Pre-Game Raiders v Manly [Round 12, 2023]

[Mark from Brisbane]

For the life of me just cannot see an away win v the red hot Raiders.

14th with a bullet by Sunday night

And the battle with the Dragons/ Tigers for the spoon begins.

Although we are more likely to dig ourselves out of that than they are so I think we are the safer of the three.

 

[The Wheel]

Player Media: Karl Lawton

Karl Lawton talks about the challenge of playing the Raiders in Canberra on Sunday.

www.seaeagles.com.au

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

For the life of me just cannot see an away win v the red hot Raiders.

Raiders are favourites but not by a lot. In fact on betting only 2 games look closer than ours, Dogs/Titans and Tiger/Cows.
Would be a minor upset but not a shock if we win.

 

[manly al]

Ideally Jake can rev the side up a bit but really should not have to depend on that . Hopefully also Jake and Burbo can show a lot more resilience then Alioia and Tuilagi have shown for a good part of the season . Would not have minded Sipley back but Condon looks like he has been having a decent crack recently , Not sure how he measures up in the stamina stakes either but not a lot of other options . May have to give young Fulton a go at 13 soon if this forward combo this week can not go collectively a bit better and Jake to prop again . So much depends on the Shu being able to compete and last the distance and providing that much needed better organizing and attacking boost . Maybe about time also that Manly started to be in their opposition faces more often or restricting their options and not be so passive in general . Raiders will not give any quarter now that they are on a roll .

 

[alafua siaosi]

Thank you @The Wheel

We all know that There is no Saabstitute for speed

We just have to give him good ball and set him up so he can kill the opposition

SPEED KILLS !

I give up on what they do at training without someone creating room for Saab on the field .He is the fastest in the competition and no one can get the ball to him with some room to use his speed .The only thing they might use is a kick for him to chase .( either 2nd,third or 4th tackle ) Even the high kicks are not high enough for the wingers to chase and contest .Come on Manly .

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

If we were playing basketball we might go ok then. As for nrl , yeah nah.

The Harbord Globetrotters.

 

[Budgie]

Player Media: Karl Lawton

Karl Lawton talks about the challenge of playing the Raiders in Canberra on Sunday.

www.seaeagles.com.au

"It'd be good to get the win".

But then it's really cold down there and the fans all dress up.

Fills me with confidence.

 

[Eagle 1]

Burbo for Tuilagi is a change I like the look of. Tuilagi has been absolutely horrid for the last few weeks. If Burbo can snag his spot and keep it I'm all for that.

I'm kinda liking our forward pack and bench tbh, Burbo, S Fainu, Condon and Lawton will reinvigorate the fwds and probably with an extended stay, it's theirs to own.

 

[Eagle 1]

Ideally Jake can rev the side up a bit but really should not have to depend on that . Hopefully also Jake and Burbo can show a lot more resilience then Alioia and Tuilagi have shown for a good part of the season . Would not have minded Sipley back but Condon looks like he has been having a decent crack recently , Not sure how he measures up in the stamina stakes either but not a lot of other options . May have to give young Fulton a go at 13 soon if this forward combo this week can not go collectively a bit better and Jake to prop again . So much depends on the Shu being able to compete and last the distance and providing that much needed better organizing and attacking boost . Maybe about time also that Manly started to be in their opposition faces more often or restricting their options and not be so passive in general . Raiders will not give any quarter now that they are on a roll .

Didn't Fulton pick up an injury, and will be out for a while ?

 

[Eagle 1]

I give up on what they do at training without someone creating room for Saab on the field .He is the fastest in the competition and no one can get the ball to him with some room to use his speed .The only thing they might use is a kick for him to chase .( either 2nd,third or 4th tackle ) Even the high kicks are not high enough for the wingers to chase and contest .Come on Manly .

The try tap for Saab got turned off when Tommy stopped making tackle busts and clever short side plays.

 

[JakeyB789]

Outside of Parker and Croker the team list is as good as we could hope for. It's a shame we have to wait for injuries to see proper changes but it's been that way for us for a few years now. With the injured players out for a decent period hopefully the replacements can step up and lock down their spots, especially Burbo who could send Tuilagi to Blacktown for good.

Would really like to see Keppie step up against the Raiders pack but it feels like we've been saying this for a while, he has been a major disappointment this year (last year too). He's nearly 25, played 70ish games and we gave him an extension well before the season started. This should be the time he starts coming into his own and playing consistent footy but he seems to be getting worse and probably wouldn't be in the 17 if he wasn't one of the only middles fit. Far cry from the guy who took on and belted the Parra pack at Bankwest a couple years ago

 

[ALinda]

I don't know if it's already been mentioned but Gerard Sutton has been downgraded from the bunker because he cocked up and is refereeing our game. 2 things: 1,I thought the onfield referee was the most senior official and 2,why the actual **** do we get the hopeless wanker

Yes, I can't for the life of me understand how being moved from the bunker to main referee is a downgrade...please! Then he's going to have Sticky on the sidelines to contend with. Just know how all the 50/50 calls will go...

