Even Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic was shocked by his brother Jake and Addin Fonua-Blake being named to face Melbourne at Lottoland on Sunday.
The key forwards were expected to miss some early games after undergoing off-season shoulder surgeries, with Jake Trbojevic telling NRL.com recently that he wouldn't be right for round one.
Speaking at the Kayo season launch in Darling Harbour on Wednesday, fullback Trbojevic didn't confirm the pair as definite starters but said it would be a great boost if they were to feature.
"There's still a few days before we play until Sunday; I'm not sure how they'll pull up from training but we'll see how we go," Trbojevic said.
"It surprised me, very surprising. Obviously [I was] very stoked yesterday afternoon [when the team was announced].
"They're two quality players and it'll be great to have them out there on Sunday. They've both played for their country.
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"Jake and Addin work really hard, they both love their footy and if they are to play on Sunday, it's because they have worked very hard."
Trbojevic is anticipating Melbourne will maintain their usual excellence this season despite losing centres Curtis Scott and Will Chambers and halfback Brodie Croft.
"I'm certainly not predicting a slide from the Storm. They're a quality side," Trbojevic said.
"They've got a pretty similar squad to last year's that finished up in the semis, so they're going to be coming out roaring. It'll be great to test ourselves against them."
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Roosters ace Luke Keary was also present at the Kayo launch, testing his hitting power against the Kayo Kruncher tackling bag along with Trbojevic and Broncos legend Wendell Sailor.
The Tricolours five-eighth was happy to hear that Sharks centre Josh Morris will be coming to Bondi after round two to plug the hole left by Latrell Mitchell's departure to South Sydney.
But for the time being, Keary is keen to operate with Angus Crichton outside him at centre for the Roosters' match against Penrith on Saturday.
"He's obviously a back-rower, a big strong ball runner. I think it's my job to get him clean ball and let him run," Keary said.
"Defensively he's strong, he's going to make good decisions for us. He'll shore us up over there on the left edge."
On the other side of the field, Keary is tipping Joey Manu to thrive having taken over the mantle as the team's strike three-quarter.
"Without Latrell, he's probably going to get a lot more of the footy, which is exciting," Keary said.
"I thought his back end of '18 and '19 was as good as I've seen a centre play. And then what he's done for the Kiwis too has been pretty impressive.
"I've seen him grow and add a little more to his game in the off-season and I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes this year."
