Craig Cauchi previews Manly’s Friday night encounter with the Dragons. This is what we have to look forward to.
Embed from Getty ImagesTEAM NEWS
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Date: 16/7, Time: 8:05pm
Manly Team
1. Tom Trbojevic
2. Jason Saab
3. Brad Parker
4. Morgan Harper
5. Reuben Garrick
6. Kieran Foran
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. Taniela Paseka
9. Lachlan Croker
10. Martin Taupau
11. Haumole Olakau’atu
12. Josh Schuster
13. Sean Keppie
14. Dylan Walker
15. Karl Lawton
16. Kurt De Luis
17. Toafofoa Sipley
18. Moses Suli
19. Tevita Funa
20. Jack Gosiewski
21. Cade Cust
Team Changes
IN: Daly Cherry-Evans, Josh Schuster, Tevita Funa, Tom Trbojevic
OUT: Ben Trbojevic
Dragons Team
1. Tyrell Sloan
2. Cody Ramsey
3. Jack Bird
4. Brayden Wiliame
5. Gerard Beale
6. Corey Norman
7. Ben Hunt
8. Blake Lawrie
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Jack de Belin
11. Josh Kerr
12. Tariq Sims
13. Jackson Ford
14. Poasa Faamausili
15. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
16. Josh McGuire
17. Billy Burns
18. Adam Clune
19. Jaiyden Hunt
20. Talatau Amone
21. Jayden Sullivan
Team Changes
IN: Adam Clune, Jaiyden Hunt, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, Jayden Sullivan, Poasa Faamausili, Talatau Amone, Tyrell Sloan
OUT: Daniel Alvaro, Matthew Dufty, Paul Vaughan, Tyrell Fuimaono
Referee: TBA
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Sea Eagles
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Sea Eagles impressive month of form was brought to an end by the Canberra Raiders. The Sea Eagles did come into the match without their Origin stars and – ever since their early season woes – have continued to back up a loss with a comprehensive win.
Dragons
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Dragons come into this match after a bye but enter it from a very different perspective from when they last played. 12 of their players are facing suspensions over the next four weeks with former prop Paul Vaughan being sacked from the team. Tariq Sims and Ben Hunt – who returns from a man of the match Origin effort – look likely to back up.
PREVIEW
Tariq Sims has had a couple of quiet matches after his return from Origin. The short turn around will hopefully do him some favours as he potentially looks to be lining up against Josh Schuster. The young Manly second rower – also a handy five-eighth replacement – returns from an injury lay off. Their were some commentators calling for the rookie to be injected into the Blues outfit for game one while many considered Tariq to be a lucky selection. Since then Tariq has more than shown he deserves his representative spot. It will be a great contest between an enforcer and a young kid looking to make a statement.
Tyrell Sloan made his debut nearly a month ago against the Raiders and gets another crack at the top grade. This encounter will be a step up in class from the Raiders side. He scored a cracking individual try and will want to continue to show glimpses of what he can do leading into next season. The Dragons attack is at times held together due to the effort of their skipper Ben Hunt and the pace of Matt Dufty. Tyrell Sloan brings that unknown quality to the Dragons attack that if used properly can catch opponents unaware.
KEY STAT
The Dragons were winners in their round 3 clash by 38 – 12. On that day Zac Lomax bagged a double and kicked 7 goals in the romp. Manly were low on confidence and were a vastly different side to the one that has now become swept up with the form of Tom Trbojevic.
PREDICTION
If Manly have their origin players backing up from Wednesday night they will cruise to victory. If Tom misses out than expect them to still win by 14. http://gty.im/1326626382 http://gty.im/1319592717 http://gty.im/1328644486
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