2015's NRL Favourites aka The Upper Echelon - Can't Forget About The Manly Sea Eagles
The Manly Sea Eagles could be considered a walking distraction. They have their two best players working their way through high profile contract situations along with constant murmurs and whispers about a disgruntled boardroom that despite going through major changes, still churns out rumours and apparent drama.
It's weird though as you could consider this a bit of a quiet period following the dramas of last season which doubled as the perfect example as to why Manly deserves a mention here. Along with the Melbourne Storm, they've been a mainstay near the top of the NRL ladder and have/continue to endure through a range of shenanigans.
The Sea Eagles will once again be the team that you hate, but because you're jealous. They have lost two players who epitomise the Manly culture in Anthony Watmough and Glenn Stewart, but they've picked up some handy buys to complement their top shelf talent that will continue to be difficult to handle.
The Sea Eagles have enough talent to absorb the loss of Watmough and Stewart, but adding Feleti Mateo will give them a near like for like replacement for Stewart's style. Not Stewart's ability, but the way he was a vital cog of Manly's right edge attack. Mateo has similar play making ability and he won't be able to slip up in any way, shape or form as Manly's culture and work ethic simply won't allow it ... unlike at the Warriors.
At the start of last season many questioned the depth of Manly's big boppers, but they had a group of younger lads who stepped up to the plate and did what was asked. This season they've managed to grab Willie Mason and Luke Burgess, two straight up and down NRL props. When you consider that they'll be taking Jason King's place and that Watmough was a lock/middle man, they've bought wisely.
Manly have done a great job of bringing younger players in to first grade, not only their own but also those from other clubs who are searching for a chance. The likes of Jayden Hodges, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Josh Starling and Dunamis Lui all arrived at Manly from other clubs last season and impressed under Geoff Toovey with their roles easily defined. This dose will be repeated this season with Michael Chee Kam likely to get much more footy than last season after looking the goods in the NRL Nines and most of the footy he has played recently.
It's going to be a puzzle for coach Toovey in the outside backs. The core of DCE, Foran, Steve Matai (who re-signed for two more years), Brett Stewart and Jamie Lyon is up there with the best in the business but the depth that the Sea Eagles have here is scary. Jorge Taufua is a near Origin level winger and deserves to have a wing spot locked down, while Peta Hiku is an international so it's hard to leave him out. David Williams served his ban for gambling and is back in the picture and Cheyse Blair featured a fair bit last year, while the Tom Trbojevic and Clint Gutherson are young guns to watch out for.
Obviously there's a big cloud over DCE and Foran, but only expect this to be an issue if the Sea Eagles are loosing and it becomes an excuse, not from within but from fans and media. Ideally, you'd like these two to have things sorted before the season starts or to kill all discussions until the season is over. What the Sea Eagles have is a group of players who will keep things moving forward, the likes of Lyon, Matai and Ballin will ensure that Manly are able to put up a fight no matter what's going on off the field.
It's hard to preview Manly without looking at how DCE and Foran impact their proceedings. Simply put, they are the best halves pairing in the NRL and as long as they are playing alongside each other, Manly could field a team of battlers and be in the mix. They have so much more than a team of battlers despite loosing some key men and I'm expecting them to as always be an absolute bitch to play against.