A year of surprises!!

[Mark from Brisbane]

Thanks to @wombatgc for the inspiration but this year has thrown up an absolute stack of surprises with the biggest one me having to eat humble pie about Des.

Yes @The Wheel you were right!!

But Des aside how many would have predicted these at the start of this year.

* Tafua to be safe under the high ball.

* Brad Parker to be thought about as first choice centre.

* Rueben Garrick to be a contender in most try’s and rookie of the year.

* Dylan Walker to be back in favour and preferred 5/8.

* Moses Suli to finally for fill his potential.

* Thommo and Sirro to be arguably the best back row pairing in the NRL.

* Jake to get better, MUCH better.

*Tommy to improve exponentially in one year.

* DCE to be Origin captain

* Brett Stewart to be back in the fold ( see above re Turbo)

* And most of all Manly fans to be even dreaming of a top 4 finish!

I can guarantee you I sure as **** wouldn’t have thought most of these would happen ( barring perhaps the Jake / Tom improvements).

What a year 2019 has been.

 

[lsz]

For me the big change is back to the competitive nature of the team

Take the warriors game where last year they would have put 40 on us

 

[Bring back the.... Biff?]

Thanks to @wombatgc for the inspiration but this year has thrown up an absolute stack of surprises with the biggest one me having to eat humble pie about Des.

Yes @The Wheel you were right!!

But Des aside how many would have predicted these at the start of this year.

* Tafua to be safe under the high ball.

* Brad Parker to be thought about as first choice centre.

* Rueben Garrick to be a contender in most try’s and rookie of the year.

* Dylan Walker to be back in favour and preferred 5/8.

* Moses Suli to finally for fill his potential.

* Thommo and Sirro to be arguably the best back row pairing in the NRL.

* Jake to get better, MUCH better.

*Tommy to improve exponentially in one year.

* DCE to be Origin captain

* Brett Stewart to be back in the fold ( see above re Turbo)

* And most of all Manly fans to be even dreaming of a top 4 finish!

I can guarantee you I sure as **** wouldn’t have thought most of these would happen ( barring perhaps the Jake / Tom improvements).

What a year 2019 has been.

You forgot your mate crusher 😉

I agree with all but jake hes lost his attacking game but i suppose with the entire team putting in and siro and joel playing great seasons he doesn't have to.
Other suprises apart from us are the raiders and eels. Id love to see us knock the slime out of the finals at brookie! The raiders have played a solid entertaining brand of footy and CNK has been a revelation for them. Imho only 3 teams can with this competition Manly storm and roosters.... raiders cant win imo they have too many weaknesses

 

[maxta]

Positive post mate and True
Lets see where we go and enjoy the ride

 

[HappilyManly]

It's all due to the magic of the double hoops of victory

 

[joeboy]

I agree with all that except it don’t think Jake has got better. He is playing a different role sure, but his attacking game doesn’t have the prongs it used too, I just think we could be using hm a bit better. He is basically a tackle bot and link man at this point.

A year full of positives besides that though

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

You forgot your mate crusher 😉

I agree with all but jake hes lost his attacking game but i suppose with the entire team putting in and siro and joel playing great seasons he doesn't have to.
Other suprises apart from us are the raiders and eels. Id love to see us knock the slime out of the finals at brookie! The raiders have played a solid entertaining brand of footy and CNK has been a revelation for them. Imho only 3 teams can with this competition Manly storm and roosters.... raiders cant win imo they have too many weaknesses

Yes I didn’t mention Noel because I’d suggest at this stage he’s had bugger all to do with the side.

Let’s see what happens in the next two years which will show if he’s still got the magic touch.

 

[eaglebuzz]

Agree on all except Jake. He's still excellent, but he's not as effective on attack as he has been in past seasons.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

Agree on all except Jake. He's still excellent, but he's not as effective on attack as he has been in past seasons.

I don’t think that’s his game at present , and remember last year he was one of our only options up front.

We have a terrific pack now, with Sirro / Thommo probably the best back rowers in the game ( as a pair ).

 

[Lyonstomenzies]

I’m surprised by @Ryan absence over the last few weeks. We need you back mate for the finals.

Not anywhere near enough YARTs for the finals campaign or 2020

 

[maxta]

I think Jake has became actually more dominant- to the point he is being targeted by the opposition....if anything, need to play away from him more often to take off the heat.

