Matt Pritchard reviews the 2022 Season of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles where they finished eleventh on the ladder.
Stats
Wins: 9
Losses: 15
Most Tries: Reuben Garrick (12)
Most Points: Reuben Garrick (162)
Club Player of the Year: Lachlan Croker
Pride Jersey Derails Sea Eagles Season
Last year the Dragons were rocked by barbeque gate. This year it was the Sea Eagles who would follow a similar decline after the controversial, yet ground-breaking Pride jersey fractured the team and resulted in a winless end to 2022.
The seven players who opted to skip the Roosters game were roasted for their stance on religious grounds to not play in the jersey, which was the biggest talking point at that time of the season. The fallout still continues with Des Hasler considering suing the club over the way it handled the situation.
With the review into Hasler’s future at the club set to be decided shortly, the Sea Eagles couldn’t replicate their efforts of 2021 where they made the preliminary final.
After losing their first two games of 2022, they went on a four-game winning streak before winning just one of their next six mid-season. They climbed their way into the eight in round 18 with a win against the Knights after winning four out of five matches. Manly would go on to lose their final seven including their final round against the improving Bulldogs 21-20.
It was another troubling season on the injury front for Tom Trbojevic who made only seven appearances for the club. His absence from the side reduced the impact of Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab, who both scored 23 and 26 tries respectively in 2021, to score 12 and 7 tries in 2022.
Should Hasler survive, his game plan needs to change. What might have been a match-winning strategy of grinding footy in the early 2000’s, certainly doesn’t win too many games in the era of the six again rule. Their off-field preparation in 2023 needs to focus on fitness, discipline, and mental toughness.
Daly Cherry-Evans had another fine season for the Sea Eagles where he led from the front and will be in a duel with Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary for the halfback role in Australia’s World Cup side.
NothingButLeague Sea Eagles Player of 2022: Daly Cherry-Evans (17)
Embed from Getty ImagesMatches: 22
Tries: 5
Try Assists: 20
Kick Metres: 9,484
Other Points: 12 Haumole Olakau’atu; 8 Keiran Foran, Tom Trbojevic; 5 Lachlan Croker; 2 Ben Trbojevic, Dylan Walker, Josh Aloiai, Morgan Harper; 1 Jake Trbojevic, Jason Saab.
