian Tuipoulotu on the wing and Ben Trbojevic returning in place of forward Sean Keppie.
Last meeting: Round 18 2023 - Sea Eagles 18 Roosters 16
Who to watch: Someone who needs to, (and I believe will), stand up for the Roosters in this clash is embattled five-eighth Luke Keary. The 2018 Clive Churchill Medallist has been below his best this year in terms of general play kicking, but also running the ball.
Despite him being into the latter part of his career, he can still be so dangerous when he runs the ball (eg Rd 12 game v Dragons) so I am expecting that he bounces back with a solid performance.
For Manly, they haven't had an absolute standout player across the last five weeks will all players contributing to their performances.
However, in saying that, I believe this contest will come down to how much involvement captain Daly Cherry-Evans and hooker Lachlan Croker have.
They have been in terrific form this year, with both players pushing themselves to the limits to potentially give their side a chance at playing in the back end of the competition.
Croker in particular has been a standout as he has established himself as one of the most consistent and reliable hookers in the competition after originally only being a makeshift one a few years ago.
Favourite: Interestingly, the Roosters are actually the favourites across the board in regards to the bookmakers, with most having them as around $1.60 favourites.
My tip: I think the Sea Eagles will win in a game that will be up and down for 65 minutes. I believe they have too much to play for and will continue their charge towards September with Reuben Garrick getting a try. Manly by 10.
