With four teams locked on 20 competition points and only six games to play, the fight to be part of the finals is on in earnest and 4 Pines Park will be humming on Thursday.
The Sea Eagles (9th) and Roosters (8th) are two of those sides along with the Raiders (10th) and Dragons (11th), so this showdown between the boys from Sydney's northern beaches and the Bondi brigade has massive ramifications.
It feels like an eternity since the Roosters downed Manly 26-12 in round two at the SCG, both sides battling injuries to star players and bouts of inconsistency since then but remaining well and truly in the hunt for September.
In the 37 meetings between the two sides in the NRL era, the Sea Eagles hold a slight 20-17 advantage.
The Rundown
Team news
Sea Eagles: With Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Tolutau Koula, Josh Aloiai, Haumole Olakau'atu, Toafofoa Sipley and Josh Schuster standing themselves down due to personal beliefs, the Sea Eagles will have two debutants on the wing in Pio Seci and Alfred Smalley, while prop Kurt de Luis and second-rower Ethan Bullemor also join the starting side.
Forward leader Jake Trbojevic, hooker Lachlan Croker and back-rower Andrew Davey all return after missing Round 19 due to COVID. Sean Keppie was named on Tuesday but has failed to recover from a shoulder injury so his place is taken by Zac Fulton. He is joined on the bench by James Segeyaro in his first NRL game since 2019 as well as Martin Taupau and Morgan Boyle.
Roosters: Star centre Joey Manu (quad) is back on deck so Drew Hutchison slides to the bench. Maroons prop Lindsay Collins' return from the concussion he suffered in Origin Three sees Matt Lodge go to the interchange. Terrell May and Adam Keighran are the two men to drop off the bench. No changes to the squad in the 24-hour update on Wednesday.
Key match-up
Kieran Foran v Luke Keary: The Roosters No.6 returned in style against the Knights with the game's opening try, one try assist and 126 running metres. In his first game since Round 14 the livewire playmaker barely skipped beat as the Roosters racked up their second big win on the trot. Foran, meanwhile, is enjoying a stellar final season at Manly before he heads to the Titans in 2023. The 32-year-old has produced nine try assists and 14 line break assists and his defence is as rock solid as ever.
Stat Attack
Roosters superstar James Tedesco's stunning season rolled on with 317 running metres and 10 tackle breaks against Newcastle. He sits atop the table for most line breaks in 2022 with an astonishing 120, with team-mate Joey Manu second on 100. Tedesco sits second for running metres with 3664 metres at 215 per game, behind only Dylan Edwards (3992).
Story first published on NRL.com