There are worse things that an NRL club could do than try and copy what the Manly Sea Eagles are doing. This involves everything - the way they play their footy, their recruitment and development along with the culture they have created. There are plenty of issues however in the boardroom and with their ownership, so we'll conveniently forget about all that and in my eyes the way they have developed the club in the modern era far out-weighs the usual negativity that comes from the boardroom.

First of all, the Sea Eagles have adapted very well with not only the changes in the NRL but also with the loss of some key people that would have severely put other clubs back a few years. Under Des Hasler the Sea Eagles were one hell of a footy club. Clever, tough and very skillful they were the only team that could rival the Melbourne Storm. They also had one of the best rookie halves to have ever appeared in the NRL in Trent Hodgkinson, a bloke who any NRL Dream Team regular would know very well. In the space of a few years the Sea Eagles lost both Hasler and Hodgkinson to the Bulldogs, one could have argued that this would have put the Sea Eagles in a spot of bother.

Instead, Manly got even better. Geoff Toovey came in and followed on from Hasler's work and called up some bloke called Daly Cherry-Evans (DCE) who had to ply his trade in the Intrust Super Cup waiting for his big break. Look at where the Bulldogs and Hodgkinson are now, compared to the Sea Eagles and Cherry-Evans, need I say more?

The Sea Eagles have some very talented, origin level players on their books. The likes of the Stewart bros, Jamie Lyon, Kieran Foran, DCE, Anthony Watmough and Matt Ballin could all be marquee players at any other NRL club. Yet they haven't really had too many issues with the salary cap have they? Thanks in part to some nifty work with player contracts - something similar to what the Bulldogs will be doing with the arrival of Andrew Fifita, but mainly thanks to a genuine desire to stay together and play at Manly, the lure of Brookvale. This has meant that many of their stars have taken pay cuts to stay at Manly, turning down big money deals - Kieran Foran and DCE are reportedly on $650k and $500k respectively while Andrew Fifita has just signed a deal around the $850k mark. Many NRL teams would love to have Steve Matai or Jamie Lyon in their team, but the desire to stick with their boys and in a winning culture has meant that these two have given up massive pay checks to represent the northern beaches.

They have built such a culture that breeds success and players want to win, they will play for the NRL club that they enjoy the most and have the greatest chance of winning, similar to what has happened at the Miami Heat in the NBA. What happens with an off-contract Glenn Stewart will put this to the test however.

You would think that they have a great development system that brings a wealth of talent up through the grades. Unlike the Warriors, the Sea Eagles have never won the Under 20's competition and the best they have done was winning the Minor Premiership in 2009. However, in that year they weren't even in the final so it's hard to judge that as a success. A look at their current roster gives you a good idea of how they never seem to skip a beat as they have a constant wave of young talent to call upon.

Jorge Taufua and Jamie Buhrer are both Parramatta juniors and are now both NSW reps. Cheyse Blair was unwanted by the Eels last season and has been very good for Manly in the absence of Taufua this season. Peta Hiku came from no where to be a star for the Warriors Under 20's but was unwanted by the Warriors. He is now a called upon when Brett Stewart is injured. Josh Starling was a Rabbitohs junior who made his first grade debut with the Bunnies, he's now the starting prop for Manly. Brenton Lawrence could definitely be considered as a journeyman, he joined the Sea Eagles from the Gold Coast and had a breakout year in 2013. Same can be said about Justin Horo who was unwanted by the Eels and like Lawrence found great success with Manly in 2013. Dunamis Lui joined the Sea Eagles from Brisbane and is 2014's Richie Fa'aoso  ... who was also brought in off the scrap heap.

Most intriguing in my mind is how they have picked up some very talented young players for this season. Tony Satini and Jesse Sene Lefao are both very talented Penrith juniors who have been snapped up by Manly. Satini was the captain of Penrith's Under 20's before he was mysteriously dropped for the final and will feature in the centres should Lyon or Matai get injured while Sene-Lefao made his debut vs the Broncos last week. Satini along with journeyman Masada Iosefa, former Cowboys youngster Jayden Hodges and ex Junior Warrior Ligi Sao all feature in Manly's NSW Cup side.

As you can see, Manly are very clever with their signings as they bring in players to cover a specific need within the club. A clear example of this was on Friday night with both Brett and Glenn Stewart injured, Manly defeated the Rabbitohs with Hiku stepping in to fullback, Buhrer a like for like replacement for Glenn Stewart and Sene-Lefao coming off the bench.

The Manly Sea Eagles sure know how to bring together a bunch of footy players but most importantly their playing style and culture lead to on field success. Aggression, skill and sublime execution of their plays make them a joy to watch and many teams could benefit greatly from studying the Manly Sea Eagles.