Sea eagles

Sea Eagles v Titans: Turbo ruled out; New faces on bench

Manly had to work for it but got the job done eventually against the bottom-placed Wests Tigers last Sunday, with the 22-16 win solidifying their place in the top four.

The Titans will be keen to make amends for their horror second half against the Dolphins last week, with Justin Holbrook's side hardly firing a shot to record what was the equal worst collapse for a loss in Premiership history – coughing up an initial 26-0 lead to lose 28-26 to Wayne Bennett's side.

Sea Eagles dealt another blow as enforcer seeks immediate release to join fierce rivals

According to The Daily Telegraph, the 32-year-old is set to sign with the Parramatta Eels, with the August 1 deadline looming.

Reports suggest the Eels have the salary cap space left to sign the Kiwi International and have until Monday to confirm any deal.

Seven players withdraw from Manly side in protest of club's pride jersey

The Sea Eagles announced players would wear the rainbow-adorned jersey to promote the inclusion of the LGBTQ community in rugby league during their round 20 NRL game against the Roosters at Brookvale Oval.

However, just hours after the jersey was unveiled, Nine's Danny Weidler revealed that a number of players were seriously considering withdrawing from the game.

After an emergency meeting on Monday night, the seven confirmed they would not play.

Sea Eagles v Knights: DCE, Jake backing up; Ponga a huge in

With a four-way logjam around eighth spot on the Telstra Premiership ladder, Manly have proven there's still life without Tom Trbojevic, stringing together three wins in their past month to remain in finals contention. 

The Knights are coming off a high-scoring 40-28 loss in round 17 and look like a team who aren't completely on the same page despite several stars in their line-up. 

Manly got the victory in the corresponding match in round five, a 30-6 win in Newcastle, and will be looking to make it two from two in 2022 on Saturday.

 

NRL’s best player gives Manly all the tools to be title favourites. Except for a glaring ‘Achilles heel’

Star hooker Manase Fainu’s legal fight to clear his name over an alleged Church stabbing has again cast a shadow over his potential involvement in Manly’s 2022 campaign.

In his place Lachlan Croker did a solid job to fill the void over the last couple of seasons, but his lack of a running game makes the Manly attack predictable at times as the Sea Eagles found out against Melbourne and Souths in the 2021 finals series.

Stat Attack: Left-edge attack key to Manly upsetting Melbourne

The Sea Eagles are under no illusions about the difficulty of beating the Storm – having won just two of their past 10 clashes – but they perhaps uncovered the blueprint in their round 21 match.

While Melbourne ultimately claimed a 28-18 victory, Manly had success attacking on the left with winger Reuben Garrick bagging a double – and narrowly denied a third – off Tom Trbojevic's passes.

Raiders v Sea Eagles: Lui in for Soliola; Turbo ruled out

An ill-timed last-start loss to the Storm saw the Raiders slip just outside the eight and with a round 25 rematch with the Roosters, who thumped Canberra 44-16 in round 12, on their schedule the Green Machine cannot afford to drop another point.

Keeping relatively close to a Melbourne side that has scored points for fun this season will give Ricky Stuart's men some hope but they will be backing up against another red-hot attacking outfit with the Sea Eagles boasting threats all over the park.

Foran: Job only half done as Sea Eagles soar from cellar into top-four range

The Sea Eagles have gone from cellar dwellers to destroyers in the last three months, most recently piling on scores of 50, 56 and 66 against the Cowboys, Titans and Bulldogs.

After a string of defeats over the opening month of the season, Des Hasler's side has been on an upward trajectory. They're now fifth, four points adrift of the top four.

A favourable run home, which includes just two of their next nine games against sides currently in the top four, makes the Sea Eagles at a realistic chance of securing a double chance in the finals. 

Huge win has Red V well placed

‌Scoring points had been an issue for Paul McGregor's side in recent weeks with the Red V managing to post 20 or more points just once since their Round 12 bye. However, they turned that around with their highest score since they smashed the Raiders 58-16 in 2007 to keep their finals hopes alive. 

The damage was done in the first half with the Dragons racing in five unanswered tries before Manly mounted a stirring second-stanza comeback, only for the Red V to respond with the final four tries of the afternoon.

No end in sight to Hayne's centre shift

Early fears that Hayne was forced from the field last Saturday with a recurrence of the ankle injury that kept him out for five weeks were allayed straight after the game, a nerve issue caused by a blow to the leg responding immediately to treatment.

He ran on Tuesday morning and was named at left centre, the position he has played in wins against the Knights and Storm in the Titans' past two starts.