Rd 19 NRL Preview: Sea Eagles vs Dragons
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles travel to Kogarah for the first time tonight since 2020 when they tackle the St George-Illawarra Dragons.
The Round 19 Telstra Premiership match kicks off at Jubilee Stadium at 6pm.
The Form
The Sea Eagles have won four of their past five matches to sit in eighth place on the Telstra Premiership ladder. Manly are averaging 35 points per game through their exciting style of footy.
Sitting on 20 points, the Sea Eagles are two points clear of the Roosters, the Raiders, and the Dragons with seven matches remaining before the finals.
Manly go into the game on the back of a 42-12 victory over the Newcastle Knights at 4 Pines Park last Saturday where the Sea Eagles ran in seven tries to two.
The Dragons will be looking to restore their pride at home following a 54-26 loss to the Sydney Roosters in Gosford last Saturday. St George-Illawarra has coughed up 86 points from their last two games.
Team changes
The Sea Eagles have lost representative lock Jake Trbojevic, second-rower Andrew Davey, and hooker Lachlan Croker for the match with Covid in a major blow to the team.
Exciting young full-back Kaeo Weekes will make his NRL debut. The 20-year-old, who can also play five-eighth, is in his first season in the Sea Eagles NRL squad.
One of the real standout players from the very successful Sea Eagles Pathways Academy, Weekes has been a prolific try scorer in the Harold Matthews and SG Ball competitions after starting at Manly as a 14-year-old.
Head to Head
The Sea Eagles have won 11 of the 32 matches played against St George-Illawarra since the inaugural match in 1999.
At Kogarah, the Sea Eagles have won just two of their eight matches played there.
Manly’s last win at Kogarah was a 21-12 victory in 2014 with the only other win being a 24-18 victory in 2013.
Milestone for Marty
Powerful Manly prop Martin Taupau will celebrate his 150th game for the Sea Eagles against the Dragons at Kogarah.
Now in his seventh season at Manly, the man nick-named ‘Kapow’ has been a dominant enforcer of the Sea Eagles pack since joining the club in 2016.
From his 149 games for Manly, Kapow has made 460 tackle breaks, 7723 post contact metres, 296 offloads, and has ran for an average 144 metres from a total of 21,475 metres.
With 11 tries to his name, big Marty would love nothing more than a try and a Manly victory in front of his family on Friday night.
50 not out for Sips
If one man deserves a special milestone, it is Toff Sipley, who plays his 50th NRL game against the Dragons.
'Sips' is a much loved player at Manly for his warm personality that brings everyone in the club together.
It is a well deserved 'half century' for Toff, who has overcome some tough injuries and adversity to force his way into the strong Sea Eagles pack.
Retro time
The much loved Pepsi jersey of the 1990s is one of the most iconic jerseys in the Sea Eagles history.
Well, this Friday night, it makes a welcome return to the NRL playing fields when Manly wears the Pepsi Max jersey against St George-Illawarra in their round 19 premiership match at Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah, to celebrate the Sea Eagles’ grand final win over the Dragons in 1996.
Since its release earlier this month, the Pepsi Max jersey has been selling very quickly as Sea Eagles fans enjoy a trip down memory lane to a great time in the club’s proud history.
The jersey has come full circle now with current Manly Coach Des Hasler part of the 1996 team under premiership winning Coach Bob Fulton.
Pepsi Max is the Official Soft Drink of the Sea Eagles.
