Ice Fusion
Member
For the third time this year Big league has regarded the Sea Eagles to be a participant in their match of the round, heres their analysis from NRL.com
Safety-first Manly no dummies
Manly face a tough task when they travel north to Suncorp Stadium this Friday night to face an in-form Brisbane side, but a win is well within the realms of possibility.
A game of contrasting styles will pit the expansive Broncos against the more safety conscious Sea Eagles who are surprise competition leaders after seven rounds of the Telstra Premiership.
Clearly, Manly's increased focus on ball security this season doesn't make them any less dangerous.
The northern beaches club are the dummy-half kings and experts at exposing lazy defenders.
They rank second behind only Parramatta (203) this season for dummy-half runs with 175 and average the most per game with 29.2 ahead of the Eels' 29.
Manly also lead the way for most dummy-half line breaks with six and most dummy-half tries with four.
Rather than get carried away with ball movement inside their own half – a major downfall in their disappointing 2004 campaign, they're content to work up the middle when coming out of their own half using their big forwards and scooting out of dummy-half to make quick metres with low risk.
Centre Paul Stephenson is the Sea Eagles' most prolific dummy-half runner this season with 39 from six games – a figure bettered only by South Sydney's Shannon Hegarty (50).
Hooker Shayne Dunley is also heavily involved with 33 runs. Both he and Chad Randall have two dummy-half line breaks to their name in 2005.
What makes the Sea Eagles dangerous this year is their ability to earn field position then capitalise on what they've achieved through their fast and skilful backline.
In-fact, of the 34 tries Manly have scored this year, 28 have been from within their opponents' 20 metre line.
However they show no preference for any particular zone with 11 scored on the left, 12 up the middle and 11 on the right.
They've also scored nine tries from kicks this season – more than any other side in the NRL.
The Broncos, for their part, play a far more expansive game and seem more willing to throw the ball around before they hit halfway.
They boast the remarkable statistic this season of having scored more tries from outside the 20-metre line (22) than when they're attacking the line (14).
One reason is that Brisbane love to move the ball.
Five-eighth Darren Lockyer will regularly hit centres Brent Tate – replaced this week by Justin Hodges – and Shaun Berrigan with room to move and let their speed and footwork do the rest.
They'll also put on plays from anywhere on the field including their favourite second man play which they’ve turned into an art form.
Lockyer will receive the ball one or two out, then fire a pass behind the decoy – inevitably one of Brisbane's big men – to Tate, Berrigan or Karmichael Hunt.
They scored their fourth try of the year from this exact play against Cronulla last week when Berrigan strolled over having previously hurt the Warriors, Roosters and Dragons.
Brisbane's penchant for open spaces explains why they've struggled to score from close range, but doesn't make Manly's task easy even when defending in good field position.
Like most sides these days, the Sea Eagles will highlight Lockyer and Brett Seymour as the 'spot' players in Brisbane's defensive line.
Seymour missed 11 tackles against Cronulla last week to go straight to the head of the NRL's missed tackle list with 38 for the year, while Lockyer ranks third with 32 (Dragon Shaun Timmins has missed 33).
The Broncos have begun switching Lockyer between the left and right side of defence recently with Tonie Carroll and David Stagg given the job of protecting him, but either way he'll be targeted by Manly's two most aggressive ball-carriers Ben Kennedy and Anthony Watmough.
Safety-first Manly no dummies
Manly face a tough task when they travel north to Suncorp Stadium this Friday night to face an in-form Brisbane side, but a win is well within the realms of possibility.
A game of contrasting styles will pit the expansive Broncos against the more safety conscious Sea Eagles who are surprise competition leaders after seven rounds of the Telstra Premiership.
Clearly, Manly's increased focus on ball security this season doesn't make them any less dangerous.
The northern beaches club are the dummy-half kings and experts at exposing lazy defenders.
They rank second behind only Parramatta (203) this season for dummy-half runs with 175 and average the most per game with 29.2 ahead of the Eels' 29.
Manly also lead the way for most dummy-half line breaks with six and most dummy-half tries with four.
Rather than get carried away with ball movement inside their own half – a major downfall in their disappointing 2004 campaign, they're content to work up the middle when coming out of their own half using their big forwards and scooting out of dummy-half to make quick metres with low risk.
Centre Paul Stephenson is the Sea Eagles' most prolific dummy-half runner this season with 39 from six games – a figure bettered only by South Sydney's Shannon Hegarty (50).
Hooker Shayne Dunley is also heavily involved with 33 runs. Both he and Chad Randall have two dummy-half line breaks to their name in 2005.
What makes the Sea Eagles dangerous this year is their ability to earn field position then capitalise on what they've achieved through their fast and skilful backline.
In-fact, of the 34 tries Manly have scored this year, 28 have been from within their opponents' 20 metre line.
However they show no preference for any particular zone with 11 scored on the left, 12 up the middle and 11 on the right.
They've also scored nine tries from kicks this season – more than any other side in the NRL.
The Broncos, for their part, play a far more expansive game and seem more willing to throw the ball around before they hit halfway.
They boast the remarkable statistic this season of having scored more tries from outside the 20-metre line (22) than when they're attacking the line (14).
One reason is that Brisbane love to move the ball.
Five-eighth Darren Lockyer will regularly hit centres Brent Tate – replaced this week by Justin Hodges – and Shaun Berrigan with room to move and let their speed and footwork do the rest.
They'll also put on plays from anywhere on the field including their favourite second man play which they’ve turned into an art form.
Lockyer will receive the ball one or two out, then fire a pass behind the decoy – inevitably one of Brisbane's big men – to Tate, Berrigan or Karmichael Hunt.
They scored their fourth try of the year from this exact play against Cronulla last week when Berrigan strolled over having previously hurt the Warriors, Roosters and Dragons.
Brisbane's penchant for open spaces explains why they've struggled to score from close range, but doesn't make Manly's task easy even when defending in good field position.
Like most sides these days, the Sea Eagles will highlight Lockyer and Brett Seymour as the 'spot' players in Brisbane's defensive line.
Seymour missed 11 tackles against Cronulla last week to go straight to the head of the NRL's missed tackle list with 38 for the year, while Lockyer ranks third with 32 (Dragon Shaun Timmins has missed 33).
The Broncos have begun switching Lockyer between the left and right side of defence recently with Tonie Carroll and David Stagg given the job of protecting him, but either way he'll be targeted by Manly's two most aggressive ball-carriers Ben Kennedy and Anthony Watmough.
