Five pointers to cheer up sea eagles supporters

[lsz]

Whilst our season may have not gotten off to the start we were expecting, here are five things Sea Eagles supporters should be happy about.

1. Improvement from round one
Whilst round two wasn't a win, it sure was an improvement from the week prior. Visiting the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval was always going to be a tough task, but the boys put in a lot more effort than we saw in round one. Our defence was soft, but our attack had sparks of exciting intensity, scoring an impressive 24 points.

2. Brenton Lawrence's comeback
After spending the majority of the season on the sideline in 2015, Brenton Lawrence played his first NRL game in over a year. He came back firing as if he hadn't missed 25 first grade games. It is crazy to think around this time last year after tough back surgery he was learning to walk again, and now he's back on the field to his usual hard-hitting self.

3. The Trbojevic brothers
The Trbojevic brothers have had to step up a lot in the early rounds of this season. 19-year-old Tom has had to fill big shoes in the fullback role, and 22-year-old Jake played his first game at lock against the Tigers. Being the two youngest players in the line-up, these loveable local juniors enthusiasm and work ethic always puts a smile on Manly supporters' faces.

4. Matt Parcell
Do I need to say anymore? The utility back has been explosive every time he has entered the field. His creativity is so exciting to watch and I presume he won't be far off starting. In my opinion he is our best buy so far, and at only 23-years-old Matt Parcell has an extremely bright future

5. The Prince of Brookvale is near to return
Starting off the season without some of your best is always tough, and with the loss of Brett Stewart the team just wasn't complete. Coming out this week and stating that he is confident on return this Monday night sure made Sea Eagles fans react a little like this -

The Prince of Brookvale is an absolute asset to the team, and with him back in the side I think we will be much closer to finally getting a win! (+ a couple of others may disappear into reserve grade..)


Don't lose hope yet Manly fans, please remember it's only round two. Just think, last season the Cowboys lost their first three games!

Keep holding on and supporting the boys. Hope to see you all out at Brookie on Monday night!

Ella x

 

[lsz]

Another quality article from Ella

 

[HappilyManly]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/sea-eagles/crawley-files-manly-still-have-time-to-turn-things-around/news-story/30c680b3de64b24e30ea92654517a9c3?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20dailytelegraphnrlndm%20(Daily%20Telegraph%20%7C%20NRL)

Crawley Files: Manly still have time to turn things around
36 minutes ago
Paul CrawleyThe Daily Telegraph

Don’t hang Trent Barrett by his shoelaces from the Brookvale Oval scoreboard just yet. Or put a statue of Jason Taylor on the hill at Leichhardt.

Do you recall what happened at the start of 2015?

Let’s put a few things in perspective.

After two rounds last year the NRL ladder read like this:

Penrith on top, with the Rabbitohs, Tigers and Knights the only other unbeaten teams.

Seven teams were one from two, but at the bottom the Sharks, Cowboys, Dragons and Titans were all winless.

In fact, Newcastle remained the only unbeaten team after four rounds.

By late July, Rick Stone was the first coach sacked.

The Knights finished the year with the wooden spoon and the Panthers and Tigers, both unbeaten after two rounds, were two other sides in the dogfight with them.

In comparison, the Cowboys lost their first three and only scraped home by the hair of Johnathan Thurston’s chin against the Storm in week four in golden point.

Then they finished top four and won in golden point again on grand final night, the very last play of the season.

And the Sharks and Dragons, also winless after two rounds, both played finals footy.

The one guarantee is that there will be plenty of ups and downs before we get to round 26 again.

What we’ve seen so far is that the fortunes of every team, and every player, can change so fast.

In round one Adam Reynolds had hold of his first NSW Origin jersey, the next minute he was nursing a broken jaw.

Now Billy Slater is gone for the season.

Fans would be wise not to write off the Sea Eagles yet.
When Slater went down last year, most thought the Storm’s hopes would go with him.

Then up stepped Cameron Munster.

Right now the Warriors look like they couldn’t beat time with a stick.

But are you silly enough to write off the likes of Shaun Johnson, Issac Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck after two rounds?

Or put a pen through the Roosters before Pearce, Cordner and Waerea-Hargreaves return?

