Souths might be flat from the Roosters game last week so it might be deja vu. I don't want to see Manly's forwards getting belted going 19 metres in 5 tackles coming off their line followed by DCE getting a kick away under extreme pressure (unless of course it's a 40/20 lol). Quick darts from dummy half (Matai/Hiku/Hodges/Lyon/Taufua) with quick play the balls are a better option. When a forward does take it up , we need players in motion around him to put doubt in the defence's mind, mixing it up with short passes and angled runners. One out hit ups should be minimized.
Keary is certainly their mojo man . He has good acceleration and is a more than useful ball player. His defence is also very good. Souths wouldn't have beaten the Bulldogs recently without him. Hopefully Lyon and others ignore his sledging and hopefully Matai doesn't try to exact revenge when he sees George Burgess carting the ball up. The last thing we need is a player suspended.
Manly blunted the Souths go-forward well in round 2 . Ballin and Buhrer made a combined total of just under 100 tackles that day, most of them low , stopping momentum quickly . The challenge for the pack is to absorb that defensive workload without fatiguing too quickly. I'm not sure whether the pack without these 2 key defenders has the technique to do so .