Heres the Preview from the Official Manly Site.
This weeks game will be an enormous challenge for the Sea Eagles and while the ladder positions may not reflect this sentiment you would be mad to write-off the Rabbitohs.
After being touched up by the Warriors 66-0 in round 16 Souths have turned their form around. They are coming off a bye preceded by a two game winning streak with defeats over the Raiders and Panthers, the former quite convincingly. Prior to the wins they were narrowly defeated by the Cowboys (2 points), Dragons (10 points), Sea Eagles (6 points) and Knights (6 points). Souths are hardly pushovers.
Coming off the bye some would say that the Rabbitohs are at a disadvantage, however it didn’t seem to effect the Sea Eagles last week.
In miserable conditions during round 19 the Sea Eagles were given a big scare at Telstra Stadium. After a late charge the Rabbitoh’s Ben Walker gave the game away with a poor option that would have certainly leveled the match with four minutes remaining. Out of sorts with selectors Walker will not line-up in the NRL this weekend.
For the Sea Eagles Michael Robertson bagged three tries with Brett Stewart and Luke Williamson also scoring. Williamson’s points coming from a bizarre incident where he walked up and put his hands on the ball between Stephenson’s legs after Peachey lost control.
While many were expecting a walk over, Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler praised his side’s effort against a team he hoped would give other teams a lot of grief for the remainder of the season .. and they have. Expect the same attitude from the Sea Eagles on Sunday.
This week is 60’s week and to commemorate this period the Sea Eagles will be wearing a retro jersey that is predominantly maroon with a big white V. It’s a striking kit and they have been selling like hotcakes through the Sea Eagles Website Shop.
Manly and Souths have met in 3 grand finals between 1951 and 1970 with the Sea Eagles going down in all three. In 1968 Manly went down narrowly 13-9 in front of 54,255 fans at the SCG and the 1970 grand final is famous for the hit on Souths great John Sattler that broke his jaw. The Rabbitohs backed up the following year with a grand final victory over St George but have been unable to qualify for once since. Conversely the Sea Eagles hit form in the 1970’s winning four grand finals and have added to that tally since with wins in 1987 and 1996.
This Sunday’s match is the second last home game of the regular season and the last opportunity to see the Sea Eagles play during daylight hours. Manly will feature a near full strength line-up with Ben Kennedy the only player left on the sidelines.
With all three grades fighting for position in the top 8 there will be some great football on offer. There is no live TV coverage so get the family and friends together for a fantastic afternoon at Brookvale Oval.
We will be providing Bigpond Wireless Broadband Live Match Updates throughout the match simply click on the Bigpond Wireless Broadband Live Match Updates button on the website to access this service.
2006 Results
Round 19: Manly 26 -20 Souths - Telstra Stadium
2005 Results
Round 7: Manly 48 - 14 Souths - Brookvale Oval
Round 14: Manly 6 - 44 Souths - Aussie Stadium
Chris Hicks
vs
Nathan Merritt
Chris Hicks has had a great season this year and it was highlighted on the weekend with a superb performance against the Knights. In the first half he did exceptionally well to back up Stephen Bell draw the defence and offload so Bell could score. In the second half he did a brilliant job in supporting Brett Stewart and as a result scored the winning try with a dive, catch and score all in the one movement.
Against Penrith a few weeks earlier the flying winger started and finished a length of the field try. After sprinting 50m Hicks sent Brett Stewart away, aware that Stewart was unlikely to get there on his own Hicks did a fine job to stay alive and was on hand to take a brilliant flick pass from the fullback.
Nathan Merritt, like Hicks is a great finisher. Merritt sits at the top of the NRL Try Scorer list bagging a total of 17 tries in a season where his club has only won three games. Quite a feat.
Originally a Souths local, Merritt spent two years at the Sharks before returning to the Rabbitohs this year. With Peachey in the fullback spot Merritt has shone on the wing and his treble against the Panthers last week handed the club a great win.
