Mitch Dransfield previews an enticing clash between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Newcastle Knights this Saturday afternoon at Lottoland.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly couldn’t have asked for a better result backing up their performance against Parramatta to then beat the premiership favourites Storm in Melbourne. It was a high octane and thrilling match. With missed field goals and scoring opportunities in Golden Point, it was Manly who slotted the one point shot to escape with the 11-10 win with just twenty seconds left.
Newcastle Knights
Newcastle fell to a Tigers side motivated by veteran hooker Robbie Farah’s 300th NRL game. The fixture was back-and-forth but Wests did look the better side throughout the match, with the Knights fading in-and-out of periods to lose 28-26 – their fourth straight loss saw them fall out of the top eight with just six weeks left.
SQUAD NEWS
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Des Hasler has kept the same squad that won against Melbourne last round. There could be late changes via the bench but it’s unlikely.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles’ Squad: 1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Brad Parker 4. Moses Suli 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Dylan Walker 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Manase Fainu 10. Martin Taupau 11. Joel Thompson 12. Curtis Sironen 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Lachlan Croker 15. Corey Waddell 16. Morgan Boyle 17. Taniela Paseka 18. Jack Gosiewski 19. Apisai Koroisau 20. Brendan Elliot 21. Lloyd Perrett.
Newcastle Knights
Nathan Brown has made mass changes to his side with Jesse Ramien, Herman Ese’ese, Danny Levi and Jamie Buhrer all dropped. The return of Mason Lino at five-eighth, Lachlan Fitzgibbon in the backrow and Connor Watson at hooker sees Hymel Hunt move from wing to centre and Kurt Mann to the wing while Sione Mata’utia moves to the bench. Jacob Saifiti and Aidan Guerra come onto the interchange.
Newcastle Knights’ Squad: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 3. Hymel Hunt 4. Tautau Moga 5. Kurt Mann 6. Mason Lino 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. David Klemmer 9. Connor Watson 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 12. Mitchell Barnett 13. Tim Glasby 14. Jacob Saifiti 15. James Gavet 16. Sione Mata’utia 17. Aidan Guerra 18. Jamie Buhrer 19. Beau Fermor 20. Jirah Momoisea 21. Chris Randall.
HEAD TO HEAD
Manly and Newcastle have a close head-to-head record in their past four meetings over the past three seasons. These fixtures tend to go down to the wire with either side able to come back from a deficit to win, the last four victories have been decided by eight points or less. That will no doubt continue this week with a must win game for the Knights.They met back in round five this year, with Manly putting on an impressive 18-6 half time scoreline at McDonald Jones Stadium. A sin bin and more momentum saw Newcastle claw their way back, but it was too much for the home side to reach, Manly winning 26-18.
These outfits tend to use their forwards to bash their opposition early to gain ascendancy for the rest of the game and score high totals. It will be won and lost through the middle of the park, with the outside backs of the respective sides having huge workloads ahead of them to help out their forwards.
KEY BATTLE
A key battle in this fixture will be through the rakes of both sides; with the return of Connor Watson at hooker for Knights and Manase Fainu a regular now for Manly, these two livewire players could be the difference come full time.
Watson has been one of the standouts for Newcastle this season; as a utility player who is constantly shifting position, the nine jersey is where he needs to be and has been brought in this week to return there for immediate impact. The Knights hooker will be involved in crucial plays with his great decision making out of marker, which allows a roll on for his side with the effort plays in defence. Watson will need to come back into the form he showed at nine to nullify his opposing number Fainu who could try to get the best of him early and have his possession limited.
Fainu is one of the bright youngsters charging onto the NRL scene in the past 12 months (in the hooking role especially); his damaging runs that see him bust or sneak through defences has proven near impossible to contain. Starting as a interchange player he has now moulded into a 65-to-70 minute rake who can produce offloads, two-man passes to find playmakers or make a large amount of tackles, taking pressure off others. If Fainu is to have the same impact that has been seen over the past month, he needs to assist others before his own attack can flourish, but also identify the moments in games where he is needed more so than ever.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, 3rd August.
Venue: Lottoland.
Kick-off: 3pm.
Referee: Henry Perenara.
WHO WILL WIN?
The last time these two sides met was back in round five with Manly running away early leaders. The Knights were full strength at home while still unable to put together an 80-minute performance. Flash forward to this round and it’s a similar scenario: Newcastle are struggling to be consistent, hold a lead or produce the footy the NRL knows they can. However, the script is different for the Sea Eagles with more form built over time and combinations now solid after beating Melbourne.
The outcome looks to be pretty straightforward: a close encounter for the opening stages before the Sea Eagles dominate the Knights with their best player in Tom Trbojevic firing on all cylinders in front of a packed Brookvale Oval on Saturday afternoon. Manly will be more consistent and run away with a comfortable victory despite the history of close encounters.
Prediction: Sea Eagles by 12.
