VENUE & TIME: Brookvale Oval – Monday, May 6, 7.05pm (AEST).
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 109 – Sea Eagles 57, Bulldogs 47, Drawn 5.
LAST TIME: Round 1, 2009 – Bulldogs 34-12.
WALKING WOUNDED: The consistent Shane Rodney has given great value to the Sea Eagles this year but he is out indefinitely with a knee problem. Bulldogs duo Ben Hannant (knee) and Jamal Idris (elbow) won’t be back until deep into the regular season. Both players will be badly missed.
FORM: Manly is arguably the form team of the NRL after peeling off five wins from its last six games. The run of success has the premiers in the top eight for the first time this year – and rivals looking nervously over their shoulders. There is no doubt Manly can still make a big noise in this year's premiership. The Dogs arrive on the northern beaches in excellent nick. They have seen off three finals contenders in as many weeks – Broncos, Panthers and Cowboys – and shown no sign of hitting the wall. They are genuine co-competition leaders and will be out to make a statement against last year's champs.
WHO'S HOT: The comeback of 'Gorgeous' George Rose is one of the feel-good stories of season '09. Rose snapped his leg playing against the Storm two years ago and many thought that would be the end of a promising career. But the big fella has courageously fought his way back and has been rewarded with a new contract. He is offering some invaluable go-forward off the Manly bench. Rugby league fans should lap up every opportunity to watch Hazem El Masri over the closing rounds of the premiership. We may never again see a goal-kicker of his ilk. His decision to retire at the end of the year has given the Dogs even greater motivation to go from last to first in the space of 12 months.
WE THINK: This game deserves match-of-the-round status but we are going to have to wait for the first day of the working week to witness it. Many have been expecting the Bulldogs to falter but they keep ticking off the challenges one by one. But they don’t get much tougher than Manly at Brookie. The refreshed Sea Eagles are coming off a bye and are still smarting over the first round touch-up they received at the hands of Canterbury. They also need to win to maintain their spot inside the eight. That desperation may prove the difference in a tight one. Manly by 4
TEAMS:
Sea Eagles: Michael Robertson, Ben Farrar, Jamie Lyon, Steve Matai, David Williams, Chris Bailey, Matt Orford [c], Brent Kite, Matt Ballin, Josh Perry, Anthony Watmough, Glenn Hall, Glenn Stewart.
Interchange: Heath L'Estrange, Jason King, George Rose, Tony Williams, Jared Waerea-Hargraves, Adam Cuthbertson (two to be omitted).
Bulldogs: Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Josh Morris, Daryl Millard, Bryson Goodwin, Ben Roberts, Brett Kimmorley, Jarrad Hickey, Michael Ennis, Michael Hodgson, Gary Warburton, Andrew Ryan [c], David Stagg.
Interchange: Brad Morrin, Greg Eastwood, Yileen Gordon, Daniel Holdsworth.