MANLY SEA EAGLES v NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
Date: Wednesday July 27
Venue: Brookvale Oval
Kick off: 6pm
Teams:
MANLY SEA EAGLES
1. Peter Schuster, 2. Marli Sini, 3. Jerry Key, 4. Tony Satini, 5. Ben Fritz, 6. Mathew Place, 7. Pita Godinet (c), 8. Liam Knight, 9. Hugh Pratt, 10. Addin Fonua-Blake, 11. Fabian Goodall, 12. Dylan Kelly, 13. Jamil Hopoate. Interchange: 14. Daniel Vasek, 15. Moses Noovao-McGreal. 16. Halauafu Lavaka, 17. Rhys Armstrong.
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
1. Bryce Donovan, Ken Tofliau, 3. Akuila Uate, 4. Tom Hughes, 5. Tyme Dow-Nikau, 6. Ryan Walker, 7. Jaelen Feeney, 8. Uiti Baker, 9. Krys Freeman, 10. Tama Koopu, 11. Ben Stone, 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 13. Bradie Smith. Interchange: 14. Kurt Aldridge, 15. Sam Bernstrom, 16. Michael Steele, 17. Roman Fepulea’i, 18. Mao Uta.
Match analysis:
After a bye in Round 20, the Reserve Grade Newcastle Knights ready themselves for a Round 13 catch up match played at Brookvale Oval on Wednesday evening.
The Round 13 fixture, which was scheduled to be played at Brookvale Oval in early June, was postponed due to inclement weather.
While the unusual event presented challenges in rescheduling the game, the Knights are pleased to approach the match from a week’s rest and are boosted by the return of a number of players who have recovered from injury.
“For us the bye has been a benefit,” coach Matt Lantry said.
“It has given Aku (Uate) an extra week with his injury and Tyme Dow-Nikou comes back from a hamstring injury.”
Krys Freeman also returns to the hooking position from an arm injury with Jaelen Feeney named in the halves after weeks on the sidelines due to an ankle injury.
“If we played in the weekend just gone, those players wouldn’t have been a chance so those extra days have helped,” he said.
With an influx of fresh faces, Lantry says simplicity is the main focus of Wednesday night’s clash.
“There’s no point trying to overcomplicate it when our halves are playing together for the first time this year,” he said.
“It will be the simple process of making sure we execute our game plan reasonably well.
“We need to make sure we complete our sets, are discipline and also need to defend well.
“There’s not too much you can do outside of the box when it’s a new team we are pulling together with some guys back from an extended lay off, or playing their first game of the year in Reserve Grade.”
The Sea Eagles sit at 11th on the table, one spot ahead of the Knights and trail off a 32-18 loss to the North Sydney Bears. They were also only narrowly defeated by the Warriors two weeks ago.
"That’s a fair indicator to show they are going okay because the Warriors have sat in the top four for most of the year," he said.
"They have been a little bit up and down and I think that is dependant on who filters back from their top squad.
"It will be interesting to see who they throw out."
Meanwhile, the Knights back up on Saturday to take on the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Round 21 at Belmore Oval.
“It’s just how we manage that short turnaround into the Bulldogs on Saturday and we have our plans in place around recovery,” he said.
“Doing our best in manly will be our sole focus until we finish there.”
Where it will be won:
Attitude.
“It’s a midweek game, six o’clock at Brookvale Oval, and not in front of many fans,” Lantry said.
“From some guys possibly coming off work or going into work on the Thursday, we need to make sure our mind is clearly on the job.
“If our attitude is right towards all the key things we need to get done, I think we are a good chance.”
