Manly’s run home, and two blockbusters with Melbourne, will tell us where the Sea Eagles stand

Manly are flying high after their win over Parramatta but their run home will tell us what they’re made of - starting with this weekend’s showdown with their old rivals, the Melbourne Storm.

Manly's Tom Trbojevic makes a break during the Manly v Parramatta NRL match at Lottoland, Brookvale. Picture: Brett Costello

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Manly face two season-defining games against a fierce old rival to determine whether the Sea Eagles are the real deal in 2019.

In a quirk of the draw that has privately angered Sea Eagles officials, the NRL draw has pit Manly against runaway competition leaders Melbourne twice in the next five weeks.

Manly travel to Melbourne on Saturday night for a huge game at AAMI Park before the two sides square-off again at Brookvale Oval in round 24, just 36 days later.

With so much on the line, the double-up will reignite the dislike both clubs have for one-anther, and revive memories of the infamous Battle of Brookvale, the night in 2011 when fired-up players engaged in an all-in brawl which spilt over the sidelines.

Captains Daly Cherry-Evans and Cameron Smith are the only remaining players from that infamous night.

Trbojevic has helped take Manly to the next level. Picture by Brett Costello.

While Manly were dominant 36-24 winners over Parramatta on Sunday, superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic warned the Sea Eagles, who are on 22 competition points and one win outside the top four, they could not afford to switch off late against Melbourne like they did against the Eels.

“They are the benchmark, mate,” Trbojevic said of Melbourne.

“You’ve got to go to another level to compete with them. We played a really good for the first 60 minutes (against Parramatta) but our last 20 wasn’t good enough.

“Against Melbourne, you can’t have those patches in games and you can’t expect to win unless you play for the full 80.

“Moving forward, we’re going to have to find a way to correct that and I’m really confident given the staff we have here that they can help with that.”

Trbojevic, who ran for 250 metres against Parramatta and scored a spectacular try, was 14 when the Battle of Brookvale erupted in 2011.

Trbojevic remembers Manly’s battles with Melbourne fondly. AAP Image/Joe Castro.

“I wasn’t (at the game), but I still remember it clearly,” Trbojevic said.

“I was actually driving home and it was on my phone you could see this massive fight. I was annoyed at myself for not being there watching it.

“Manly and Melbourne were going through — for ten years or so — being the two best sides in the comp. Obviously there has been a lot of players have moved on from back then but there is still a lot of history between the two clubs.”

And if tensions flared again on Saturday?

“I couldn’t fight to save my life,” Trbojevic said.

Having recovered from two hamstring injuries earlier this season that threatened to ruin his 2019 campaign, Trbojevic is in stunning form.

He has quickly entered the elite class of fullback and hasn’t been in a losing side so far this season, during his eight games with Manly and NSW.

Can Manly keep their run of form going. Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images.

“It was a tough first half of the year for obvious reasons but I’m just enjoying being back out there with this group of boys,” he said. “We are putting some wins together and everyone is starting to believe we can play some really good footy.”

Asked did he want to be rested last week against Souths, Trbojevic said: “Personally, I didn’t want a rest but there are a lot of people here who are a lot smarter than me and they thought it was the best idea.

“They didn’t want something to happen to a particular muscle in my body that could have caused me to be out for the back half of the year. They made the call and you just have to back them. With hamstrings, you’ve got to manage them.

“You can be back playing but you still have to manage the loads. They have all the data, it’s something I don’t really know about. But they look at it and use really big words and you’ve just got to back them.”

MANLY’S RUN HOME

R19 v Storm (A)

R20 v Knights (H)

R21 v Warriors (A)

R22 v Tigers (H)

R23 v Raiders (A)

R24 v Storm (H)

R25 v Eels (A)