HappilyManly
Journey Man
Our lethal weapon
Back row power of Thompson, Sironen and Jake
Super signing Joel Thompson at Sea Eagles training this week. Picture: Wayne Cousins,
JOEL Thompson is an eightyear, 175-game NRL veteran who will form one of the most lethal attacking back rows in the 2018 premiership alongside young guns Curtis Sironen and Jake Trbojevic.
The former Dragons and Raiders left-edge specialist has the Manly coaching staff excited at what impact the trio will have once they form a combination in the early rounds of the premiership.
Coach Trent Barrett made Thompson a signing priority in the off season and is delighted at what the centre turned secondrower has brought to the Sea Eagles.
“He is a leader and he’s got loads of experience,” Barrett said. “He is excited to be working with our young backrowers in Sironen and Jake Trbojevic, who had outstanding seasons last year.”
Barrett rarely gives much away when discussing players but he has made no secret this week that the Sironen, Thompson, Trbojevic back row is his choice for the round-one blockbuster against the Knights in Newcastle.
That would leave plenty of depth and competition for back-row spots, with Frank Winterstein, Shaun Lane, Jack Gosiewski and host of local junior products waiting for an opportunity.
Manly will use the trials against Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters to prepare an ambush for the competition’s big off-season spenders, Newcastle.
MEMBERS MILESTONE
OFF-FIELD dramas are being ignored by Manly fans as the club broke the 10,000 members milestone this week for the club’s 2018 campaign. And we’re hopeful of breaking the club record of 13,351 members by pushing past 14,000.
Addin to the strength
Eagles forward doing all he can to grab a starting front row spot
Addin Fonua-Blake training with Manly in Wollongong this week. Picture: Wayne Cousins
WATCH out for prop Addin Fonua-Blake to make his big, imposing presence felt with the Sea Eagles this season.
Returning to Narrabeen after representing New Zealand in the World Cup, Fonua-Blake has been one of the standouts during preseason training.
“Addin is in really good shape at the moment and I think he has a point to prove,” coach Trent Barrett said.
“He would to earn a spot in the starting side and he is doing everything he can at the moment.”
Three-quarter and Christian Brothers local junior Brad Parker is another player who has been making his mark.
“He a hard trainer who is really developing. He is certainly putting himself in the picture,” Barrett said.
YOUNG TALENT TIME
THE future of the Sea Eagles will be on show at Lottoland today when the club’s under-18 S G Ball side kick off their season against North Sydney.
In-demand fullback Albert Hopoate, five-eighth Josh Schuster, prop Keith Titmussand centre Ben Trbojevic, whose brothers Jake and Tom are key members of Trent Barrett’s NRL squad, have already stamped themselves as players on the rise.
Coach Brett Fulton has been very impressed by the hard work through the season build-up of lock Tom Hardcastle, who has been in the Manly system for a number of years.
Fulton says to keep an eye on hooker and captain Tyran Ott, who has been recruited from Newcastle.
The squad includes eight players who have graduated from the Sea Eagles’ under-16 Harold Matthews side coached by Fulton that made the grand final last year.
The game kicks off at noon and follows the Harold Matthews game, which starts at 10.30am. Entry is free.
You’ve gotta hand it to Cherry
Barrett on Manly’s attack, defence and 2018 prospects
Jon Geddes
THE Sea Eagles have unveiled their plans to get the ball into the hands of skipper Daly Cherry-Evans as much as possible in their 2018 premiership assault.
Coach Trent Barrett said Cherry-Evans was one of the most talented off-the-cuff players he had seen and he wanted to fully exploit the skills of his halfback, who bounced back to his best with dominant performances throughout 2017.
“He had a great year and he was enjoying his footy,” Barrett said.
“He has a lot of strings to his bow – but he’s a ball runner.
“He is a real threat when he is running. as is Turbo (fullback Tom Trbojevic).
“That’s the plan. I want him to enjoy his footy and run the footy.”
Barrett said the Sea Eagles played some good attacking football in 2017 and he wanted to build on that.
“If we can tighten up our defence a little bit and improve our attack we’re going to be going OK,” he said.
“Defensively, there are some things we identified we need to fix and we’ve been working hard on it.”
Barrett said the Sea Eagles needed to find consistency in defence over the 26 rounds and ensure that the difference between their good and their bad was minimal.
For Barrett the reality is that the way the Sea Eagles performed last year will not be good enough this season.
“Every other side is going to improve, whether it be through recruitment or just cohesiveness of the side,” he said.
“I’m really happy with the roster that we’ve got and I think we’re going to be relying on the individuals getting better again.
“We’re going to be more experienced with a lot of those young guys having a full year of first grade under their belt.”
The Manly squad heads into the season after a challenging and demanding preseason build-up which included a camp in Wollongong this week.
“We’ve pushed them quite hard and it’s been pretty tough but they’ve done really well,” Barrett said.
And showing the way has been Cherry-Evans, who has grown into the role of captain over the past 12 months.
