Sea Eagles v Roosters preview

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Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters Saturday 7:35pm at 4 Pines Park, Brookvale / Cammeraygal

We're now at the pointy end of the seasons where games start to mean vastly more than they did a month or two ago. 

Here we have the ninth placed Manly taking on the tenth placed Roosters. There's some scenarios to point out:

If the Roosters win by 10 points or more, they will leapfrog Manly into ninth place. And if the eighth placed Dolphins lose to the fourth placed Warriors, then there will be 3 sides on 24 points vying for the final spot in the finals.

If Manly beat the Roosters, they need the Dolphins to lose in order to return to the top 8, and if the Sharks lose to the Cowboys and the Broncos lose to Souths, then there will be 3 teams on 26 points making up the last 3 places in the finals, but importantly, they'll have a 2 win gap on ninth place.

Manly come into this match on the back of being decimated 42-4 by the Bulldogs last weekend, all but destroying any semblance of good form they had built from the 3 consecutive wins prior. That inconsistency has been the story of the Sea Eagles this year - they've been so consistently erratic it almost seems intentional.

The Roosters come into this match on the back of a spirited and defiant performance against Melbourne last week, the Storm eventually winning 34-30. It was a loss they could ill-afford sadly given they lost the week prior against the Sharks, and in the 2 games before that, they struggled to beat an out-if-sorts Dragons side and suffered a 2 point loss to the lowly Wests Tigers. That inconsistency has been the story of the Roosters this year - they've been so consistently erratic it almost seems intentional.

The Roosters currently have the worst completion rate while Manly rank fourth. The Roosters rank low for post contact metres but are second for tackle breaks and seventh for offloads, which suggests that their edge line running and second phase play is where they are at their most dangerous and effective. Both sides are guilty of conceding a lot of penalties also. There is so much ill-discipline from both outfits. The Roosters though have covered a lot of it up by their innate ability to score points as they are one of just 5 teams averaging over 25 points per game this year and this makes the Roosters a complicated side to play, because it suggests a lot of their points come from unstructured plays.

Manly comes into the game without dominant back rower Haumole Olakau'atu while the Roosters will be without five-eighth Sandon Smith, however this opens the door for promising and creative half Hugo Savala to join Sam Walker in the halves. Billy Smith also returns in the centres for the Roosters while utility forward Victor Radley is currently named on the extended bench.

Last meeting: Finals Week 2 2024 - Roosters 40 Sea Eagles 16

Who to watch: Manly front rower Siosiua Taukeiaho has been in very strong form of late, leading the Manly pack while Ethan Bullemor has been performing well off the bench. 

Rookie fullback Lehi Hopoate has been playing well all year and is calm and classy at the back, chiming into the backline when close to the opposition line with great timing. 

The Roosters fullback and leader James Tedesco has seemingly timeless form, still racking up plenty of metres from kick returns, while being a constant threat in attack, especially on the left side.

The Roosters right side combination of Robert Toia and Mark Nawaqanitawase has been growing in confidence and capability all year.

Hugo Savala has been cool and controlled in his performances thus far, showing a good instinct when it comes to his kicking, running and passing game.

Angus Crichton will be a menace on the edge and can sometimes be used tighter in the middle with great effect.

Favourite: Manly are the slight favourites here, despite the Roosters winning 9 of their last 13 games against the Sea-Eagles. Manly are typically tougher to beat at home and that is still the case here, given they've won 15 of their 20 games at 4 Pines Park.

My tip: Roosters need the win more. Manly though just had a bad performance so they're due a good one, especially they're back at home. Let's go Manly by 4 in a high-scoring game.

1. Lehi Hopoate 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Tom Trbojevic 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Jazz Tevaga 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Corey Waddell 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Tommy Talau 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Toafofoa Sipley 18. Caleb Navale 19. Clayton Faulalo 20. Aaron Schoupp 21. Joey Walsh 22. Gordon Chan Kum Tong

1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Robert Toia 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Hugo Savala 7. Sam Walker 8. Naufahu Whyte 9. Connor Watson 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Siua Wong 13. Egan Butcher 14. Benaiah Ioelu 15. Blake Steep 16. Salesi Foketi 17. Spencer Leniu 18. Ethan King 19. Taylor Losalu 20. Toby Rodwell 21. Zach Dockar-Clay 22. Victor Radley

Referees: Grant Atkins; Sideline Officials: Chris Sutton, Kieren Irons; Video Referees: Chris Butler;