Some of the next generation of potential young Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players will be on show at 4 Pines Park on Saturday, March 18, as part of the Club's Pathways program.
The Sea Eagles play the Parramatta Eels at Brookvale at 10am in the Lisa Fiaola Cup game for U17 girls followed by an U16 boys development game at 11.30am.
Manly will be looking to further build on their solid effort in their gallant 20-18 loss to the Wests Tigers in their first ever Lisa Fiaola Cup match at Campbelltown last weekend.
Along with the Tarsha Gale Cup (U19 girls) and Sea Eagles Development Programs, the entry into the Lisa Fiaola Cup (U17s) is another step forward for Manly in creating a complete Sea Eagles female pathway with the intention to apply for a NRLW licence.
Manly Coach Lizzie Tavita was very proud of her team's determination to fight back after trailing by 16 points at one stage.
“I was really proud of the girls’ effort and how they played. We really started to find our feet as the game progressed,'' Tavita said.
“The opportunity to be the first U17s girls to represent Manly is something special and a positive step in growing the game on the Northern Beaches."
The Manly U16 boys team go into their clash with the Eels on the back of a 24-8 win over St George Dragons at Mascot Oval last weekend after the Bulldogs forfeited their first match against the Sea Eagles.
The Sea Eagles U16 team comprises of talented young rugby league players from clubs across the Manly Warringah District Junior Rugby League. Tghe twam is coached by Matt Orford, who captained the club's 2008 premiership winning team.
“We got off to a really impressive start against the Dragons from our two props who got us going forward and laying a great platform for our team,’’ Orford said.
“The boys showed some signs of fatigue near half-time and their match fitness started to show, which led to simple errors that continued into the early stages of the second half.
“Once we got back into the arm wrestle and completed our sets, we looked the much better team. We played direct and showed patience. The points started to flow towards the back end of the game.
“It wasn’t our prettiest win. At times, we were a little messy but there were enough good signs for us to feel positive heading into the Eels game.”
Sea Eagles Lisa Fiaola Cup team vs Eels
1 Taylor Nickson, 2 Summer Parsen, 3 Kyeema O’Mealey, 4 Lacey Cross, 5 Tamsin Van Zeyl, 6 Khyliah Gray, 7 Hollie Bent, 8 Taya Floyd, 9 Bella Morris, 10 Nasi Faluku, 11 Bronte Edwards, 12 Tyra Dymock, 13 Ella Fiaola; interchange: 14 Rosetta Kinahoi, 15 Mele Makoni, 16 Siu Richter2, 17 Liesl Hopoate, 18 Alaynah Quinlan; reserves: 19 Alice Cummins, 20 Kiara Tonu.
U16 Sea Eagles boys team vs Eels
1 Tyson Price, 2 Jet Chan, 3 Cooper Elkins (C), 4 Charlie Woolf, 5 Sofa Oldfield, 6 Jack Kalms, 7 Beau Alexander (VC), 8 Finau Tuitonetoa, 9 Bede Lil, 10 Noah Ryland, 11 Dylan Simmons, 12 Freddie Benson-Sparkes, 13 Beau McKee; interchange: 14 Chayse Geros, 15 Mo Wolfgram, 16 Ryan Holmes, 17 Nick Ozerov, 18 Blaise Farkas, 19 Dane Woollett, 20 Max Davies, 21 Taj Thompson, 22 Lennox Mafoa, 23 Ofa Latu, 24 Brodie Rota, 25 Charlie Ghattas