“Cherry is always one that leads from the front and he has done the same again this year,” Barrett said.
http://newslocal.smedia.com.au/manly-daily/Ads/LeftRail.htm?section=Sport
Back row power of Thompson, Sironen and Jake
Super signing Joel Thompson at Sea Eagles training this week. Picture: Wayne Cousins,
JOEL Thompson is an eightyear, 175-game NRL veteran who will form one of the most lethal attacking back rows in the 2018 premiership alongside young guns Curtis Sironen and Jake Trbojevic.
The former Dragons and Raiders left-edge specialist has the Manly coaching staff excited at what impact the trio will have once they form a combination in the early rounds of the premiership.
Coach Trent Barrett made Thompson a signing priority in the off season and is delighted at what the centre turned secondrower has brought to the Sea Eagles.
“He is a leader and he’s got loads of experience,” Barrett said. “He is excited to be working with our young backrowers in Sironen and Jake Trbojevic, who had outstanding seasons last year.”
Barrett rarely gives much away when discussing players but he has made no secret this week that the Sironen, Thompson, Trbojevic back row is his choice for the round-one blockbuster against the Knights in Newcastle.
That would leave plenty of depth and competition for back-row spots, with Frank Winterstein, Shaun Lane, Jack Gosiewski and host of local junior products waiting for an opportunity.
Manly will use the trials against Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters to prepare an ambush for the competition’s big off-season spenders, Newcastle.
MEMBERS MILESTONE
OFF-FIELD dramas are being ignored by Manly fans as the club broke the 10,000 members milestone this week for the club’s 2018 campaign. And we’re hopeful of breaking the club record of 13,351 members by pushing past 14,000.
Addin to the strength
Eagles forward doing all he can to grab a starting front row spot
Addin Fonua-Blake training with Manly in Wollongong this week. Picture: Wayne Cousins
WATCH out for prop Addin Fonua-Blake to make his big, imposing presence felt with the Sea Eagles this season.
Returning to Narrabeen after representing New Zealand in the World Cup, Fonua-Blake has been one of the standouts during preseason training.
“Addin is in really good shape at the moment and I think he has a point to prove,” coach Trent Barrett said.
“He would to earn a spot in the starting side and he is doing everything he can at the moment.”
Three-quarter and Christian Brothers local junior Brad Parker is another player who has been making his mark.
“He a hard trainer who is really developing. He is certainly putting himself in the picture,” Barrett said.
YOUNG TALENT TIME
THE future of the Sea Eagles will be on show at Lottoland today when the club’s under-18 S G Ball side kick off their season against North Sydney.
In-demand fullback Albert Hopoate, five-eighth Josh Schuster, prop Keith Titmussand centre Ben Trbojevic, whose brothers Jake and Tom are key members of Trent Barrett’s NRL squad, have already stamped themselves as players on the rise.
Coach Brett Fulton has been very impressed by the hard work through the season build-up of lock Tom Hardcastle, who has been in the Manly system for a number of years.
Fulton says to keep an eye on hooker and captain Tyran Ott, who has been recruited from Newcastle.
The squad includes eight players who have graduated from the Sea Eagles’ under-16 Harold Matthews side coached by Fulton that made the grand final last year.
The game kicks off at noon and follows the Harold Matthews game, which starts at 10.30am. Entry is free.
You’ve gotta hand it to Cherry
Barrett on Manly’s attack, defence and 2018 prospects
Jon Geddes
THE Sea Eagles have unveiled their plans to get the ball into the hands of skipper Daly Cherry-Evans as much as possible in their 2018 premiership assault.
Coach Trent Barrett said Cherry-Evans was one of the most talented off-the-cuff players he had seen and he wanted to fully exploit the skills of his halfback, who bounced back to his best with dominant performances throughout 2017.
“He had a great year and he was enjoying his footy,” Barrett said.
“He has a lot of strings to his bow – but he’s a ball runner.
“He is a real threat when he is running. as is Turbo (fullback Tom Trbojevic).
“That’s the plan. I want him to enjoy his footy and run the footy.”
Barrett said the Sea Eagles played some good attacking football in 2017 and he wanted to build on that.
“If we can tighten up our defence a little bit and improve our attack we’re going to be going OK,” he said.
“Defensively, there are some things we identified we need to fix and we’ve been working hard on it.”
Barrett said the Sea Eagles needed to find consistency in defence over the 26 rounds and ensure that the difference between their good and their bad was minimal.
For Barrett the reality is that the way the Sea Eagles performed last year will not be good enough this season.
“Every other side is going to improve, whether it be through recruitment or just cohesiveness of the side,” he said.
“I’m really happy with the roster that we’ve got and I think we’re going to be relying on the individuals getting better again.
“We’re going to be more experienced with a lot of those young guys having a full year of first grade under their belt.”
The Manly squad heads into the season after a challenging and demanding preseason build-up which included a camp in Wollongong this week.
“We’ve pushed them quite hard and it’s been pretty tough but they’ve done really well,” Barrett said.
And showing the way has been Cherry-Evans, who has grown into the role of captain over the past 12 months.
“Cherry is always one that leads from the front and he has done the same again this year,” Barrett said.
http://newslocal.smedia.com.au/manly-daily/Ads/LeftRail.htm?section=Sport
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