Is a GF Realistic for Manly - 2021

[SeaEagleRock8]

We have had major injuries for as long as we employed the tactic. is it just coincidental year after year .I love watching it though, dont get me wrong
But then the storm generally have had less injuries especially when players like smith and cronk ran the show , kicking early and having a plan, We were all very envious.

There are many studies that confirm more injuries happen under fatigue. You get clumsy and make poor decisions . Bash and barge is not energy conservative at all.
I would presume we train for the style we play also

Coincidently our halfback rarely gets hit hard and certainly does not play bash and barge. He avoids impact at all costs when running the ball. Another coincidence that he might play 700 games straight.

Forwards will get hit and there are more injuries in gang tackles as opposing players twist you to there will. Avoiding some of these runs every game by kicking long to get to the other end instead of head down bum up adds up over time.

Running into a brick wall 15 times a game instead of 20 , 25 games per year is big. Then of course its where you start those runs. On your own 40 m line or assaulted on your 10 m line

Smart kicking and patience on a consistent level

Thats not even considering how desperately short of forwards we are

In your own half forwards make many more runs that when you are in the oppostion half where you spread the ball more

Field position is king

Lol good points but surely unnecessary to include that our halfback doesn't play bash and barge. If your halfback relies on physical impact to muscle his way through the defence you probably aren't going to be a contender for anything.

 

[manly al]

Really impressed with the effective set plays since Manly got on a roll a couple of months ago [ apart from the Knight"s outcome ] Used to be a real problem and to be able to trouble any opposition for a good part of last season and the start of this season and to get the scoring opportunities and points but so much improved the past couple of months . Timing of runs and at speed . players running the right lines and having the strike players to capitalize . Is making Manly a hard side to defend against even when a couple of elite players are missing such as last night . Side is fairly consistently aiming up in defence as well and taking a lot of pressure off Jake in the middle . The grit and determination has largely returned , naturally need a good run on the injury front but the ability and fire power is definitely there to give the likes of Storm and Panthers a run for their money. and sure also a definite advantage to finish in the top 4

 

[globaleagle]

GF win fo sho!

 

[Rafferty]

Is a GF Realistic for Manly - 2021​

Heres a better question. Why not?
After all GF’s are what it’s all about, it’s why we are out there.
Its been said plenty, 2 comps, regular season, get yourself set for a shot at the big one finish 1 or 2 perfect, finish top 4 that’s great, stats say you are in with a chance and you will get a second chance, finish 5-8 you still have a chance and while it has not been done yet, we should be thinking or planning to believe we will be the first to do it, if we fall outside the top 4. (A nothing will stop us type attitude, single minded focus)

Where ever we finish Des has to be thinking GF, that’s his job, his and the teams ultimate objective, I hate the concept of we are in a rebuilding phase or we will be looking at a tittle shot 2022-3-4 whatever, we are playing this year and should always have that desire, self belief, motivation and purpose in our process to think we will have a real crack at the big one, as it’s never over until the fat lady sings and I go by the thought process of if you want something bad enough, bloody well go out there and get it, no one owns it, it’s there for whoever wants it the most. (make our lads so hungry they want it)

I know the general rule is you don’t go talking GF’s during the regular season or getting ahead of yourself, but I think it should be regularly and openly discussed, will the full intent of keeping the playing group focussed on the end goal during the regular season. I choose to think we can win it, why not, if you don’t think that way, then how or what will provide the motivation and self belief to get the job done. There is a good vibe building this year, I hope the boys want it bad enough and take it, like I said its there, no one owns it, if they want it bad enough go and get it.

So I guess the answer to the original question right now is, of course it is.

 

[The Who]

Can't win the comp unless you finish in the top four? Yeah, that used to be the case under the old rules. But now we are playing a style of RL akin to the former Under 20s where attack meant everything and defence was to hold the crowd back from the playing field.
And I'm sure we all remember the winner of the last Under 20s comp....
Yep, the Mighty Eagles from 8th spot!

