King,Stewart,Wolf,Lussick

[susan]

These guys look like being missing for our final series run.Lussick can play GF if we make it.

Setting aside all the testosterone and the fact many think we have been hard done by,in the cold hard light of day,what are our chances of winning this thing?History suggests that you need your best players firing and good preparation to win a title which we havent got at the moment.

This feels a bit like last year atm with a couple less casualties but a great wildcard in Cherry Evans added in.Plus we are coming from second ,not fifth.Where do you think we will finish?

My personal view is we win week 1.In all likelihood we then play Broncos or dragons in prelim.50/50 on this game.GF will be tough.

My call is maybe just falling short but maybe the spirit of 78 can reappear.

Views?

 

[Captain Moondog]

These guys look like being missing for our final series run.Lussick can play GF if we make it.

Setting aside all the testosterone and the fact many think we have been hard done by,in the cold hard light of day,what are our chances of winning this thing?History suggests that you need your best players firing and good preparation to win a title which we havent got at the moment.

This feels a bit like last year atm with a couple less casualties but a great wildcard in Cherry Evans added in.Plus we are coming from second ,not fifth.Where do you think we will finish?

My personal view is we win week 1.In all likelihood we then play Broncos or dragons in prelim.50/50 on this game.GF will be tough.

My call is maybe just falling short but maybe the spirit of 78 can reappear.

Views?

I reckon if we get to the GF we'll win it.

 

[Ian Martin tragic]

just seen the whole replay susan and was looking for something in the second half (after the bizarre first half) and it was there: sustained effort from all key players, smooth continuity despite losing the stewarts, good game control by foran and dce.

the signs were there of that kind of down to business gearing up you want to see. choc was more prominent up the middle, kite has stepped up since king went, rodney is back to full fitness, lyon and matai are at full throttle. as others have suggested I think the injustice of the impending penalties for the 'brawl' will be further motivation.

so I think even minus the stewarts and lussick we are in with a strong shot at getting to the gf. with both of them back and most others still there, I wouldn't want to be playing us. good chance it could only be brett though with all the bull**** hype.

 

[eagles2win]

There is an article floating around saying that King might be right if we make the grand final

 

[The Wheel]

If we can gte through week 1 then we are a great chance IMO - assuming Gift only gets 3 weeks. Having said that our back up is pretty good, Mauro/Robinson have all been great this year when call upon. We do need Hoppa/Snake back fit and well.

Obviosuly we will be weaker without a few stars but we are as good as chance as any.

 

[Cameron]

In DES hasler we trust.
We will win the whole damn thing

 

[HappilyManly]

Lussick only played interchange.
Wolfie was off the field with injuries as often as he was on it scoring those amazing tries.
King was comming back to his best, but I didnt feel he was at his peak in 2011.
Glenn will be there at GF

Friday night had 60 minutes of class with 3 of them out.
Gary Freeman said as much on Fox. 'Manly went up a gear after the brawl...Melbourne froze at the level that they were before the brawl..'

DCE and Lyons were clinical, but I was most impressed by Matty the unsung defendor became a metre gaining/ball playing freak

Manly Team to give it their ALL along with our even more frenzied support

Bring It Home in 2011!

 

[mosto]

I actually think the NRL were a little more lenient than I expected. I think the suspensions so far are about spot on.

On our finals chances, I think we're looking OK. Gift gone for the season and will be a huge loss. Having said that, slot Ferris or T-Rex in between DCE and Killer and that right side still looks fairly impressive. Nood and George have been covering well for King. Oldfield is no Wolf but can handle first grade.

Now, look at the positives, Snake out injured anyway (hopefully only 1-2 weeks), let him get his knee right. The way Foz plays, a week off running into the finals could be just what he needs. Hoppa fills in for Snake, then for Wolf when Snakes back. Mauro / Robinson fill Lussick's bench spot.

So, in a roundabout way, I think the NRL has done us a favour. We get to rest a couple of stars before the semi's.