 

[BH72]

all of the above is down to DH and his management. Intelligent game and player management, trusting his team including coaching staff. No bs about chairs or equipment. It's experience and know how.

 

[ALinda]

Well said @Mark from Brisbane. It certainly has been a year of surprises and I attribute it to Des who has instilled team comradery and a belief in them.

One of our biggest 'surprises' has to be the return of Brett Stewart, who has imo quite noticeably stamped his mark on Tom. Also, we can't omit the return of Donny Singe, Matty Ballin and Michael Monaghan who have all helped bring the 'Manly' back to Manly.

Yes, dreaming of a top 4 finish is goosebumps stuff but whatever happens, I've loved the ride throughout the season. Its extraordinary how far we've come from this time last year - thank you to the Penn family for bringing Des back and thank you Des for coming back

 

[Kevinward777]

Thanks to @wombatgc for the inspiration but this year has thrown up an absolute stack of surprises with the biggest one me having to eat humble pie about Des.

Yes @The Wheel you were right!!

But Des aside how many would have predicted these at the start of this year.

* Tafua to be safe under the high ball.

* Brad Parker to be thought about as first choice centre.

* Rueben Garrick to be a contender in most try’s and rookie of the year.

* Dylan Walker to be back in favour and preferred 5/8.

* Moses Suli to finally for fill his potential.

* Thommo and Sirro to be arguably the best back row pairing in the NRL.

* Jake to get better, MUCH better.

*Tommy to improve exponentially in one year.

* DCE to be Origin captain

* Brett Stewart to be back in the fold ( see above re Turbo)

* And most of all Manly fans to be even dreaming of a top 4 finish!

I can guarantee you I sure as **** wouldn’t have thought most of these would happen ( barring perhaps the Jake / Tom improvements).

What a year 2019 has been.

There’s definitely some bona fide surprises amongst that lot Mark.

 

[Kevinward777]

Well said @Mark from Brisbane. It certainly has been a year of surprises and I attribute it to Des who has instilled team comradery and a belief in them.

One of our biggest 'surprises' has to be the return of Brett Stewart, who has imo quite noticeably stamped his mark on Tom. Also, we can't omit the return of Donny Singe, Matty Ballin and Michael Monaghan who have all helped bring the 'Manly' back to Manly.

Yes, dreaming of a top 4 finish is goosebumps stuff but whatever happens, I've loved the ride throughout the season. Its extraordinary how far we've come from this time last year - thank you to the Penn family for bringing Des back and thank Des for coming back

Yes, the Penn’s copped a lot of criticism last season. But after the flop of Barrett’s tenure, they did exactly what was required to get the club firing again and should be appreciated for doing so.

 

[Clint]

Good onya Mark. Well said mate!

 

[BOZO]

I’m surprised by @Ryan absence over the last few weeks. We need you back mate for the finals.

Not anywhere near enough YARTs for the finals campaign or 2020

Lets hope @Ryan is well and he is back soon !

 

[BOZO]

We have replaced a Loser with a Hasler

and the rest is History feathered friends

 

[robbiea]

@Mark from Brisbane
Dont forget AFBeast ,the #1 and most destructive prop in the NRL.

 

[Heisenberg]

Thanks to @wombatgc for the inspiration but this year has thrown up an absolute stack of surprises with the biggest one me having to eat humble pie about Des.



Yes @The Wheel you were right!!

But Des aside how many would have predicted these at the start of this year.

* Tafua to be safe under the high ball.

* Brad Parker to be thought about as first choice centre.

* Rueben Garrick to be a contender in most try’s and rookie of the year.

* Dylan Walker to be back in favour and preferred 5/8.

* Moses Suli to finally for fill his potential.

* Thommo and Sirro to be arguably the best back row pairing in the NRL.

* Jake to get better, MUCH better.

*Tommy to improve exponentially in one year.

* DCE to be Origin captain

* Brett Stewart to be back in the fold ( see above re Turbo)

* And most of all Manly fans to be even dreaming of a top 4 finish!

I can guarantee you I sure as **** wouldn’t have thought most of these would happen ( barring perhaps the Jake / Tom improvements).

What a year 2019 has been.

Couldn't agree more. So many Positives this season. We are ahead of Schedule. Dessie is back. Manly is back. Enjoy the ride