Round 5: Sea Eagles v Panthers preview
Jacko gives his thoughts on the upcoming battle between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Penrith Panthers at 4 Pines Park, Brookvale / Cammeraygal.
After a strong opening two rounds to the season, Manly will be looking to re-establish itself as a genuine contender when it takes on Penrith at 4 Pines Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Sea Eagles emerged as early season surprise packets after back-to-back wins over the Rabbitohs and Roosters, although the former's early struggles suggest that victory in Vegas may have not been the statement it seemed at the time.
Nonetheless, two straight losses to the Eels and Dragons have seen Anthony Seibold's side come crashing back to earth and it doesn't get much easier this week against the defending premiers.
Penrith came up short 8-0 against Melbourne in the opening round but has remained unbeaten since that point, taking care of the Roosters last week with relative ease despite being without Nathan Cleary, Scott Sorensen and James Fisher-Harris.
While the scoreline didn't reflect it, the Panthers were dominant and controlled field position for the majority of the contest due to the impressive metres their back three provided.
Penrith's attack was hardly clinical though and at times conservative so it will be interesting to see how Ivan Cleary's side respond if Manly jumps out to an early lead.
The Panthers are bolstered by the return of Fisher-Harris this week, seeing Mavrik Geyer drop off the bench after making his NRL debut last week.
Meanwhile, Manly is 1-17 as Daly Cherry-Evans becomes the club's all-time appearance record holder, passing Cliff Lyons as the halfback suits up for his 310th game.
Last meeting: Round 24 2023 - Sea Eagles 12 Panthers 24
Who to watch: The Roosters' forwards struggled for any real ascendancy in last week's game and so if Manly is any hope of pulling off an upset it will start up front. Specifically, that could include getting early ball to Haumole Olakau'atu, who has the power and offloading ability to cause problems for Penrith's defence. Parramatta's second phase play has helped them pick apart the Panthers a few times recently and the dynamic Olakau'atu, who is averaging a career-high 152 run metres this season, is Manly's best chance of opening up space given how many defenders it usually takes to bring him down.
It has been a few weeks now since Taylan May's impressive individual performance against Melbourne, where the tackle-busting centre looked Penrith's best bet of cracking what proved an impenetrable Storm defensive line. In the rounds that followed it was Izack Tago who was the standout for the Panthers, capitalizing on two straight games playing opposite second rowers filling in for injured centres. Then last week it was winger Sunia Turuva, again on Penrith's right edge away from May, who scored a hat-trick. May though is deceptively hard to take down and slippery close to the line, combining both power and finesse to make him the perfect finisher on Penrith's usually lethal left edge. Look for May to get back on the scoreboard and remind Panthers fans why the club was so desperate to extend him.
Favourite: The Panthers are backed to continue their winning ways despite being without Cleary and Sorensen.
My tip: Penrith's forward pack and superior outside backs should pave the way for another workman-like win. It won't necessarily be pretty but like last week against the Roosters, it'll be enough. Panthers by 8.
