Manly Warringah Sea Eagles will be looking to finish the Telstra Premiership season on a high note against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs this Friday night.
The match kicks off at Accor Stadium, Homebush, at 6pm.
The Form
The Sea Eagles were unable to snap out of their poor form as they suffered their sixth straight defeat with a 48-6 loss to the Canberra Raiders last Saturday.
With one match left to play, the Sea Eagles will finish the season in 11th place.
The Bulldogs have been stuck in a bit of a rut themselves, having lost the last four matches, including a 16-0 defeat to the Cronulla Sharks last Saturday.
They currently sit one position behind the Sea Eagles in 12th place and are unable to overtake considering the six-point gap.
Team Changes
Exciting youngster Kaeo Weekes gets his opportunity to showcase his attacking skills after being selected at full-back.
Tolu Koula shifts back to centre. Ben Trbojevic moves back to the bench with Andrew Davey and Dylan Walker named in the forwards.
The match marks the last Manly game for Kieran Foran, Dylan Walker, Martin Taupau and Andrew Davey.
Head-To-Head
The two prestigious clubs have shared a fair bit of history together. Manly have only played more matches against three other clubs (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Parramatta Eels and the Sydney Roosters) since its inception into the league back in 1947.
Of the 134 matches, the Sea Eagles have come away with a win on 71 occasions.
The Bulldogs have won 58 matches with the remaining five ending in draws, the last coming back in 1992 with a 20-20 all result.
Last Time We Met
Manly claimed a 13-12 victory over Canterbury at 4 Pines Park back in Round 3 this season courtesy of a Daly Cherry-Evans field goal in the 76th minute. The visiting side got out to an early eight-point lead thanks to a try in the opening minute.
The Sea Eagles however weren’t going to allow any breathing space, with tries from Tom Trbojevic and Reuben Garrick on the cusp of halftime snatching a 12-10 lead at the break.
Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton converted a penalty goal with just under 10 minutes to play, setting the stage for our captain, Cherry-Evans, to slot the field goal and ultimately seal the victory.
The Streak Continues
Off the back of the tight one-point victory in round three, the Sea Eagles extended their winning streak against the Bulldogs to seven matches.
Manly hasn’t lost to Canterbury since August 20, 2017, a match in which they went down 30-16.
From those seven matches, the Sea Eagles have outscored their opponents 215 to 72 points, including a 66-0 victory in Round 16 last season that saw hat-tricks from Jason Saab and Tom Trbojevic, as well as doubles to Reuben Garrick and Toff Sipley and a try for Karl Lawton.
The previous streak of victories for either side was six wins in a row for the Bulldogs (2014-2016, 1998-2004) as well as six for the Sea Eagles (1981-1983).
Here’s hoping the streak pushes out to eight!
Most Tries vs Canterbury
4 Ron Rowles v Canterbury, Brookvale Oval, July 24, 1954
4 Tom Mooney v Canterbury, Brookvale Oval, August 25, 1979
4 Phil Blake v Canterbury, Brookvale Oval, March 13, 1983
Most Points in a match vs Canterbury
30 Ron Rowles (4T, 9G) v Canterbury, Brookvale Oval, July 24, 1954.
Manly’s biggest win vs Canterbury
66-0 v Canterbury, Bankwest Stadium, July 3, 2021
