They have all been selected. I hope they can all play but I'll wait with bated breath until an hour before kick-off!
This is why they have squads of 30 plus these days. Injuries happen regularly and no wonder. we all hope it wouldn't be our biggest star but all is not lost, this squad seems to believe something is brewing and despite being played by supreme athletes a big part of the game is mental. I've never heard so much public praise for Manly as I have since they beat the Raiders, it was something very special and I'm guessing the players won't want to lose that feeling, they will want to build on it!
Yes please... I'll take two!
As soon as Albert proves his knees can hold up to first grade and establishes his worth as a first grader he's gonna take a 2 year sabbatical for his Mormon mission. If I was Des he'd be the last one I'd rush in, too much downside either way.
and sign with another club for when he finishes his mission like Will did?
Who is jumping off the bandwagon. I said I thought we win in a grind. If you think we are going to put cricket scores on sides with our three best attacking players out for a long period and that 1 to 5 then good luck. We will win on grit and defence.
I'm not sure about that. He was a special talent on a par with Bradman Best who has had immediate impact in the NRL. Reminder of Hopoate's junior feats - fast & incredibly strong (defence not great, of course)
And you are right as Des used garrick in the eels game last season at FB and elliot on the wing. Elliot is solid but hes not known to create trys or score them really. If young hoppa is a FB then he might get a shot.
Not denying his talent, my issue is if his knee goes again we lose him, if he kills it we probably lose him for at least 2 years. For this reason I'd have him at the back of the queue.
Good points, but I would at least like to see Hopoate play this year. Mormons donate 10% tithe to their church, so maybe Des's influence plus a healthy Sea Eagles contract could entice him not to take two years off for missionary work. Earlier, there was talk of the Canterbury Cup resuming when Covid-19 restrictions ease. Let's hope that is the case so that the rest of our squad, esp. the young guns, get some match practice.
Sorry where on paper are they easily more talented??? Who are the two origin players? Dugan and Moylam??? Please, they are nowhere near origin level and would argue they never performed when in that arena. Plus as said before, these games are not won by positions 1-5. Our pack is arguably the best in the comp or at least one of them. If we get in top our 1-5 have the skill set to easily open those sharks outside backs up. I think your concept of talent relates to attacking skill and past reputations as those sharks outside 5 are hardly strong defenders and not particularly “talented” in that area.
| Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
11 | 8 | 3 | 75 | 20 |
|
12 | 9 | 3 | 70 | 20 |
|
11 | 8 | 3 | 112 | 18 |
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 65 | 16 |
|
12 | 7 | 5 | 57 | 16 |
|
12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 15 |
|
12 | 7 | 5 | 135 | 14 |
|
12 | 6 | 6 | 77 | 14 |
|
11 | 6 | 5 | -38 | 14 |
|
12 | 6 | 6 | -39 | 14 |
|
12 | 5 | 6 | -3 | 13 |
|
12 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
|
11 | 5 | 6 | -88 | 12 |
|
11 | 3 | 8 | -89 | 10 |
|
12 | 4 | 8 | -107 | 10 |
|
11 | 2 | 9 | -95 | 8 |
|
11 | 2 | 9 | -170 | 8 |
