By Billie Eder and Daniel Lo Surdo
The Sea Eagles are the only finals-bound team to have beaten all their top eight opponents this season.
But their wins against the Roosters, Panthers and Storm all came in the first half of the season when the team was playing “more consistent footy”, according to hooker Lachlan Croker.
As the season has progressed, the Sea Eagles have earned a reputation for piling on points before lapses in defence let them down – their 34-26 loss to the Tigers last week being the most recent example.
This week, they come up against the best defensive team in the competition – the Bulldogs.
With what first looked a patchwork team, coach Cameron Ciraldo has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround.
A bottom-three side in 2023, the Bulldogs have secured their spot in the finals – the first September action since 2016. Victory against Manly could secure them a top-four spot if other results go their way.
Manly’s lethal backline
Manly are a top-four attacking side, but sit seventh on the ladder. They’ve piled on 580 points this year – mostly from their backline.
Coach Anthony Seibold faces a conundrum. He is trying to fit six players into five spots, with Tom Trbojevic, Jason Saab, Lehi Hopoate, Tolutau Koula, Reuben Garrick and Tommy Talau all fit to play. Those six players alone have scored 388 of those 580 points when Garrick’s goals are added in.
Bulldogs prop Max King said it best when analysing his opponents ahead of Friday’s match.
“Manly have been a side where they have so much strike and so much X-factor, but they’ve probably underachieved, in probably their eyes, of where they are [on the ladder],” King said.
“We deem them a lot higher side than where they’re sitting, so I think it’s a great test for us in defence, and their attack is electric. It will be great to see how everything holds up.”
One of the Sea Eagles’ strengths is their speed out wide. Once their forwards make inroads through the middle, they spread the ball to the outside and strip the defence for numbers. Add a floating Trbojevic to the mix, and Manly can find points easily. Trbojevic has scored 16 tries for the season – including a hat trick last week – despite missing two months with a hamstring injury.
But Manly’s star fullback is aware of his team’s flaws - namely their defence and discipline.
“I think we’ve got to look at these next two weeks as really setting ourselves up for finals footy. We’re playing two teams that are in the finals [Bulldogs and Sharks], so we’ve got to go back to playing our style of footy, prove to ourselves that it works,” Trbojevic said.
Bulldogs: Powerful defence and left-edge strike
The 2024 Bulldogs are unrecognisable from last year’s team.
Last season they had leaked 769 points – the worst of any team. That was worse than wooden spooners, the Wests Tigers. Now, their defence is even better than Penrith, statistically speaking.
They’ve kept their last three opponents – Warriors, Dolphins and Dragons – scoreless in the second half, and on average concede just 16 points a game.
Croker identified the Bulldogs’ defence - both organised and scrambling - as the greatest obstacle to overcome on Friday.
“They’re not a huge pack, but they work very hard for one another, and it’s probably going to be up to us to challenge them with our carry,” Croker said.
“We’ve got a few big boys in the middle that can do that, so if we don’t challenge them with our carry, then they’ll wrestle our ears off and their line speed will sort of counteract anything we want to do out wide.”
Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton said repeating the defensive performances they’ve become known for was essential on Friday night.
“It’s vital this week, especially with Manly, [they] play great attacking football, with the likes of Cherry-Evans and Trbojevic. They’re a dangerous side so that defence is going to have to be on this week.”
Add their left-edge attack to their defence, and they’re a team that could sneak into the final four.
Bronson Xerri has been one of the best centres in the NRL of late, and his combination with Josh Addo-Carr, Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton on the left edge troubles the best teams.
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