 

[eagles2win]

If we can gte through week 1 then we are a great chance IMO - assuming Gift only gets 3 weeks. Having said that our back up is pretty good, Mauro/Robinson have all been great this year when call upon. We do need Hoppa/Snake back fit and well.

Obviosuly we will be weaker without a few stars but we are as good as chance as any.

You forgot Harrison

 

[Ian Martin tragic]

melbourne minus cronk are not nearly as good; almost as key as the other 2 spiners. so they will be better if we get that far, and it's hard to judge exactly from that bizarre game (at least the 1st half) our superiority to them, but we have some that's clear.

but the performance has been lost a bit in all the other palava: forward pack was fantastic: how good is lussick going to be?! and the senior citizens were all strong.

also, they seemed to have some different tactics to respond to the storm slowing down strategy; they often ran, slowed down a bit then changed direction, or did switches. and some runs across the ruck were used. it looked deliberate to me. the storm 'absorb' strong runs and use the energy to gradually slow down the player and the whole rhythm of the attack. it didn't work as well against us. plus the refs seemed to be onto it a bit more.

the halves had big games; foran looks ready to do some big things in the finals. the centres are massive. and we have the impact players (+ hoppa waiting in the wings).

 

[Moops]

Peter Sterling is one commentator that calls it straight and he mentioned that Manly can't win the GF without Glenn Stewart. I have been thinking the same thing. Stewart has taken over from Watmough as our most valuable forward IMO

 

[Stevo]

Glen was sin binned for running into a fight not throwing punches. No charge. He was charged for throwing punches in the second fight. The most he can get is 5 weeks. IMO what he did was no where near grade 5. More like 2-3 which basically equals 2-3 weeks. If they defend him right, they may even get it down as low as 2 weeks.

I'm not so sure Brett is as injured as we are being told. He played on after supposedly hurting it and then ran off at half time. We were well on top at the time.

 

[susan]

brett is fine Fonz,as is Hoppa.Both there for week 1.Glen is gone.They wont give the main player less than Lussick and with loading he is finished.Still looks a strong side if we can get past all these distarctions but Glen means so much as he takes the pressue off DCE on the right side.

 

[Cameron]

dan gianne said on the Grill this morning than manly are privately thinking Glenn will get 3 games.

If thats the case we will have him for the GF

Friday night showed that des has had the breaks of Foran for a month now he was all over them last friday.

Foran
DCE
Lyon
and Fit Brett

and we are still the best team in this comp

 

[susan]

interesting

it is a total longshot but wouldnt it be beautiful if Glen got 3 but Blair gets the extra 2 and misses.

 

[Cameron]

is it wishful thinking but does anyone think it will help glenn going straight to the judicary with them being former players and all

 

[bones]

Manly will win the premiership this year on the back of the best young halves in the game. Anyone who thinks they can't still win in 2011, are seriously underestimating the influence Kieran Foran will have on the big matches ahead.

 

[susan]

depends on whether you think the fix is in or not.lot of pressure on them to back the evil Gallop up on this.media has them both gone and it seems they get there way most of the time doesnt it.

 

[Stevo]

brett is fine Fonz,as is Hoppa.Both there for week 1.Glen is gone.They wont give the main player less than Lussick and with loading he is finished.Still looks a strong side if we can get past all these distarctions but Glen means so much as he takes the pressue off DCE on the right side.

Yeah that's what i meant mate. I reckon Brett is fine. In the case of Darcy v Glen, Darcy was involved in 2 fights throwing punches in both. Glen was involved in 2 fights also but he only threw punches in 1. And even though he threw the first punch at Blair, i don't believe he was the aggressor. Melbourne can't argue he was running off the field to get into the bin quicker because he turned around and stood infront of Glen and grabbed him.

 

[HappilyManly]

Peter Sterling is one commentator that calls it straight and he mentioned that Manly can't win the GF without Glenn Stewart. I have been thinking the same thing. Stewart has taken over from Watmough as our most valuable forward IMO

Gould commented that Melbourne will NOT beat Manly again this year. And that two Cronks would not even have made a difference to Manly's dominance on Friday night.