Unless Manly rush through approval for Turbo to play in a 10 speed electric wheelchair , he won’t play. Would probably run out of charge or blow a tyre anyway.
Manly won’t challenge for the title with the team they named, even with a fit Turbo. Talau needs to start, Garrick needs to go back to his only position(wing), Nathan Brown needs to be on the bench , Saab to NSW cup and Aloiai to the Mackay Cutters. I don’t even have a 4 day Harvard degree but even I can see the problems.
Saab is a highlights reel player. Great in open space but not the player you need in the grind against the top teams. Has a habit of jamming in when there is no need to. The better teams will get outside him easily and have a picnic. If I was coaching the Raiders I would switch Savage to the left wing just for this match and go with quick shifts to the left. As we saw at the end of last year and already this year his hands can turn to feet quicker than you can say”Sean Keppie”(although Wayne seems to be on track to fixing that)
The Bulldogs targeted Garrick in last year’s finals and , to his credit he hung on , but only by a thread. DCE (if he plays)and Garrick will be under assault all match by the Raiders’ powerful edge runners and Crisp. Haumole will do likewise to Strange and Crisp.
I was really looking forward to this match until I saw who was in control. Expect more momentum changes than your average Hulk Hogan title bout on the back of random set restarts and soft penalties. And at least one player getting binned. Exactly what the fans don’t want.
In the corresponding match last year, Elliot Whitehead donned his Superman cape and got the Raiders home. DCE , who normally destroys the Raiders, had an unusually bad game.
Having said all that, getting the Raiders up for 3 games in a row may be a bridge too far even for Stick. If DCE plays Manly by 14. If he doesn’t Manly by 2. Unfortunately for Manly fans it will probably just be a dead cat bounce .
BTW , if the game turns into a refereeing clinic as expected, you can always play a drinking game. Down a can every time Voss death rides Manly. You’ll be in intensive care before halftime.
