THEY may kick off a couple of hours earlier than their senior mates, but the similarities between the NRL and Toyota Cup games at Kogarah tomorrow are evident.

Manly’s under-20s squad finished the regular season seventh and will face the in-form Warriors at Kogarah Jubilee Oval tomorrow afternoon.

The Sea Eagles actually led the competition for the first half of the season before suspensions, NRL call-ups and injuries took their toll.

The Warriors, on the other hand, are in form and considered one of the teams to beat.

That tale is virtually identical in the NRL clash between the Sea Eagles and Dragons.

But Manly Toyota Cup coach David Penna believes his young squad is ready to surprise the Aucklanders tomorrow.

“I think they will put their hands up and step up,” he said yesterday.

“They (the Warriors) can’t put out any stronger side on the park than they have.

“In the last four or five weeks, they have been beating teams comfortably and they are coming in with a lot of form and confidence.”

It’s no surprise the Warriors will arrive tomorrow in a buoyant frame having smashed the Sea Eagles 56-18 in round 24.

That result was a reversal of their round-four outing, which Manly won 30-12 in Auckland.

“This team is almost identical to the team that beat them and was then on top of the comp after 14, 15 rounds,” Penna said.

“Since then, we had four players suspended, we didn’t train with wet fields, so we’ve just had no cohesion in our football team.

“Semis are a new season ... everyone is on par. Semi-final football can do funny things to teams.”

Penna knows that better than most, having watched his squad - minor premiers in 2009 - bow out of the finals without winning a game last year.

Kick-off tomorrow is 1.30pm.

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