Eels v Sea Eagles preview

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Parramatta Eels v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Friday 8:00pm at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta / Burramattagal

Friday night football heads to Parradise Park as the Parramatta Eels look to go for back-to-back wins against the Manly Sea Eagles at Commbank Stadium. 

The Eels were able to put together a near 80-minute performance last week against a struggling Newcastle Knights, ever so slightly propping themselves up the ladder with a 28-6 win at McDonald Jones Stadium.

NSW Origin players Mitch Moses (1 try, 1 try assist) and Zac Lomax (2 tries, 271 metres) secured their spots in the Blues with two scintillating performances, while the spine of the Eels actually looked threatening, albeit against a Knights side that would struggle against the Woy Woy U10's team.

The loss of Moses and Lomax to Origin duties disrupts what was an improving side under the halfbacks guidance, but the Eels have won 5 of their last 6 against Manly at Parradise Park. It will give them confidence against a Manly side that is easily flying under the radar.

Manly, led by departing club legend Daly Cherry-Evans, are sitting pretty in sixth after a very comfortable win in Townsville against the Cowboys. The 24-6 win could easily have been more, if not for two Tom Trbojevic errors at the end of long range breakaways.

It wasn't all sunshine and daisies in the far north for the Sea Eagles, with Jake Trbojevic suffering a concussion early on in the contest - seeing the captain stood down under after Wednesday's Origin opener. His brother, Tom, will be coming off a performance that accounted for just over 100 running metres, two bombed tries, six errors and a sin bin last Saturday.

While it is a depleted Eels side that Manly come up again, one can not discount Parramatta at home. It's called Parradise for a reason - Parramatta always come ready to play. 

The Parramatta Eels are without Mitchell Moses and Zac Lomax as they look to help NSW win another series, with Dean Hawkins coming into the halves. A reshuffle in the backline sees Sean Russell move to the wing, with Jordan Samrani moving into the centres. Kelma Tuilagi comes back from suspension into the starting line up, with Luca Moretti heading to the bench and Toni Mataele in the reserves. Matt Doorey will also be on the bench to fill the spot left by Samrani. 

Manly lose Daly Cherry-Evans to Queensland duties, while Jake Trbojevic sits out this week with his concussion. That sees Jake Arthur come in for his first game in 2025 against his former side, while a re-shuffle in the forwards has Jazz Tevaga at lock and Jake SImpkin at hooker to start. Matt Lodge and Lachlan Croker both play their first games of 2025 in the top flight from the pine, with Caleb Navale dropping to the reserves.

Last meeting: Round 4 2025 - Sea Eagles 26 Eels 12

Who to watch: Dylan Brown has been a big talking point in the Eels struggles so far this season, having signed his multi-million dollar deal to head to Newcastle in 2026. While Brown did show glimpses of brilliance over the first 8 weeks, it took the addition of Moses to fully showcase Brown's running ability. He will need to bring that form from the last few weeks into a must win game. Look for Brown to combine with Isaiah Iongi early in a bid to shock the Manly defense. 

The aforementioned Tom Trbojevic very rarely has a shocker like last week - six errors is uncharacteristic for Manly's golden boy. Normally, that would go hand in hand with a Manly loss, however they were too good last weekend. Tommy Turbo will no doubt be looking to make amends against a side he loves playing against (3 tries in the last 5 games, and a try assist in 41 minutes last time out). 

Favourite: Manly are better backed after their return to form last week.

My tip: Head versus heart - the heart really would love to see Parramatta pull themselves up off the canvas to ensure that they stay off the bottom of the ladder this week. A win would see the Eels be within a game of the top eight, but it seems to be wishful thinking without the Prince of Parramatta in the halves. Manly will come out too strong on the back of their forward pack, dominate early and leave too much for Parramatta to chase. Sea Eagles by 8.

1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Sean Russell 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Jordan Samrani 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Dylan Brown 7. Dean Hawkins 8. Jack Williams 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Kelma Tuilagi 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. J'maine Hopgood 14. Dylan Walker 15. Luca Moretti 16. Ryan Matterson 17. Matt Doorey 18. Joash Papali'i 19. Joey Lussick 20. Toni Mataele 21. Ronald Volkman 22. Samuel Loizou

1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Lehi Hopoate 6. Luke Brooks 7. Jakob Arthur 8. Ethan Bullemor 9. Jake Simpkin 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Haumole Olakau'atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jazz Tevaga 14. Lachlan Croker 15. Corey Waddell 16. Nathan Brown 17. Matthew Lodge 18. Clayton Faulalo 19. Brandon Wakeham 20. Tommy Talau 21. Michael Chee Kam 22. Caleb Navale

Referees: Liam Kennedy; Sideline Officials: Phil Henderson, Jarrod Cole; Video Referees: Grant Atkins;