VENUE & TIME: Brookvale Oval, Sunday, September 5, 5:00pm (NZT)
COVERAGE: Sky Sport
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 110 – Sea Eagles 58, Bulldogs 47, Drawn 5.
LAST TIME: Round 17, 2009 – Sea Eagles 19-12.
BETTING TAB NZ: Sea Eagles $1.40, Titans $2.80
WALKING WOUNDED: Glenn Stewart won't play again this season unless the Sea Eagles reach the grand final following his four-match suspension for an ugly elbow on Braith Anasta. Chris Bailey will start at lock with Joe Galuvao in the run-on side in the second-row. Brent Kite's eyes rolled around like an old poker machine when he was hit high by the Roosters' Daniel Conn and he's still shaking the cobwebs out. He will be assessed in the days leading up to kick off but will play. Josh Perry returns from a knee injury. Canterbury goes in with the same side that almost snatched victory over Penrith on Monday night
FORM: Were you listening last week when we advised against tipping Manly due to their recent form trend? Hope so. They have now gone WLWLWL over the past six weeks, suggesting they will beat Canterbury and then exit in the first week of the finals. The Sea Eagles were great for the first 39 minutes against the Chooks and then went missing, leaking 30 points without reply. It continues a bad habit of second half fade-outs, something the maroon and whites have been unable to address all year. The Dogs have lost three of their last four but were desperately unlucky not to get the cash against Penrith. As coach Kevin Moore later lamented, those sorts of defeats have been the tale of a forgettable season.
WHO'S HOT: Big Manly winger Tony Williams still has his fair share of detractors but there is no doubt his career is headed in the right direction under Des Hasler. T-Rex was almost unstoppable every time he got the ball against the Roosters, taking three or four players with him every time he went to ground. The previous week he scored two tries to win the honours against The Beast, Manu Vatuvei. Once his gets his head around playing for the full 80 minutes, he could be anything. Dogs' winger Bryson Goodwin will finish in the top six or seven on the top pointscorers' list – not a bad effort for a player from a team running fourth last. Goodwin has scored six tries and booted 68 goals for a combined tally of 160 points.
WE THINK: Manly simply have too much to play for to let this one slip. If they lose they could miss the top eight. The shutters were pulled down long ago on the Bulldogs' season. They will want to send stalwarts Brett Kimmorley and Luke Patten out on a winning note but that sort of passion only takes you so far in a game. Sea Eagles by 14
TEAMS:
Sea Eagles: Ben Farrar, Michael Robertson, Jamie Lyon [c], Steve Matai, Tony Williams , Kieran Foran, Trent Hodkinson, Jason King [c], Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Joe Galuvao, Chris Bailey.
Interchange: Josh Perry, Matt Cross, George Rose, Jamie Buhrer.
Bulldogs: Luke Patten, Steve Turner, Josh Morris, Jamal Idris, Bryson Goodwin, Ben Roberts, Brett Kimmorley, Chris Armit, Michael Ennis, Ryan Tandy, Michael Hodgson, Andrew Ryan [c], Gary Warburton.
Interchange: Mickey Paea, Blake Green, Ben Hannant, Ben Barba.