 

[QueefRichards]

Mark Geyer tipped Manly to make the top 4

I've always maintained that he is high IQ

 

[The better Robbo]

After seeing what Turbo did in origin he has the ability to get us there and actually win the comp. Obviously it's a lot more than just Tom but he is the key and we have seen when he is "on" he is really on and can dominate at the highest level

 

[bob dylan]

The way is i see it is Panthers might be the best club side I have seen for a long time, maybe ever. Only back luck will stop them making GF.

Storm are 2nd pick and also a brilliant side, would be minor premiers any other year.

I see very few weaknesses in these top two sides, but if they stumble I reckon we are equal 3rd picks with Souths and Roosters. Eels might be next but they have zero chance of winning comp.

Now if had thought we had any hope 6 or 7 weeks ago i would of had myself committed.

 

[ManEagle]

We can certainly give it a run, any team can beat any other other (except dogs) given the right set of circumstances ( in Newcastle case it's cummings), it might have to be one of the best runs we have ever made but I choose to believe we can from anywhere in the 8 IF we have the form and minimal injuries heading into the big games.

I still would like better organisation and execution on some last tackle options and lead up to it to give as an extra edge but we can get there.

 

[XV-1]

Not this year. Next year and 23 would seem to be our window.

But you never know.

 

[court83]

Looking at this team thru non Manly glasses... I don't know if we can make the gf..
The Panthers and the storm are hands down the best 2 teams in the comp... I think Panthers take it all this season..
IF all our stars come back and we play with our BEST 17, and IF tom can stay injury free... I think we could make the semis... If we play Penrith.. they knock us out.. if we play Storm... We MAY squeek by.. but prolly not .

However..

IF the injury gods are on our side... And the storm or penny get shocked and eliminated from the finals... Then I think we could have a good shot at the gf... But my money's on Penrith... Even when they lose a few key players, they usually still win by plenty . Aslong as Cleary and Luai are calling the shots, they are easily the best team in the comp hands down

 

[manlyfan76]

We have a pretty good draw over next few months.
No reason not to go deep into finals.
Even from 7th/8th

 

[Eagles4Life]

Yes we are capable of reaching and winning the GF this year. On the other side of the coin we are also capable of losing four in a row and missing the finals altogether!!! I think we can (on our day) beat any of the top four teams, but we can just as easily lose to the bottom teams. Lets get to the finals first, and take about GFs later in the season.
This was my top eight on March 11.
1. Rabbitohs
2. Panthers
3. Raiders
4. Roosters
5. Storm
6. Titans
7. Sea Eagles
8. Eels
I think these teams will all still finish in the eight but based on fourteen rounds I would now change the order a bit.
1. Panthers
2. Storm
3. Eels
4. Rabbitohs
5. Roosters
6. Sea Eagles
7. Raiders
8. Titans
Can we win from sixth? I think we can, but we need to get there first!!!

 

[Mataiforever]

I would say it probably is still a 2 horse race

However we are probably third in line when it comes to the ability to beat anyone on their day. Outside of the big two of penrith and storm I consider us the most threatening, and believe we have the highest ceiling when playing at the best of our ability.

Souths is probably the other team that is a whiffs chance (smaller than us) of beating one of the top two to make the GF.

Parra are no hopers and have 0 proper 'stars' that you need to win a comp

Chooks can't win it without Keary, although they're still a threat

Outside of the top 6 is a group of 10 teams trying to figure out if they are playing sunday park footy or professional first grade. The difference between 6th and 7th is huge, as we saw last night, just like the difference between 2nd and 3rd is pretty big too.

Tommy is the only thing that the Storm and Penrith will be truly worried about come finals time.

 

[Ryan]

For mine, it comes down to injuries. Really sucks Davey injured himself like he did. Will Fainu be available? If so, I think we can to be honest. We are currently the walking wounded and need dispensation for some players to play.

 

[The better Robbo]

For mine, it comes down to injuries. Really sucks Davey injured himself like he did. Will Fainu be available? If so, I think we can to be honest. We are currently the walking wounded and need dispensation for some players to play.

