2023 review: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

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The sixth in our NRL 2023 club review series arrives today, with Lachy MacCorquodale looking back at an underperforming Manly team.

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles entered the 2023 season with high hopes. The club had a new coach at the helm in Anthony Seibold, a fit and firing Tom Trbojevic in the number one jersey and were determined to make amends for their poor finish to the 2022 season.

It looked as though the Sea Eagles were bound for a return to finals football after a strong start to the season, with four wins and a draw from their opening seven fixtures. They knocked off Parramatta and the Melbourne in that run, as they sat in fourth place after the opening third of the season.

However, Manly began to falter. Losses to Gold Coast, Brisbane and Cronulla followed as they tumbled down the ladder and a season ending injury to Tom Trbojevic in Game II of State of Origin was an all to familiar feeling for the fans from the northern beaches. Without Trbojevic, the Sea Eagles struggled to pose an attacking threat, scoring just 36 points in four matches between Round 16 and 20. After a great start to the season, Manly were now three points outside the eight with seven matches to play.

It was now or never for the Sea Eagles and wins against Cronulla and St. George Illawarra gave them a real chance of making the top eight. They met a just as desperate Sydney Roosters in Round 23 and failed to come away with the two points and with fixtures against the barnstorming Penrith Panthers and the Warriors over the following two weeks, their prospects took an almighty hit. They played valiantly but to no avail against the two eventual top four sides, finishing the year without finals football for the second season running.

The Sea Eagles finished the season with two dominant victories against Canterbury and the Wests Tigers, but it was too little too late as Seibold's first season with the club ended in disappointment. It may have been a ‘what could've been' season as Manly were yet again haunted by an injury to their superstar fullback.

Turning point

The Sea Eagles showed positive signs during the first third of the season, sitting in fourth place after eight rounds. The next 15 games, a calamity that coincided with another season ending injury to Tom Trbojevic. From Round Nine to 25, Manly won just five of their 15 games with their superstar fullback appearing in just four of those. It's been a common theme for the Sea Eagles over the past five seasons, when Trbojevic is fit, it's all well and good, yet when he is injured, the club struggles to perform.

With Trbojevic absent for the back half of the season, the Sea Eagles struggled to come up with points against the better sides in the competition and were thrice held to below 10 points in that stretch. Every year it's said that Manly's hopes rely on Trbojevic's availability, and this season was no different.

What went right

Results wise, 2023 didn't go well for the Sea Eagles, yet the continued development of their young players gives the club hope for the 2024 season. Haumole Olakau'atu and Tolutau Koula impressed in the maroon and white this season, with the former not far away from a State of Origin call up. 

Club legend and skipper, Daly Cherry-Evans must be given credit for once again displaying his immense quality as a halfback and cementing himself as a Manly Warringah Sea Eagles legend, after becoming just the second player to play 300 games for the club.

What went wrong

Manly's overreliance on Tom Trbojevic once again haunted the club. This season, the club won six of their 11 games with the fullback in the side and just five out of 13 without him. It was the second straight season which Trbojevic has failed to play more than 11 games, taking his game tally over the last five seasons to 55.

In those 55 games, the Sea Eagles possess a win percentage of 65.5% and in the 61 games without their star, that number falls to 34.4%. Having said that, any club will perform worse without their best player, yet the discrepancy in the Sea Eagles performances is drastic. If the club is to have a successful 2024, they'll need to find a way to play without Trbojevic.

Alongside the absence of Trbojevic, 22-year-old Josh Schuster struggled to find his feet at five-eighth this season. There are high hopes for the young gun, yet he has failed to live up to the hype. Time is still on Schuster's side, but those glimpses of skill need to become more consistent.

2023 week-by-week

Best players

Despite the disappointing season, two of Manly's players really stepped up this year. Firstly, Haumole Olakau'atu was a destructive force at best and has shown the potential for higher honours in the future. The 25-year-old edge forward scored 10 tries in his 24 appearances and was a menace running at opposition edges, breaking the line 11 times, and averaging a whopping 3.7 times per match. Only 73 games into his career, Olakau'atu still has some progress to make, but the Tongan international demonstrated why the Sea Eagles think so highly of him.

