South Sydney hooker Damien Cook says the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are more of a ‘complete side’ in 2023 ahead of their clash at Accor Stadium this Saturday night.
Speaking at a Rabbitohs media session on Monday, Cook was asked about the mouth watering clash between brilliant full-backs Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic as the pair face off against each other for the first time at club level since 2018.
“They are two of the great full-backs of our game right now. I look forward to us getting our big fella (Mitchell) in good positions and letting him do his thing,’’ Cook said.
“But Turbo’s definitely one to watch this weekend. I feel like Manly are more of a complete side this year. They are playing really good footy as a team and it’s not just him saving them.
“He had a great season a couple of years ago where it was almost off the back of him.
“I feel like he is doing his thing but everyone else is. They are humming at the moment, Manly.’’
Asked what’s the secret of shutting down Trbojevic, Cook was hoping for an ‘off day’. Trbojevic recorded 204 metres from 21 runs and scored two tries in last Thursday's win over the Parramatta Eels at 4 Pines Park.
“Hopefully he is not having his best day which is pretty rare for him. His bad games are pretty good anyway,’’ Cook added.
“You’ve got to defend him together. He’s big and strong…sort of similar to (James) Tedesco. You try and defend them one on one and they will just throw you off and keep going and break the tackles.
“We’ve got to make sure that when we are kicking down there, we are going down there as one line and defending together.
“When he is in attack, he is a powerful runner of the ball. We saw on the weekend, a quick play the ball and (Josh) Schuster jumped out and just hit him, and he barged over.
“We have to make sure we are just ready for anything on the weekend. Wherever he is, there’s a good chance where’s the ball going.”
Half-back Lachlan Ilias agreed that Manly look a different team under new Coach Anthony Seibold.
“Manly have obviously got a really good attack and that’s a good challenge for our defence to see where we are at,’’ he said.
“(Turbo) is looking good. He’s obviously a great player (who) won the Dally M a couple of years ago. We are going to have a game plan around him. All eyes will be on him and their halves.”
Secure your tickets here for the Souths clash. Kick-off 7.35pm.
