Some heavy soul searching this week at training should see a hungrier Manly Leagues team take on the Moorebank Rams in the Sydney Shield on Sunday, July 21.
The Sea Eagles suffered a 40-22 loss to St Marys at home last week in a match that saw them trail 28-6 before three quick tries saw Manly get back within a converted try.
"It was tough one to swallow from a team perspective. It felt like only half the team showed up to play while the other half didn't quite bring their A game,'' Coach Anthony Watmough said.
"Despite this, we managed to stay in the game until the 75th minute against a strong St Marys team.
"Our boys always find a way to hang in there.
"As a coach, that one stung more than the team as it's my job to get everyone on the same page and motivated.
"I didn't do my job well enough last week, but I'm looking forward to this week being different.
"We're getting some experienced players back to help guide the younger guys."
Match: Manly Leagues v Rams
Round 16 -
home Team
Manly Leagues
away Team
Rams
Venue: Lionel Watts Park, Sydney
It was a slight setback for a Manly Leagues team that has earned themselves plenty of respect in their debut season in the Sydney Shield competition under first time coach Watmough.
For many of the young players in the Manly Leagues team, it is also their first year of playing against more seasoned opponents, with the learning experience only going to be more beneficial to the Sea Eagles in coming seasons.
Manly Leagues sit two points clear in ninth place of the bottom placed Rams with five rounds remaining of the regular season.
The Sea Eagles recorded a 32-28 win over the Rams at Blacktown in round eight.
