Stopping a Nth Qld Cowboys pack containing a wealth of Origin and international players will go a long way towards Manly Warringah Sea Eagles winning in Townsville on Monday night.
“They have got a huge pack who have dominated all year, particularly the likes of Jason Taumalolo, Matt Scott, and James Tamou,’’ said Manly Coach Trent Barrett.
“It was where we lost the battle when we played them at Brookvale Oval in round nine. It is a big job for our forwards.
“We are a better side now than when we last played them despite not getting the results we wanted in recent weeks. Certainly In the last few weeks, particularly in that first half against Penrith when we did put together our best half of footy of the year, we did get a lot of confidence out of that.
“The return of Dylan Walker from Origin is a real positive for us. I thought he handled Greg Inglis well on Wednesday night.
“It is a tough arena State of Origin. Playing rep footy is very important for a player’s development and you also bring some good habits back to the club. I have seen the change in him already.
“This is an extremely important game for us and the Cowboys will be very tough to beat as they have plenty of strike power across the park.
“We think if we can play how we know we can play, and play as a team, we can get the two points. We just want to make sure we give a good account of ourselves.”
The Sea Eagles are hoping half-back Daly Cherry-Evans and club captain Jamie Lyon, not named in the team on Tuesday, pull through the team’s captain’s run today.
“Both will be monitored and we are hoping they will come through. If not, we have some good replacements there ready to go,’’ Barrett added.
