Its a sad day when I enjoy watching Manly play in the Holden cup more than the NRL side, but forgive me for enjoying these kids having pride in that Seaeagles logo on their chest....
The fullback filling in for young Tom was electric in support play & evasive running but gifted 2 tries with drops under the high ball - potential is there to fill in well as I doubt Tom will be back there soon.
Demitriou was a tank - brushing away defenders with ease & is similar to Taumololo with great footwork & power at the line - also pulling off 2 massive shots that had Canberra players looking for him - thats the intimidation lacking in the top grade.
Britton in the centres looked strong & rubust scoring a couple of good tries, though at times ignored an unmarked winger & held the ball in the wrong arm for a left centre.
The halves were great with sharp, skillful plays that were often unstructured playing what was in front of them - great signs for quality halves with unpredictability the key ingredient.
Maybe our future 6 & 7's are already in our own backyard, sure we need experience here in 2016 but important to nurture talent like this also, these kids deserve their shot in time & I hope they get it.
The forwards worked well together & maybe can teach the NRL side how to support the ball carrier, often slipping 2nd phase passes & also some handy tip ons when the Raiders defence was staggered.
A bloke who also caught the eye was the backrower (Parker?) who ran super courage lines all day with perfect timing & sharp angles making several line breaks - looks a likely danger on the edges & puts his body on the line, prepared to take a bang & getting rewarded for it.
Defence was solid most times which comes down again to commitment, communication & YES that work lacking at the top level - Attitude.
Super win boys - will watch at every opportunity as this side will be there when the whips are cracking!!