Manly prepare for horror stretch of three matches in 10 days

Manly have begun preparing for their horror run of three matches in 10-days — beginning with what is suddenly a must-win clash with the Tigers.

Jamie Lyon of Manly during the Parramatta Eels v Brisbane Broncos NRL round 1 game at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta. pic Mark Evans

ONLY one ballwork session, daily ice baths, massage and video sessions sliced in half.

Manly have begun preparing for their horror run of three matches in 10 days ahead of what is suddenly a must-win clash with the Wests Tigers next week.

Stunned by Canterbury 28-6 to commence their 2016 campaign at Brookvale Oval on Friday night, Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett’s plan to rest senior players Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart and possibly Steve Matai during a torturous 10 days revolves around Manly’s ability to bounce back from their round one wake-up call.

After facing the Tigers at Leichardt Oval next Monday night, the Sea Eagles then tackle Cronulla (Monday), the Sydney Roosters (Saturday) and South Sydney (Thursday) over 10 days in rounds three, four and five.

The Sea Eagles players will have just five days between matches to overcome injuries and prepare for their next opponent.

Barrett described the potential physical impact of the Sea Eagles shocking draw as similar to the fatigue felt by players after Origin.

“Massage and ice baths and that’s it pretty much, and get them going again,’’ Barrett said.

“Reviews and previews will be different, everything will be shorter, we’ll get one session on the field together, recovery will be key and we’ll make sure that game day is their best day.

“I’ve got a fair idea on how we’ll have to manage Brett Stewart and Jamie Lyon, it might be a case where some of them have to get rested in that middle game.

“It might be a bit too much of them to ask them to back-up. Because they’d get through that, but it’s what happens to them in a month’s time down the track.

“It all catches up with you.

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“It’s a bit like after an Origin period, they get through the next month, but it’s the week’s after that, which begin to take its toll.

“But we’ll manage that and we’ll be guided a bit on how the player’s a feeling. We’ve just got to win, it’s no excuse.’’

Barrett was hoping a first-up victory against the Bulldogs would allow the club to avoid the precarious position of chasing wins ahead of their 10-day torture test.

But lacking cohesion and confidence following an off-season of major personnel change, the Sea Eagles delivered error upon error against a clinical Bulldogs side.

Barrett said he was confident that the work his players, conditioning staff and sports science team had applied during the pre-season would assist the club’s ability to navigate through the next month of football.

The Sea Eagles looked out of sorts on Friday night.

“We still believe that we can win them all and that’s the mentality we have to have. We’ll just handle it each week,’’ Barrett said.

“We can’t change all the short turnarounds, we’ve just got to handle them and make sure game-day is our best day.

“Dan Ferris (strength and conditioner) is really good, he knows how much they (players) need and when they need it.

“Hopefully the hard work that we’ve done over the last three months, we’ll see the fruition of that through those short turnarounds.

“We’ve got some depth with some guys in our NSW Cup team who will see a fair bit of first grade. We rotate them around the whole time at training anyway.

“If we can keep them all healthy and our depth is going to get tested at times, particularly through those periods.’’

Ahead of the Tigers, Barrett’s depth is already under threat with Matai and Martin Taupau under scrutiny having been placed on report for dangerous first-half tackles on Friday night.

Originally published as Manly prepare for horror stretch of three matches in 10 days