Round 25 SEA EAGLES V STORM

[TITAN PETE]

SEA EAGLES V STORM - 31ST AUGUST, 7:30PM, BROOKVALE OVAL | #NRLMANMEL

Sea Eagles
1 Brett Stewart
2 Jorge Taufua
3 Jamie Lyon (c)
4 Steve Matai
5 David Williams
6 Kieran Foran
7 Daly Cherry-Evans
8 Brenton Lawrence
9 Matt Ballin
10 George Rose
11 Jamie Buhrer
12 Justin Horo
13 Glenn Stewart

Interchange
14 Richie Fa'aoso
15 James Hasson
16 Tom Symonds
17 David Gower

Coach: Geoff Toovey

Storm
1 Billy Slater
2 Sisa Waqa
3 Will Chambers
4 Maurice Blair
5 Justin O'Neill
6 Brett Finch
7 Cooper Cronk
8 Jesse Bromwich
9 Cameron Smith (c)
10 Bryan Norrie
11 Kevin Proctor
12 Ryan Hoffman
13 Ryan Hinchcliffe

Interchange
14 Jason Ryles
15 Tohu Harris
16 Jordan McLean
17 Kenneath Bromwich
18 Tim Glasby

Coach: Craig Bellamy

[TITAN PETE]

Cronk may regret mentoring DC-E
By Ben Blaschke
NRL.com
Fri 30th August, 11:00am

They were roommates during State of Origin and now Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans is hoping the tips he learnt from Queensland teammate Cooper Cronk will stand him in good stead when the pair go head to head at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night.

Although he stopped short of labelling his clash with Cronk as some sort of personal battle as old sparring partners Manly and Melbourne reignite their rivalry, Cherry-Evans admitted that his own form had stepped up a level since making his Origin debut two months ago and credited Cronk and co. for his rapid development.

“He was my roommate so I spent a lot of time with him and on the training paddock he was very willing to lend a helping hand, so any time you get that opportunity you grab it with both hands,” the Sea Eagles’ No.7 told NRL.com.

“Cooper’s professionalism was the big thing for me. He does everything properly and if he doesn’t do it well, he’ll keep doing it again until he gets it right. It’s something that’s obviously made him into a very god player.

“It’s the same with all of those guys (Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith), they are very professional in the way they go about their business on and off the field and after seeing how well they do it, it’s still something I need to work on.

“But it would be naïve for me to think I haven’t picked up some experience and confidence playing Origin this year. I think I’ve been playing my role as good if not better since coming back from Origin.”

Cherry-Evans pointed to his running game as a key area in which he has improved in recent weeks and he has certainly caused some problems for opposition defensive lines with some brilliant moments against South Sydney two weeks ago and Parramatta in Round 21.

“I’m always trying to work on the running game,” he said. “It’s an important part of a halves’ game and it’s something Kieran (Foran) and I always speak about. Hopefully we can continue to build on that.”

This week’s clash with Melbourne looms as a crucial game for Manly’s confidence with the finals only two weeks away. The two sides drew 10-all when they met at AAMI Park in Round 10, but that remains the Sea Eagles’ best result against a fellow top-four side in 2013 with two losses to the Roosters and two more to Souths presenting some questions about their ability to go all the way.

But Cherry-Evans insisted it was simply a matter of finding a more consistent performance across the 80 minutes.

“We haven’t thought about that and we haven’t spoken about it,” he said in regards to the lack of wins over top-four units. “We understand that we’ve played well in patches against those top-four sides but we need to do it for 80 minutes if we want to get the results against those good sides such as Melbourne this weekend.

“Even in the games we’ve been winning, we’ve taken the foot off the throat and slackened off a little. I think building into these finals is something we’ve addressed. It’s something we need to work on and hopefully these next two weeks we can put in some pretty good performances.”

While Cherry-Evans is relatively new to the Manly-Melbourne rivalry – having debuted well after their consecutive grand final meetings in 2007 and 2008 – he has since experienced the passion the two sides bring out of one another and was part of the infamous “Battle of Brookvale” two years ago that resulted in Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair being sent off for fighting, four Manly players suspended for joining in and both clubs fined $50,000.

