Sea Eagles v Wests Tigers: Elliot, Gosiewski called up; Talau to debut
All eyes will be on Manly to see how they respond to last week's surprise road loss to the Warriors.
There is also a slight question mark over Daly Cherry-Evans after he soldiered through the second half last week with an ankle injury.
The Sea Eagles have usually bounced back well this year after an ordinary performance and Des Hasler has a knack for getting his team motivated to make amends.
The Tigers' top-eight plans look considerably more bleak than they did a week ago, not to mention the fact Robbie Farah's career could be over after scans confirmed a fractured tibia and Moses Mbye is battling a serious hip flexor injury.
The Rundown
Team news
Sea Eagles: Two changes forced by injury with centre Brad Parker (knee) replaced by Brendan Elliot and back-rower Curtis Sironen (hamstring) replaced by Jack Gosiewski.
Wests Tigers: Moses Mbye's absence with a hip flexor injury opens the door for 19-year-old Tommy Talau to make his NRL debut in the centres. Jacob Liddle takes over at hooker from Robbie Farah, who fractured his tibia against the Bulldogs. Josh Reynolds has been listed as a reserve.
Key match-up
Tom Trbojevic will be eager to overshadow exciting Tigers fullback Corey Thompson, while Tigers props Thomas Mikaele and Oliver Clark have a tough challenge up front against Sea Eagles brutes Martin Taupau and Addin Fonua-Blake.
For the Sea Eagles to win
Hasler will get his team re-focused on defence this week after giving up 18 first-half points to the Warriors, especially with crafty halves duo Benji Marshall and Luke Brooks heading to Brookvale. Back-rower Curtis Sironen will be up for a big game against his former club.
For the Tigers to win
It's crucial that the Tigers hold their own up front against a strong Manly pack and give their playmakers room to operate. They have to get any injury excuses out of their heads and produce one of their best defensive performances of the year. Marshall and Brooks must lead the way.
Brett Kimmorley says
Robbie Farah being out will take a fair bit of attack away from the Wests Tigers. A lot of their creativity and danger around the rucks will be gone. Maybe all the boosts of energy the Tigers got from Robbie’s 300th and his retirement announcement are gone now. For Manly, the players will be extremely disappointed with the effort last week – they haven’t had too many performance like that in 2019. Manly by 8
Stat Attack
One of the keys to Manly's success this season has been their excellent go-forward. The Sea Eagles lead the NRL in runs (3,709) and offloads (256), are third in run metres (33,037), fourth in post contact metres (9,465) and second in tackle breaks (698).
And another thing ...
It was way back in the opening round of the season when the Sea Eagles and Tigers last squared off. Manly held a 2-0 half-time lead before the Tigers scored 20 unanswered points in the second half. Sea Eagles winger Jorge Taufua crossed for his team's only try in the 79th minute, as the Tigers kicked off their 2019 campaign on a high note by claiming a 20-6 victory.
