Manly have recruited well and there’s plenty of potential in 2016

MATTHEW JOHNS SCOUTING REPORT: Manly have recruited brilliantly and will enjoy significant improvement this year. The pack is a beauty.

Manly vs Cowboys

MANLY have recruited brilliantly and will enjoy significant improvement this year. The pack is a beauty.

Nate Myles is a great player and a natural leader, while Martin Taupau was one of the best big men of 2016 and it is hard to believe the Tigers let him go.

Lewis Brown will prove to be an astute buy. He has experience, versatility and is a hard-nosed competitor.

There’s a lot to like about Manly in 2016.

Dylan Walker, if he performs to his potential, will play State of Origin this year. Walker lost his way in the last 12 months but is still only very young. And from what I’m told has had a very good preparation. Expect big things from Walker. Whether he plays centre or wears the No.6 is the question. I hear he’ll wear the No.6, and I’ll talk more about that shortly.

I like how Manly have also recruited in the dummy-half department. Young Matt Parcell from the Ipswich Jets is an explosive player and will enjoy the extra speed in the game. Parcell will share minutes with Api Koroisau, who never quite fulfilled his potential at Penrith but could be a very good pick-up.

The loss of Kieran Foran concerns me. You don’t lose a great player like Foran without feeling some pain, and it leaves a significant hole in who partners Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves.

As I said, word is Walker will fill the No.6 jersey and he will be a success there with a focus on being a ball-running half. But that does put more pressure on Daly.

Foran shared the creative load on Daly and had the ability to push the side around the park, which also eased the load on the No.7. Walker won’t be that sort of player. Creatively this side is all Cherry-Evans.

The form of DCE will determine how much Manly miss Foran. If Cherry-Evans has a 2011-type year, Manly could very well win the competition. If he suffers injury or a crisis in confidence, they might only scrape into the top eight.

BEST 13

1 Brett Stewart 2 Jorge Taufua 3 Jamie Lyon 4 Steve Matai 5 Tom Trbojevic 6 Dylan Walker 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Nate Myles 9 Apisai Koroisau 10 Jake Trbojevic 11 Jamie Buhrer 12 Lewis Brown 13 Martin Taupau. Interchange: 14 Brenton Lawrence 15 Darcy Lussick 16 Matt Parcell 17 Feleti Mateo.

INS

Dylan Walker (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Nate Myles (Gold Coast Titans), Martin Taupau (Wests Tigers), Lewis Brown (Penrith Panthers), Apisai Koroisau (Penrith Panthers), Darcy Lussick (Parramatta Eels), Tim Moltzen (Wests Tigers), Matt Parcell (Brisbane Broncos), Nathan Green (St George Illawarra Dragons), John Walker (rugby union), Tom Wright (schoolboy rugby union), Fabian Goodall (Parramatta Eels)

OUTS

Willie Mason (released), Kieran Foran (Parramatta Eels), James Hasson (Parramatta Eels), Justin Horo (Catalan Dragons), Jack Littlejohn (Wests Tigers), Ligi Sao (New Zealand Warriors), Michael Chee-Kam (Wests Tigers), Dunamis Lui (St George Illawarra Dragons), Clinton Gutherson (Parramatta Eels), David Williams (released), Jesse Sene-Lefao (Cronulla Sharks), Cheyse Blair (Melbourne Storm), Will Pearsall (Newcastle Knights), Matt Ballin (Wests Tigers), Tyson Andrews (Redcliffe), Peta Hiku (Penrith Panthers)

DRAW

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