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Outside of Parker and Croker the team list is as good as we could hope for. It's a shame we have to wait for injuries to see proper changes but it's been that way for us for a few years now. With the injured players out for a decent period hopefully the replacements can step up and lock down their spots, especially Burbo who could send Tuilagi to Blacktown for good.

Would really like to see Keppie step up against the Raiders pack but it feels like we've been saying this for a while, he has been a major disappointment this year (last year too). He's nearly 25, played 70ish games and we gave him an extension well before the season started. This should be the time he starts coming into his own and playing consistent footy but he seems to be getting worse and probably wouldn't be in the 17 if he wasn't one of the only middles fit. Far cry from the guy who took on and belted the Parra pack at Bankwest a couple years ago

Should we change Brad’s name to Luke Parkerson? Or maybe Jason Karker? Because he seems to be the lightning rod for all our apparent shortcomings. Just as Williamson and King were in years gone by.

We are not losing games courtesy of Parker. The faults lie elsewhere. And as for Croker, he generally might not set the world on fire in attack, but his defence goes a long way to making up for it.

 

[Budgie]

Player Media: Ethan Bullemor

Ethan Bullemor talks about the opportunity for the team to bounce back against the Canberra Raiders this Sunday.

www.seaeagles.com.au

LOVE his attitude. If only we had 17 players who thought like that.

 

[Eagle 1]

Outside of Parker and Croker the team list is as good as we could hope for. It's a shame we have to wait for injuries to see proper changes but it's been that way for us for a few years now. With the injured players out for a decent period hopefully the replacements can step up and lock down their spots, especially Burbo who could send Tuilagi to Blacktown for good.

Would really like to see Keppie step up against the Raiders pack but it feels like we've been saying this for a while, he has been a major disappointment this year (last year too). He's nearly 25, played 70ish games and we gave him an extension well before the season started. This should be the time he starts coming into his own and playing consistent footy but he seems to be getting worse and probably wouldn't be in the 17 if he wasn't one of the only middles fit. Far cry from the guy who took on and belted the Parra pack at Bankwest a couple years ago

yep, we extended Ailoi as well and Tuilagi's on a 3yr deal. Why are we always over generous with these sort of players.

 

[Eagle 1]

Player Media: Ethan Bullemor

Ethan Bullemor talks about the opportunity for the team to bounce back against the Canberra Raiders this Sunday.

www.seaeagles.com.au

LOVE his attitude. If only we had 17 players who thought like that.

Notice Shuster hasn't been interviewed, maybe wants to do all his talking on the field. Feel Shoe could be in for a big game this Sunday.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

"It'd be good to get the win".

But then it's really cold down there and the fans all dress up.

Fills me with confidence.

Why do I get the feeling that the players and the coaching staff, along with plenty of fans, are happy just to compete? Seibold keeps talking about how success isn't a straight line, but it has to involve winning, doesn't it? I'm not happy for the team to "show improvement" when they have so much improvement to show.

 

[Budgie]

Notice Shuster hasn't been interviewed, maybe wants to do all his talking on the field. Feel Shoe could be in for a big game this Sunday.

Hope so!

Even more so, Tommy never gets interviewed.

I'd throw him out there in front of the press. Until today, because there were no actual journalists there, every player has had to spend half their time talking about Tommy.

If he has a confidence problem, both on and off the field, it can only actually be addressed by facing it head on.

Rehearse him, get him out there, and get it over with, rather than having it be yet another thing he's afraid of.

He's a grown man for heaven's sake.

 

[Eagle 1]

Hope so!

Even more so, Tommy never gets interviewed.

I'd throw him out there in front of the press. Until today, because there were no actual journalists there, every player has had to spend half their time talking about Tommy.

If he has a confidence problem, both on and off the field, it can only actually be addressed by facing it head on.

Rehearse him, get him out there, and get it over with, rather than having it be yet another thing he's afraid of.

He's a grown man for heaven's sake.

Got a feeling that'll be when his confidence returns, that's what a lot of Manly fans are waiting and wanting to hear.

 

[JakeyB789]

Should we change Brad’s name to Luke Parkerson? Or maybe Jason Karker? Because he seems to be the lightning rod for all our apparent shortcomings. Just as Williamson and King were in years gone by.

We are not losing games courtesy of Parker. The faults lie elsewhere. And as for Croker, he generally might not set the world on fire in attack, but his defence goes a long way to making up for it.

In 9 games this year Parker has 11 errors and 20 missed tackles. Almost every week his opposing centre is having a field day in attack, look at Ramien on the weekend and I'm sure Timoko will do the same this week. And that's in defence which is meant to be his strength. He might not be the sole reason we are losing but he is certainly not helping us win either.

Croker's defence is also heavily overrated, don't see why we can't just start Lawton who can do the same job with at least a little bit of an attacking game and then bring on Gordie. There's a reason these two get singled out and whilst they might try hard and supposedly be good defensively, it hardly matters when we are struggling to score any points