Manly Sea Eagles NRL 2018 Season Preview

• 
• Author: Alex Christodoulou
  Mar 07, 2018 06:36 AM
• AAP

Out for finals redemption

Key Ins: Joel Thompson (Dragons), Toafofoa Sipley (Warriors), Lachlan Croker (Raiders)

Key Outs: Blake Green (Warriors), Pita Godinet (Tigers), Brenton Lawrence (retired), Steve Matai (retired)

Overview

After making significant progress in the 2017 regular season under coach Trent Barrett, Manly went out with a whimper in the first week of the finals after the Panthers soundly beat them 22-10. With a few ordinary seasons leading up to their turnaround last year, there were plenty of positives to take out of their performance to spur them onto bigger and better things in 2018.

The acquisition of Joel Thompson in the off-season will bolster Manly's ranks and provide a hardness that has been missing for the maroon and white.

The question on Manly fans' lips during the off-season has been 'Who will play five-eighth following Blake Green's departure to the Warriors?'. Without a big gun recruit to fill the role, Coach Trent Barrett, a former five-eighth himself, will be licking his lips at the prospect of moulding the perfect playmaker to partner Cherry-Evans in the six-jersey. New recruit Lachlan Croker has been named as the starting five-eighth for their Round 1 clash against Newcastle, however the likes of Cameron Cullen and Jackson Hastings are both good prospects and will keep Croker on his toes. If neither of those options work, expect NSW origin representative and former South Sydney flyer Dylan Walker to slot in to the five-eighth role, having played there before.

Manly's attack was on fire last year. They ranked 3rd for tries (4.12 per game), second for try assists (3.38) and 3rd for line breaks (4.88) as the entire back-line contributed points. However, much of their attacking liberty and success was due to the Sea Eagles' huge forward pack, who paved the way by often dominating large portions of the game.

Lottoland Stadium became a fortress for the Sea Eagles last year, with Manly winning their last six home games of the regular season. If Barrett can continue this momentum and get his players to turn up for every home game in 2018, it will lay a solid platform for the North Shore team to build off.

Player to watch: At just 22 years old, Addin Fonua-Blake has already played representative football for New Zealand. A big forward who often comes off the bench, Fonua-Blake will be looking to establish himself as a weekly starter, in arguably the league's best forward packs.

Key player: Tom Trbojevic, the younger of the brothers tearing up Brookvale, is quickly emerging as one of the best fullbacks in the game. Ranking equal second with Cherry-Evans for try assists in the NRL (19), Turbo Tom also racked up the second most line breaks (24) and ran the second furthest of any player in the comp at 189.6 metres per game last season, only beaten by the near-unstoppable Jason Taumalolo. A remarkable effort from the future star of the NRL. 

Forward pack rating 8/10

Manly already had one of the best packs in the competition before they acquired the services of the ever-threatening Joel Thompson. Martin Taupau has all the toughness in the world along with the ball-skills of a halfback, demonstrated by a league-leading 73 offloads in 2017. Jake Trbojevic will only be hardened this year after last year's Origin debut, whilst Curtis Sironen and Darcy Lussick are reliable big-boppers to have around. 

Outside backs rating 5/10

Akuila Uate, Matthew Wright and Jorge Taufua are all tough, quality backs with a happy knack of scoring tries. They combined for 28 four-pointers last season, and will look to increase that number further this year. Unfortunately for Manly fans however, their back-line lacks consistency and stability in defence. Both Tafua and Uate are suspect under the high ball and are prone to a game-changing blunder. 

Spine rating 8/10

With Trbojevic at fullback and creator-in-chief Cherry-Evans at half-back, Manly's spine is undoubtedly strong. Api Koroisau, who has been touted for NSW representative origin duties this year, is a dynamic hooker who provides plenty of speed around the ruck. With strong competition for five-eighth in the club, expect Manly's spine to get them over the line against most opposition defences.