very young squad named for first trial against Manly

[Guest]

i hope wells stays with us, but its gonna be hard for him to get a look in at fullback with rts here.
say rts does live up to his potential and becomes our long term fullback...
then wells probably wouldnt play fullback for us until about 2025.
but even by then, mini will still be around to fill the gap.

[SConcierge]

cherro YAY

[Guest]

Stoked to see Cherro named! I still really rate the bloke and he'll be an impact player this season if he finally stays healthy!

[stephenj]

ill be trhere, ill give a full report post game maybe score updates on fbook?

[Yak]

Hey Roz, just on that, I remember last year that there was a debate here on the pen that he was far too skinny and wouldn't come good unless he bulked up. Did he play much footy last year and has he bulked up in size much from last year ?

He came back around the time we played the sharks and played most of the remaining NYC games on the wing. Scored a few tries that showed that he still has plenty of speed and elusiveness. There's some photos on the website of him at training and it looks like he's bulked up a heap, especially in the upper body. He's a very tall kid and i'd say he's around 85kgs now, which is pretty good when it looked for a while like he wouldn't get over 75. He's still very much a fullback (could teach RTS a thing or two about supporting his forwards) but would make a very good winger.

[Guest]

He came back around the time we played the sharks and played most of the remaining NYC games on the wing. Scored a few tries that showed that he still has plenty of speed and elusiveness. There's some photos on the website of him at training and it looks like he's bulked up a heap, especially in the upper body. He's a very tall kid and i'd say he's around 85kgs now, which is pretty good when it looked for a while like he wouldn't get over 75. He's still very much a fullback (could teach RTS a thing or two about supporting his forwards) but would make a very good winger.

My thoughts exactly. Id be surprised if he weighed 85kgs - as a rule of thumb, it is general practice that players should not put on more than 6kgs per year or their chances of injury are greatly augmented. That said, if he gets into the 80s in terms of weight, that will be plenty. The fact he is wirey and athletic is fine and we definitely shouldnt try and fill him out so much that he loses his speed and elusiveness which is largely a product of his frame.

The way I see it is that if things go to plan, Wells will be replacing mini in our back 3 long-term. Whether it is he or RTS that ends up at fullback remains to be seen. I agree that while RTS is a massive talent (and my preferred long-term option), Wells is a very good fullback - great support play, hands. Throw in young goodsell from the 20s who Im very interested to see play this year, and between the 3 of them Im certain that 2 of our back 3 spots will be sewn up long-term by 2 of those 3. Mini is just keeping that spot warm for them for the time being.

[Guest]

TRIAL MATCH SQUAD
Minichiello, Tuivasa-Sheck, Wells, Tupou, Henry, Oldfield, O’Sullivan, Jennings, Maloney, Mortimer, Langi, Friend, Seluini, Rokolati, Arona, Kennedy, Moa, Napa, Ailaomai, Cordner, Nu’uausala, Aubusson, Cherrington, Siejka, Liu

To me it says SKD Pearce JWH & SBW are certain certainies.
Jennings & Maloney are certainies but the coaching staff want them to get familiar with things, Mini & Sheck are certainies but I think Robbo is still tossing up how they are going to interchange the FB & 1 wing position. The other wing spot is up for grabs.
I think Robbo would have a top 6 forward pack in mind but is going to be looking for who will fill the bench.

Friend & Cordner are certainies with as I mentioned SBW & JWH. LOD will be in the mix for sure they are bringing him back from England so that leaves 1 prop position for Kennedy Evans Moa Nappa Ailaomai & FPN to fight out & 4 bench position. You would think Aubusson will fill 1 of those spots if he doesn't make the run on side & I think the same go's with Guerra (our best forward last year) so that leaves 2 spots for who ever doesnt make the run on frontrow spot & Symonds Cherrington Arona Bosden Mortimer & Seluini.

Hopefully they all commit to being the top defencive team in the comp & finish where the team with the best defence always finishes.

[Waylander]

FYI, regarding the Manly trial (and good news in general ) I've been told that Glenn Stewart has hurt a knee & may miss up to the first 10 weeks of the comp.

[Guest]

Shame,Manly just emptied there medicine cabinet too...... Unlucky Glen, back to good old fashion rest, ice, elevation and a bit of physio

[stephenj]

mortimer is much more an organiser than pearce so this team could really fire up?

[roosterproud]

morts and sel are a good combo

[fletch]

will be a good test for the depth of our squad, manly are talking up the fact its their final trial and will be treating it as a preview for round 1, they intend to name their strongest possible squad, injuries aside.

[roosterproud]

here is the mandy dribble regards the sharks loss. looks like their full squod was on the field for that game
\

There's plenty to work on after the Sea Eagles' 24-12 loss to the Sharks at Brookvale but head coach Geoff Toovey saw plenty of promise in their first trial of the year.

Despite a strong second half from Manly's senior squad, the home side were unable to reel in the Sharks' 24-4 lead.

However Toovey's taking plenty of positives out of the match, particularly the lack of injuries - despite a scare to Daly Cherry-Evans, who copped a corked thigh.

The Sharks were on the front foot early, with only an outstanding tackle from new Kiwi recruit Peta Hiku stopping Tyrone Peachey from grounding the ball over the line.

But Manly couldn't hold out an 80m Shark attack off Nathan Gardner's quick tap. Leutele was there to finish and put the first points on the board for the Sharks.

Two quick tries followed from Tupou Sopoaga and Tyrone Peachey, with some flimsy Manly showing there's a bit of rust remaining after a long break.

Dean McGlinchy showed good strength to crash over for the Sea Eagles in their first real venture into Sharks territory.

But Manly were soon back on their on line, with only another impressive defensive effort from Peta Hiku that denied Daniel Moroko in the corner.

Manly looked a little shaken, down 16-4 at the 20 minute drinks break. Several changes sturdied the Sea Eagles' defence, with big new recruits Brenton Lawrence and Richie Fa'aoso providing plenty of muscle in the middle.

Kayne Lawton and Dane Chisholm sparked the attack a little, pushing the play down the field but the Sea Eagles came up empty after several raids.

A momentary loss of memory saw Lawrence penalised for a shoulder charge as Garnder completed a kick, marching the Sharks up the field. The Sea Eagles were soon stretched and Junior Roqica capitalised in the left corner.

A spill from fresh Sea Eagles signing Jason Seage almost resulted in another long range try for the Sharks but Chisholm showed great pace to chase down Stewart Mills and keep the score at 20-4 heading into the halftime break.

The senior squad made their first appearance in the second half, but it wasn't a great start, as they let the ball go dead from the kick off.

Beau Ryan put the boot in with a try in the corner off Chad Townsend's cross field kick, which seemed to spur the Sea Eagles into action.

A trademark break from Brett Stewart saw Jamie Buhrer cruise in under the posts for Manly and when Dane Chisholm pushed through an ugly grubber for Jacob Gagan to score, the Sea Eagles looked like they were on the road to a comeback.

But time wasn't on the Sea Eagles' side and despite a few forays towards the Sharks' line in the final minutes, the Sharks were still 24-12 up as the hooter sounded.

It wasn't an ideal start for the Sea Eagles but with so many new faces and a high rotation of players throughout the match, Toovey was expecting errors.

The focus is now on ironing out the creases and rolling on towards the Roosters.

[Cockadoodledoo]

mortimer is much more an organiser than pearce so this team could really fire up?

Not at all.. Mortimer is an excellent support player and good at running holes but no where near where Pearce is as an organizer.

[Guest]

Haven't we learnt not to play Cherrington in trial matches!!!!!