The other Sea Eagle to make a real impression in 2023, was none other than Daly Cherry-Evans. The 34-year-old captain has been a constant performer in his 13 seasons in the NRL and this year was no different, as the Queenslander scored nine tries and assisted 18 in his 22 appearances. When all seems lost, it's always Cherry-Evans trying to carry his side over the line, and whilst he isn't getting any younger, the halfback continues to be the best footballer in the northern beaches.

Rookies

The Sea Eagles didn't field many rookies in Anthony Seibold's first season at the helm, however, 21-year-old Kaeo Weekes was one to find some game time in 2023. The utility back featured in three games during the 2022 season, and was used sparingly as a rotation player, fullback and five-eighth over the course of 2023.

Weekes featured in nine games and struggled to find a spot in the side yet showed glimpses of his skill in his limited playing time. He is still quite raw, so time will tell whether Weekes can break into the Sea Eagles regular 17.

Keep an eye out for Gordon Chan Kum Tong in 2024, an up-and-coming youngster at Manly who made his debut in Round 26 and played in the final two games of the season.

2023 player list

30 players, average age 25.29 yrs

Season snapshot

Coach: Anthony Seibold
Captains: Daly Cherry-Evans (22), Lachlan Croker (2)

Biggest home crowd: 17,385 (vs. Sydney in round 18)
Average home crowd: 13,651

Top pointscorer: Reuben Garrick (174)
Top tryscorer: Jason Saab (14)

Club award winners

• NRL Roy Bull Best and Fairest: Daly Cherry-Evans
• NRL Players' Player Award: Daly Cherry-Evans
• NRL Leading Point Scorer Award: Reuben Garrick
• NRL Leading Try Scorer Award: Jason Saab
• Ken Arthurson Rising Star Award (Rookie of the Year): Dean Matterson
• Menzies Medal for the Play of the Year: Josh Aloiai and Haumole Olakauátu
• Gordon Willoughby Medallion (Members' Voted): Daly Cherry-Evans
• Manly Mentality Award: Jake Trbojevic
• NRL Doug Daley Club Person of the Year Award: John Bonasera
• NRL Club Wellbeing and Education Award: Lachlan Croker
• NSW Cup Bob Batty Best and Fairest Award: Dean Matterson
• NSW Cup Players' Player Award:  Clayton Faulalo
• Jersey Flegg Russ Bull Best and Fairest Award: Caleb Navale
• Jersey Flegg Cup Players' Player: Jamie Humphreys
• NSWRL Jake Trbojevic Rising Star Award: Reilly Caswell

Looking ahead

What Manly really need is Trbojevic to be fit for most of the season. That was the case in 2021, and the Sea Eagles were Preliminary Finalists. However, given his track record with injury, it seems likely that the superstar fullback will spend time on the sidelines in 2024, and when he does, the Sea Eagles need to be better prepared for his absence than they have in the previous five years.

The signings of Luke Brooks, Jaxson Paulo and Tommy Talau give them some extra options in the backline and if Brooks, in particular, can fire, it may go a long way to helping Manly be less reliant on Trbojevic. If everything goes to plan, the Sea Eagles can be a top eight side in 2024, however, if Trbojevic misses a big chunk of the season, and the club fails to perform in that period, then their fate will likely be similar to 2023.

Best 17 in 2024

based on current signings at time of writing

1.     Tom Trbojevic
2.     Jason Saab
3.     Reuben Garrick
4.     Tolutau Koula
5.     Christian Tuipulotu
6.     Luke Brooks
7.     Daly Cherry-Evans
8.     Taniela Paseka
9.     Lachlan Croker
10.  Jake Trbojevic
11.  Haumole Olakau'atu
12.  Josh Schuster
13.  Josh Aloiai

14.  Ben Trbojevic
15.  Ethan Bullemor
16.  Toafofoa Sipley
17.  Corey Waddell