Last week the Dragons were awful, but last year they lost their first two and looked gone in round three against Canberra before a memorable comeback sparked their season to life.

Will it be the same for the Dragons when they run out to take on the Rabbitohs at the SCG on Sunday?

Right now Dylan Walker looks like a great centre playing out of position, the fear from many that he might never cut it as an NRL five-eighth.

But does that mean Barrett should give up on a summer of preparation after two ordinary games?

Or does the rookie coach back his judgment, like Wayne Bennett did last year with Anthony Milford?

Remember, many had the same concerns about Milford after round one. By season’s end, Milford was among the best in the grand final, when the Broncos got pipped by the side that lost its first three games.

To borrow a line from Vince Lombardi: “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

You look at the way the Tigers are playing right now, their confidence and exuberance, and you can’t help but question: Why didn’t Taylor give them the same freedom last year, allow them to play the Tigers’ brand, instead of trying to turn them into a defensive clone of the Roosters?

It reminds us of a great story about how the Cowboys got their season on track last year.

Paul Green revealed after their first win over the Storm how he had called on sports psychologist, Cliff Mallett, to get his team believing.

The story goes Mallett got the Cowboys playing the children’s game Jenga, where you create a taller tower by carefully destabilising the initial one. At the time, Mallett explained the theory behind it: “We try to get the players to focus on their strengths — to admit that yes, there are things in their game that need improvement, but focusing on their strengths and what they do well will help them under pressure.

“If you continue to worry about what you can’t do, you won’t be thinking about what you can do.

“The overall mindset is about shifting your thinking from your deficits to your strengths.”

That same week the Cowboys staged a wonderful comeback, from 16-4 down at halftime they won 18-17 in golden point.


From that breakthrough, six months later, they made history for their club.

By then everyone had forgotten about what happened back in March, expect the Cowboys obviously, who decided to forget the negatives, and focus on their strengths.

A few teams could learn from that theory right now.

 

[Dee Why Eagle]

Sorry Ella, I don't usually get off on your articles but this was spot on. Informative, well opinionated & most importantly, true to the core.

 

[master blaster]

Yes Ella,another great article,you cheered me up for sure

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

Another quality article

 

[Dee Why Eagle]

Another quality article

damn that wine... i cant focus

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Another quality article

Yep that cheered me up as well!!

 

[wedgetail eagle]

5 Pointers? I can only see...
never mind...

Careful, it could be a Booby trap.

 

[niccipops]

Awesome job Ella. I like the positive vibe and hope the boys can deliver.
@Berkeley_Eagle, your dancing girl, if she keeps doing that they'll be down by her belly button by the time she's 30.

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

Awesome job Ella. I like the positive vibe and hope the boys can deliver.
@Berkeley_Eagle, your dancing girl, if she keeps doing that they'll be down by her belly button by the time she's 30.

 

[niccipops]

That damn gravity. The older I get the more interested I become in space travel.

 

[Frogz]

Has there been 1 player not interviewed this week or written an article about staying together, staying strong, building, bonding, loss we had to have, loss that wasnt our fault....Fark me maybe train and see what happens. Lets keep the players out of the media. Maybe Penn and the Big Fat Greek should step up and say a bit, they had a sh1t load to say this time last year. Is that other dope still employed, the CEO?????. I honestly had to look up Joe Kelly's name as I had forgotten him.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

That damn gravity. The older I get the more interested I become in space travel.

Don't worry about it Nicci, young firm and dumb or older saggier and smart.

Give me smart any day.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Oh but doesn't mean I don't enjoy looking !!!

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

damn that wine... i cant focus

Rack 'em up!

 

[niccipops]

Don't worry about it Nicci, young firm and dumb or older saggier and smart.

Give me smart any day.

Hilarious. I hope you don't tell your wife she's older and saggier. Just tell her the smart bit.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Hilarious. I hope you don't tell your wife she's older and saggier. Just tell her the smart bit.

Wise choice

 

[Dan]

Great article Ella really appreciate your contributions

 

[wedgetail eagle]

That damn gravity. The older I get the more interested I become in space travel.

Re-Space travel.
Did you hear about the Restaurant on the Moon?
Great food, but no atmosphere.