100% look at Panthers when you take out a few of their best. Theu come right back to the pack! They have been extremely lucky with injuries the last couple years and have been able to play the same side week in week out. It makes a huge difference. Panthers and Storm are obviously the favourites but absolutely any can happen come semis time. An injury a key player, a sin bin or a lucky bounce. Injury free we are right in this up to our eye balls! We've seen the impact Turbo can have when he switches on, Come finals time Turbo will go to another level like he did in origin.

 

[ALinda]

Dare I say, after the Knights game, with or without Tom it'll depend on who's refereeing us.

In all seriousness though, it'll come down to injuries but as long as we're in the 8, anything can happen

 

[frank stokes]

R21 against the drizzle we will get our answer...

for mine we are capable on our best day of challenging for the premiership but, given that we will not finish top-4, I will be happy if we win a semi in 2021

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

We are the definition of a 1 man team that's how..
..
Guarantee the next game tom sits out we get 40 put on again..

Looking at this team thru non Manly glasses... I don't know if we can make the gf..

That's why I always recommend using Manly glasses

 

[AlxFromNthNarra]

This year and last year remind me of 2007-08 where there were 2 teams that are dominant and destined to meet in the GF over consecutive years. The Panthers have taken over as the rising stars as Manly were in '07 - blown away last year in the GF by a drilled and hardened (albeit cheating) Storm team. The following year - less Cameron Smith - was a an entirely different story.

Oh yes.....We all know and will never forget what happened in '08.

In both 07 and 08, the prelim finals were both 1-sided affairs, stamping those 2 winners as the deserving teams to play out the GF.

I can see the same happening this year, where Penrith and Melb basically battle it out in their 2nd GF after comfortably trouncing their semi-final opposition - with the teams they beat likely seeing a semi-final exit as a sound result for the season (Realistically Souths are the only team that would not be satisfied with anything but GF; Eels maybe coz they over-rate themselves - Keary-less chooks would be pragmatic imo, rest would be stoked to make final-4).

Manly - if they make the playoffs for the GF this year, they have arguably overachieved massively based on perceived Roster strength, the start to the season we had, the injuries we endured, Ben Cummins' bias, the ongoing Fainu distraction, and where pundits/experts expected us to finish - ie bottom 4.

The Roosters play Melb/Penrith in coming weeks - and if they suffer the same fate as Souths did recently (getting flogged by about 50 from each team) then realistically I can't see any other result than Penrith v Melb part 2. Also if they get flogged both times, Manly should have a good shot of leap-frogging them into 5th - the Chooks run home is super-tough compared to ours.

Where this gets interesting is something happens in the playoffs pushing Penrith and Melb to the same side of the finals draw - preferably not Manly's.

This makes the inevitable face-off of those 2 teams in a qualifying final a potential GF in its own right for those 2 teams - and they may over-exert on that game, and underestimate a red-hot Manly on a tear should we dispose of teams like Souths/Roosters/Eels - which I think we can.

That opposition overconfidence symptom was apparent when we played Parra a few weeks back - Parra thought they would rock up and it would happen, bought into their own hype, and were convincingly outplayed by an emotionally-charged Manly team lamenting the passing of an immortal. As many have pointed out though, by now Manly are not flying under the radar, their sportsbet odds have shortened considerably, Tom has been anointed the best player in the league, there is a buzz about them.

Either Penrith or Melb going into a GF with any other team will be red-hot faves too, adding more pressure of expectation - Manly can start fast and score fast (although the Cowboys game was not an example of starting well...), it could put that kind of pressure on Cleary that made him crack in Origin last year, or frustrate Munster into stupidity like Origin this year. Des has the ability/footy smarts to build a game-plan around that - the question is whether we can execute.

Its not impossible, but pragmatically the way the season is playing out, the injuries playing out and the Refereeing playing out, Melb vs Penrith GF is one of the more obvious season outcomes in recent memory. Hope i'm wrong - one thing for sure its ben a hell of a ride this year and it's highly enjoyable being in the thick of it again after some lean years.