Stat Attack: Manly boast speed edge but Roosters have experience
Manly's outside backs easily have the Roosters covered for pace with Jason Saab, Tom Trbojevic and Reuben Garrick dominating in the speed department.
As the teams prepare to meet in Friday night's sudden-death semi-final, Telstra Tracker data has provided some key statistical insights.
While none of the Roosters back five have been clocked at more than 33.8km/h this season (with centre Adam Keighran the quickest of the lot), the star Sea Eagles trio have routinely surpassed 35km/h.
In Saab's case, that's merely a cruising speed given the 20-year-old winger has reached a personal best of 38km/h in 2021. Only Melbourne Storm flyer Josh Addo-Carr (38.1km/h) has gone quicker.
Trbojevic (best of 35.9km/h) and Garrick (35.2km/h) have also proven extremely hard to catch once they find open space.
But it's not just the Sea Eagles' ability to accelerate that makes them so dangerous - they're able to produce repeated sprint efforts.
Data shows that Manly's back five have collectively averaged more distance than the Roosters (8089m v 6881m per game) and played at a higher intensity (average of 85.2 metres per minute v 80m/min).
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Tellingly, Manly's backs average 604 high-speed metres (20km/h or more) per match compared to 357m for the Roosters.
However, the Roosters statistically have the upper hand when it comes to endurance from their starting props.
Tricolours duo Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Isaac Liu collectively average more distance per game (5622m v 4594) than Sea Eagles pair Josh Aloiai and Martin Taupau. The Roosters bookends also play at an increased intensity (86.5 m/min v 83.3 m/min).
Despite being battered and bruised, Trent Robinson's gutsy team have another advantage over Manly - finals experience.
Even excluding injured and retired stars like Luke Keary, Joey Manu, Boyd Cordner, Brett Morris and Jake Friend, the 17 Roosters set to face the Sea Eagles have played 116 playoff matches.
That's compared to 68 finals games for Manly, who have just three players (Daly Cherry-Evans, Kieran Foran and Dylan Walker) with five or more post-season appearances to their names.
The Roosters, meanwhile, boast eight players with five or more finals games. Reliable winger Daniel Tupou (20 finals games) has the most experience of playing September footy.
