After watching last night's game i'm convinced that Manly can make the top 4 this season.Except for the occasional basic error,i thought their performance was excellent,playing against a team that was full of internationals and state of origin players,to only go down by a missed conversion,was great stuff. Compared to the teams of the last 9 years,there just seems to be so much more skill,heart and desire in this years model.When you look at the other top teams,there aren't too many that you can say Manly can't beat.When Andrew Johns gets injured,the Knights will slide down the table,and the same could possibly be said for the Cowboys if Thurston gets hurt.The Tigers are a shadow of last year's team without Marshall,and the Broncos and Eels are ageing quickly. With all this being said,im very confident that Manly will be playing a home semi at Brookvale the first week of the Finals in early September.
I am more convinced about our opportunities yes. Our basic deficiencies are seemingly dissolving. Defence, motivation, and desire were missing in the last number of years but are back. To me, they are the most important ingredients. Our skill sets and overall teamwork are developing but just arnt quite there yet. But thats OK. We will continue to improve. Thats heaps better than the others who have crested the rise and on their way down.
We will be 9th to 11th after this weekend. We deserve that position. Just because we weren't flogged, and looked competative, doesn't mean we have to bow down to the performance. Kennedy said we were disgraceful, and I'm with him.
do you mean that is what you expect our place to be on the ladder at the end of the normal competition rounds?
