Round 5 EELS V SHARKS

[TITAN PETE]

EELS V SHARKS - 6TH APRIL, 5:30PM, PARRAMATTA STADIUM | #NRLPARCRO

Eels

1 Jarryd Hayne (c)
2 Ken Sio
3 Ryan Morgan
4 Jacob Loko
5 Vai Toutai
6 Luke Kelly
7 Chris Sandow
8 Mitch Allgood
9 Matt Keating
10 Tim Mannah
11 Reni Maitua (c)
12 Ben Smith
13 Joseph Paulo

Interchange
14 Ben Roberts
15 Darcy Lussick
16 Fuifui Moimoi
17 Kelepi Tanginoa

Coach: Ricky Stuart

Sharks

1 Michael Gordon
2 Nathan Stapleton
3 Ben Pomeroy
4 Jonathan Wright
5 Beau Ryan
6 Chad Townsend
7 Jeff Robson
8 Andrew Fifita
9 John Morris
10 Ben Ross
11 Luke Lewis
12 Wade Graham
13 Paul Gallen (c)

Interchange
14 Chris Heighington
15 Jayson Bukuya
16 Isaac De Gois
17 Anthony Tupou
18 Sam Tagataese
21 Stewart Mills

Coach: Shane Flanagan

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

AFTER Parramatta's first trial match in February, Tim Mannah reached into his blue and gold kit bag to pull out his mobile phone.

Sweat still dripping from his brow, Mannah hurried to find little brother Johnny's number.

It was a post-match ritual the two brothers shared after each match they played.

On most occasions, Tim just wanted an excuse to sledge his younger brother with a funny nickname. As brothers do.

But this time, Tim wanted to find out what Johnny was up to.

He also had to tell Johnny how he'd played under new coach Ricky Stuart for the first time.

And how the new-look Eels had played.

Then big Tim stopped writing that text message.

"It was probably there, for the first time, I realised he wasn't around to answer," Mannah told News Limited.

For the entire Mannah family, every day since Johnny's passing from Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 22 in January has been slightly better than the day before.

This Saturday will be a day the Mannah family will remember forever, when Parramatta and Cronulla will play for the inaugural Johnny Mannah Cup at Parramatta Stadium.

Finally rugby league, and the Eels, have something to celebrate.

And it's all thanks to a man who played just 24 NRL matches for the Sharks between 2009-2011 and would've been running out for the Eels this season had cancer not cut his young life way too short.

"To think that my little brother, my little brother who never really played a whole lot of NRL, could leave an impact as big as he has and to be afforded this type of honour, it's something so special for the family," Tim said.

The Mannah Cup will ensure Johnny's inspiration and passion for the game live on forever.

TIM MANNAH PAUL GALLEN

Tim Mannah carries the Johnny Mannah Cup as he talks to Paul Gallen. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Daily Telegraph

And right now, the Eels could use some of Johnny's toughness. Like the day he turned up to training just hours after having chemotherapy.

Or how he would never show an ounce of weakness despite his dwindling physique.

The cup says much about the man who NSW Origin and Cronulla captain Paul Gallen fondly refers to as a "gentleman of the game".

"Johnny was as tough as they come," Gallen said.

"He was sick, sore and instead of feeling sorry for himself he'd turn up to training at Cronulla with a smile from ear to ear.

"Quite often I'll think about Johnny, and think why he kept turning up to training even though he was battling cancer.

"It was because he loved the game.

"He loved being around his teammates and just enjoying the opportunity that life had presented him. That's inspiration right there."

JOHNNY MANNAH

Picture: Brett Costello Source: The Daily Telegraph

A devout Christian, Tim says his faith has allowed him to celebrate Johnny's amazing life and accept that his younger brother is now at peace.

"But the longer time goes on, there are definitely times that I miss him," Tim says.

"Having his name tossed up a bit makes you realise how much you miss him.

"There are things that we shared, like jokes, that nobody else would laugh at except us two.

"So when those times come up, you do miss him.

"But as a whole, the last few months have actually been really good.

"I've had really great support from not only our club, but the entire rugby league community. We've had people at our church show great support.

"We draw a lot of strength from our faith. Even down to the way we got to say goodbye. We actually don't call it goodbye, we call it 'see you later'.

"It's been a pretty special couple of months and I'm just so grateful that with the Johnny Mannah Cup, his legacy can live on."
daily telegraph

[TITAN PETE]

Gallen says he'll go nude if Sharks lose
By Roje Adaimy
AAP
Wed 03rd April, 4:22pm


Parramatta coach Ricky Stuart will make Sharks skipper Paul Gallen stick to a promise and walk down The Kingsway in Cronulla naked if the beleaguered Eels can beat his team this weekend.

Stuart fronted reporters on Wednesday after six of his players failed to show up at a scheduled media session the day before to explain Monday's 50-0 loss to the Sydney Roosters.

The Eels coach said it would be "very hard" to get confidence back into his squad after such an embarrassment but added he was looking forward to some comeuppance on Saturday when they face the Sharks at Parramatta Stadium.

Stuart bumped into Gallen on Tuesday, the Sharks stalwart no contemplating anything else other than a win.

"He said that if we beat them he's going to walk down The Kingsway naked," Stuart said with a grin.

"I'll hold him to that and I hope we can beat them just so I can be there to see that."

Stuart stood by comments he made post-match on Monday that he expects more hidings as the club tries to rebuild itself.

"It's just reality," he said.

"It's something that we don't want but it's just reality. We're working very hard as a team."

Eels co-captain Tim Mannah backed Stuart's assessment, saying the comments weren't demoralising at all for the team.

"We understand what Ricky's doing - he's just wanting fans to understand where we're at at the moment," he said.

"It is a new-look team, it is a new way of playing.

"So for us, it's just a matter of improving where we can and just trying to get a little bit better every week."

Mannah, whose late brother will be honoured in this weekend's match, said he sees it as a challenge to turnaround a performance that was both embarrassing and unacceptable.

"I don't think we're too far away from being a really good football team, it's just a matter of reaching out potential more every week," he said.