Manly Warringah Coach Trent Barrett said the team’s focus has been on their own preparation ahead of Sunday's home clash against the Newcastle Knights.
With three straight wins behind them and sitting in 12th place, the Sea Eagles will be looking to continue their charge to the finals against the bottom placed Knights at Brookvale Oval.
“Of the players in the footage that we watched of Newcastle this week, they took Melbourne down to the wire. They were leading Canberra 16-0 after 20 minutes when they played them,’’ Barrett said.
“They have been playing well. They are a big team and they have got some young and enthusiastic players in there.
“We certainly won’t be taking anyone lightly. We are not in a position to. We have just got to do the things well that we have been doing over the last few weeks, and keep improving.”
Barrett said having a consistent spine of half Daly Chery-Evans, five-eighth Jamie Lyon, hooker Api Koroisau, and full-back Tom Trbojevic, over the past month has really benefitted the side after experiencing seven consecutive losses.
“It has been a big reason why we have been playing better,’’ he said.
“The attitude in the team has been really good. I knew we would get out of the slump we were in. It took a bit longer than we certainly would have hoped.
“You learn a lot about each other through those times, and we really put in a lot of effort for each other. We just need to keep improving.”
Manly v Newcastle, Sunday, July 31, Brookvale Oval
Times
Gates Open: 1.30pm.
NYC Kick Off: 1.45pm
NRL Kick Off: 4pm
Head to Head
Played 46: Manly 29, Newcastle 17
At Brookvale Oval
Played 16: Manly 14, Newcastle 2
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