And while he said he personally bore no ill-will towards the Storm, he admitted there were likely a few teammates still pencilling this clash in each season.

“More than anything I think there is more of a mutual respect between us,” he said. “There might be a bit of dislike from previous years but I personally wouldn’t know about that.

“What I do remember was that [the Battle of Brookie] was a fiery encounter. Each side lost an important player that night and it ended up being a real fiery game.

“It’s a match I’ll always remember because of the fight. I can’t see it coming to that this Saturday night but it’s obviously going to be a really tough game.”

“You know what you’re going to get when you play against Melbourne. We’re looking forward to an intense battle. We’re going to have to play well for 80 minutes if we’re going to get the result we’re after.”

[TITAN PETE]

SYDNEY Aug 31 AAP - Manly jumped above Melbourne into third spot and claimed their first top-four scalp of the season on the back of an electrifying first-half display at Brookvale Oval on Saturday.

Winger David Williams bagged a first-half hat-trick as a switched on Manly overcame an early injury setback to back-rower Jamie Buhrer to score the first 20 points on their way to a 28-8 victory.

The Sea Eagles, who needed to win by 11 to clamber above the Storm on the NRL ladder, scored all six of their tries down Melbourne's left-hand side, in arguably their best performance of the season.

The margin might have been greater if captain and centre Jamie Lyon hadn't had a wayward night with the boot - missing five of his seven kicks at goal.

Manly, who had drawn with Melbourne earlier this season and lost twice to both the pacesetting Rabbitohs and Roosters, underlined their title credentials.

Starting Saturday's penultimate round NRL game two points behind the third-placed Storm, Manly produced a scorching start, piling on 12 points in the first 13 minutes.

Fullback Brett Stewart crossed twice before leaving the ground late in the game.

A besieged and uncharacteristically mistake-ridden Melbourne looked rattled in the first quarter.

The Sea Eagles performed with pace precision and confidence despite losing back-rower Buhrer after little more than 70 seconds.

He was taken to hospital for X-rays, appearing to suffer a rib injury after being caught in an awkward tackle between Ryan Hoffman and Ryan Hinchcliffe.

Within half a minute of Buhrer leaving the ground, Manly had their first try, with Williams crossing after Melbourne forward Jesse Bromwich lost the ball in the opening set.

The rampant Sea Eagles were in again in the ninth minute, when Stewart was set up by brother Glenn.

Williams crossed twice in the right hand side to expand his tally for the season to 17, after Manly players knocked back high crossfield kicks from five-eighth Kieran Foran.

Williams almost scored two more before the break and was outside Stewart when the fullback dived over for his second four-pointer.

Two minutes before the break, Melbourne finally got on the board when winger Sisa Waqa beat opposing winger Peta Hiku to a perfectly weighted kick from fullback Billy Slater.

In the second half, Waqa, on two occasions, and fellow winger O'Neill almost scored as the Storm played with more urgency and intensity.

Stewart scored Manly's fifth try before O'Neill crossed late for Melbourne.

Halfback Daly Cherry-Evans notched Manly's sixth try after Storm five-eighth Brett Finch fumbled a pass from an uncharacteristically out-of-sorts Cameron Smith.

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy was at a loss to explain what he described as a really poor performance by his side.

"Obviously our defence was poor and usually that comes down to a poor attitude," Bellamy said.

"I'm not quite sure why we had the poor attitude tonight.

"But it was really disappointing, so we've got a fair bit of work to do.

Smith, normally one of the NRL's most eloquent spokesmen, turned taciturn when asked why Melbourne lacked intensity.

"No. I don know what more to say, there's no reason at all," Smith said.

Manly coach Geoff Toovey praised his team's effort, especially after the early loss of Buhrer.

"It was a gutsy performance, particularly after losing Jamie Buhrer in the first minute," Toovey said.

"We had to shuffle players around,, but I think the first half was definitely our best half of football this year."

Toovey wasn't fussed Manly had finally beaten another top four team.

He said he would know more about Buhrer's rib injury on Sunday and that Stewart was taken off as a precautionary measure with a slight hamstring strain.

Bellamy said O'Neill could be out for a while after being kneed in the back.

[TITAN PETE]

The Eagles have reminded everyone they are still a huge chance to be playing in October