Sneak peek at Sea Eagles' 2014 signings

[Berkeley_Eagle]

Sneak peek at Sea Eagles' 2014 signings


Richard Maxton
Tue, Oct 15, 2013 - 5:36 PM
Photo: (From left) Manaia Rudolph, Delroy Berryman, Mark O'Dare, Jayden Hodges, Jack Littlejohn, Josh Starling

Want a sneak peek at some of the new talent that will be joining the Sea Eagles in the coming season? They won't start training until November but our new Manly men dropped into Sea Eagles HQ to meet the coaches and have a first look at the facilities.

We saw our new guys thrive in 2013 and, with a new bunch of exciting recruits arriving once again, there's plenty to look forward to in 2014!


Sea Eagles 2014 Signings
Player | Position | Age | Previous Club
Josh Starling | Prop | 23 | South Sydney Rabbitohs
The NSW Cup Prop of the Year, Josh Starling is a young front rower on the rise. He plays long minutes and will be well-suited to the Sea Eagles' style.

Cheyse Blair | Centre/Wing | 21 | Parramatta Eels
Tall, athletic outside back with plenty of NRL experience for such a young man. Cheyse will be a great addition to the Sea Eagles' developing backline.

Dunamis Lui | Prop | 23 | Brisbane Broncos
Powerful prop with great leg speed and well-tested in the NRL arena. Brisbane born and bred, but Dunamis is excited to be coming to Manly and will adapt well to the Sea Eagles' club culture. Look for him to benefit greatly from the change of scenery.

Jayden Hodges | Hooker | 20 | North Queensland Cowboys
The Cowboys' U20s Player of the Year and with the best defensive stats in the 2013 Holden Cup, Jayden earned his shot in first grade late in the Cowboys' season. A clever, resilient player, he's sure to blossom in his first full time position. Signed with the Sea Eagles for three years, he'll study under the tackling master Matt Ballin and hone his hooking skills.

Jack Littlejohn | Halves | Canterbury Bulldogs
A clever player who can cover any position in the backline, he'll start training in the halves for Manly. He has a great kicking game, good organisational skill and will add depth to the Sea Eagles' back stocks.

Manaia Rudolph | Five-eighth/Centre | 20 | Wests Tigers
The top try-scorer in the 2012 U20s competition, Manaia is a great attacking back with an impressive step. A versatile player, he'll move back from centres to focus on five-eighth at Manly, providing some cover in the halves. Manaia will grow even more dangerous in his first year training full time and learning from one of the best halves combinations in the game.

Tyson Andrews | Prop | 23 | Mackay Cutters
The 2013 Player of the Year for Queensland Cup Premiers Mackay Cutters, Tyson is an impressive young front rower. He's got a great work ethic and hits the line hard.

Delroy Berryman | Wing | 22 | Redcliffe Dolphins
Signed by the Broncos on a second-tier contract Delroy spent the 2013 season carving up the Queensland Cup, second in the competition's try-scoring tally despite the Dolphins sitting only seventh on the ladder. He's got fantastic speed and knows how to find the try line.

Mark O'Dare (Train and Trial) | Outside back | 22 | Gold Coast Titans
Former Sydney Uni rugby player, Mark was signed by the Titans in 2013 and was very impressive in their pre-season before suffering an injury that set him back. He's a very dedicated athlete with amazing speed, looking for an opportunity as an outside back for the Sea Eagles.



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Stats Insider: 2013 Season Review

 

[DSM5]

This sort of stuff is bring me out of my very dark space.

 

[MadMarcus]

That one thing that really stands out to me with each of these signings is their age, none of them are over 23. It's great the club has an eye on the future especially with a number of young forwards, I'm very excited to see how young Hodges will develop over the coming years.

That will make someone on here very happy... not mentioning any names @Darren

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Three frontrowers (all 23-year-old up-and-comers).
Jostling for spots with the likes of Jake Trboyevic, Hasson, and Sao.
For the right to play alongside top men King, Lawrence and Fa'aoso in the mighty Sea Eagles forward pack in 2014.
Well done, recruitment staff. Our team will be awesome.

---

This sort of stuff is bring me out of my very dark space.

You're out? Well done, be proud.

 

[The Wheel]

Great to see the new guys actually confirmed as being here in 2014. Yes I am recovering and this helps as well

 

[mickqld]

I expect Starling and Luis to see a lot of first grade next year but the big surprise could be Tyson Andrews. Got a feeling he may turn into another Lawrence. Jake Trbojevic is the next big thing but he may still be another year away from nailing a permanent 1st spot.

 

[Sheikheagle]

Yep let's hope more thana a few of these end up being diamonds like lawrence, horo and hiku!

 

[Chip and Chase]

That one thing that really stands out to me with each of these signings is their age, none of them are over 23. It's great the club has an eye on the future especially with a number of young forwards, I'm very excited to see how young Hodges will develop over the coming years.

That will make someone on here very happy... not mentioning any names @Darren

Hang on, we don't know how quick they are yet. Young and slow is only just better than old and slow.

Starling has some big shoes to fill, look at the last 3 front rowers we poached from Rabbits....O'Neill, Roberts and Rennie.

I'm really hoping that Hodges develops into something. I'd love to have some spark out of dummy half when needed.

I don't know what Cheyse Blair offers us, at full strength he is depth at best. Centre is probably one area we don't have a lot of options for at the moment so if Killer or Stevie go down then he might be handy. The other 3 young backs would have to behind Hiku as well to start with. Seems a lot of young wingers we have signed. Maybe Wolf may not be around next year.

 

[sheridanstand78]

The signings mentioned as well as the other young talent we have will make the average age of your team considerablly younger and sustainable, we have the spine to win anything now we have some depth. Roll on 2014!!

 

[wedgetail eagle]

Its always a beautiful thing to have a player who can run.
O'Dare's speed will be a great addition.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

This sort of stuff is bring me out of my very dark space.

You're out?

He had too come out. There is not mush-room in there.

 

[mmmdl]

3 players of the year for their respective clubs in that lot of 9 players.

What quality recruiting to go with our already signed up and comers.

Yet morons will try and say, yet again, that we have no depth at the start of the season next year. Tomorrows stars are todays youngsters with potential, and we have plenty of that.

 

[eagles2win]

Littlejohn played for Newtown's nsw cup premiership winning team from memory.

 

[Jethro]

This sort of stuff is bring me out of my very dark space.

 

[MadMarcus]

That's never going to work.

 

[Captain Moondog]

Littlejohn played for Newtown's nsw cup premiership winning team from memory.

What a team that was, Littlejohn at halfback, Will Scarlett five eighth, Friar Tuck ( a George Rose clone) prop, Maid Marian hooker and inspirational captain Robin Hood safe as houses in the last line of defense.

 

[Shoe1]

It looks like a lot of planning has gone into the recruiting. 3 aged but still great props in kite, rose and joe are gone, and we have trbovic, Sao on the way up, and these 3 23 year old props signed for 2014. It's the perfect age for a prop to step up. King and Lawrence still there to lead them. It's tough to move guys on, but hats off to manly for this planned approach.

 

[The Who]

Thanks for the update. Very informative.
I hope that Littlejohn can grow up and develop into a first grader as I'm sure we can have some fun with his surname.

 

[bob dylan]

Manly swapped Foran for Littlejohn.

The untalented Johns brother told me that.

 

[The Who]

Manly swapped Foran for Littlejohn.

The untalented Johns brother told me that.

So, Little Johns told you about Littlejohn?