Preview: SG Ball Cup Grand Final Qualifier

The Sea Eagles tackle the Newcastle Knights at Henson Park at 1.30pm after advancing through to the preliminary final following their best performance of the season a fortnight ago.

The team would love your support, so get there if you can.

Having finished the regular season in fourth place, the Sea Eagles sent a strong warning message with a dominate 36-30 win over South Sydney.

The win ended Souths undefeated run and was a complete turnaround from Manly’s 38-6 loss to the Rabbitohs in Round 5, the Sea Eagles only defeat.

Leading 18-12 at half-time, Manly put the foot down to race to a 36-12 lead before Souths hit back hard with three tries in six minutes for a six-point ball game with 50 seconds left.

Manly Coach Lachlan Croker said the team has prepared well for the clash with the Knights.

“We were fortunate to have Kieran Foran come and speak to the boys on Wednesday night about playing in the finals and what it means to be a Manly player, and about having pride in the jersey,’’ Croker said.

The boys loved hearing from ‘Foz’ and are really pumped.

Lachlan Croker Sea Eagles SG Ball Coach

“Kieran watched our training session afterwards and was very impressed. He sees a lot of bright futures in front of him.

“We obviously haven’t played Newcastle this season, but we have watched their last two games, and they have been very impressive against good opposition.

“Their halves are very good, and they have a crafty hooker who takes a lot of opportunities around the ruck.

“We must be physical. We must win the battle through the middle and fight to get our quick play the balls because it doesn't matter how good our shape is, if we're playing off slow play the balls and then getting dominated in the ruck, we're going to be no chance.

“There is enough talent in our team to score tries from anywhere but it’s the other side of the ball that we need to have in our mind first and foremost.”

Victory over Newcastle would see Manly move into the Grand Final on Saturday, May 2.

The Sea Eagles have never won an SG Ball title since the competition began in 1965 after finishing runners up in 1990, 1991, 1998, and 2019.