Thompson keen on Manly return in finals
Joel Thompson has told Manly players he wants to play again in the NRL finals as the revolving doors in the Sea Eagles' second row continue to swing. Curtis Sironen will return for Saturday's grudge match with Melbourne from a hamstring injury, with no concerns despite only going down three weeks ago. His comeback is, however, offset by the loss of Thompson - one of Manly's underrated stars this year who had a plate inserted into his broken arm on Tuesday. Thompson is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks, meaning his earliest likely return is the third week of the finals.
"He's alright, he was on the morphine last night after surgery and pretty positive," Sironen said. "It's good to have a little target there for Thomo. He will hopefully be back and ripping in and hopefully we can give him a hand. "He is going to be a massive loss for us. Thomo has been one of most consistent players for us all year. "But if we can get him back, he deserves to be playing finals football so hopefully we can." Sironen will therefore return to his normal right edge for Manly, with Jack Gosiewski shifting to the left. Manly beat the Storm in golden point last month in Melbourne and are gunning to become the first side to defeat the leaders twice this year.
