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Sea Eagles centre Steve Matai knows the Eels aren’t going to be a walk in the park on Sunday despite last week’s thrashing at the hands of the Roosters.

“We just know that they are going to come out hard. They’ve got a hard-nosed coach in Brad Arthur and we are going to have to be there defensively and I’m sure we’ll do that,” Matai said.

Matai, who played inside former Manly winger Will Hopoate during his short stint at the club in 2011, says he doesn’t know what to expect of the 21-year-old.

"I haven’t really seen the first two weeks that he’s played but I know he is a strong runner of the ball and a good defender. I’m going to have to be on my game to get on top of him.

"He’s had two years out of the game. It’s going to take a little while but it’s just like riding a bike for him, I reckon he’ll be back in a few weeks."

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Get your tickets to our Sunday afternoon clash with Parramatta here

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Another former Sea Eagle, Darcy Lussick, will miss a month of footy after being charged for his ugly high tackle on Sydney Roosters front-rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

“He’s a strong runner of the ball and he’s a stronger defender and without him there it isn’t going to be as strong in the middle,” Matai said. 

Acknowledgement of Country

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

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