https://twitter.com/SeaEagles/status/1793412804139270363

Hear me out guys, as much as I love Turbo, whenever he's healthy we seem to live and die by him, meaning that most of our attacking plays are centered around him. This is great when he's on fire but a disaster when he's not. We play better when we're focusing on everyone doing their part instead of just relying on Tom.

So, I propose that we move Turbo to centre (where he has shown he's more than capable at rep level) and Koula to fb. Koula played top notch at fb for us last year at the back end of the season and I really think he's under-utilised in the centres. My starting lineup, therefore, would look something like this:

• FB: Koula
• Left Wing: Garrick
• Left Centre: Turbo
• Left Edge: Burbo
• Right Wing: Paulo (while Saab is injured)
• Right Centre: Vaega or Talau
• Right Edge: Okaluatu
• 5/8: Brooks
• 1/2: DCE
• Hooker: Croker
• Lock: Jurbo
• Props: Aloiai and Paseka.

​

SEEBS, IF YOU SEE THIS (he definitely will, Clueless), PLS JUST GIVE KOULA A CHANCE.

This enables you to add all the manly games to your calender and updates automatically throughout the season. From my experience it also continues onto other seasons as well, so you only need to add the link once.

https://sync.ecal.com/button/v1/ecal.html?widgetId=5a63b12df5e2e8637d8b4567&apiKey=1fa83ae4c84f5044a3ef39e1e3b88f935a5d599a9a72d

I’m a bit nervous about it tbh, I mean we obviously need an eighth (sorry Schuster believers) but idk if he’ll be a good fit at Manly, personality wise. We’re a very tight-knit and family-esque team but from what I’ve seen, he seems like a bit of a diva or a bit of an “individualist”. In his defence, I would probably become a bit more self-concerned after the criticism he copped at the tigers. Either way, excited to see how it pans out

Starting 13 :

1. Tolu Koula
2. Reuben Garrick
3. Brad Parker
4. Tom Trbojevic
5. Jason Saab
6. Luke Brooks
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. Josh Aloiai
9. Lachlan Croker
10. Matt Lodge
11. Haumole Olakau’atu
12. Josh Schuster
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Gordon Chan Kum Tong (Ideally comes on for Croker)
15. Toph Sipley (Ideally comes on for Aloiai)
16. Taniela Paseka (Ideally comes on for Lodge)
17. Ethan Bullemor (Ideally comes on for Jake/Other)
18. Aitasi James (HIA replacement)

Reserves:

• Jaxson Paulo (Winger/Fullback Replacement)
• Christian Tuipulotu (Winger/Centre Replacement)
• Tommy Talau (Winger/Centre Replacement)
• Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega (Winger/Centre Replacement)
• Ben Trbojevic (Centre/Second-Row Replacement)
• Dean Matterson (Centre/Second-Row Replacement)
• Jake Arthur (Halves Replacement)
• Dean Matterson (Hooker/Utility Replacement)
• Ben Condon (Forward Replacement)
• Zac Fulton (Forward Replacement)

Notes:

Parker can play second-row if need be - good ball runner.

If Koula goes down, Tom is first fullback replacement, then Garrick, then Paulo

I think after Koula's performances over the last few games of the 2023 season, he deserves a shot at starting fullback for the 2024 season, and since Tom is coming back from injury, I think it would be safer for him to start as a centre for the time being, especially since he has experience playing this position at rep level (origin, international).

Curious to hear everyone else's thoughts! Excited for the season ahead :)

​

1. Tom Trbojevic
2. Jason Saab
3. Brad Parker
4. Tolutau Koula
5. Reuben Garrick
6. Josh Schuster
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c)
8. Josh Aloiai
9. Lachlan Croker
10. Sean Keppie
11. Haumole Olakau’atu
12. Kelma Tuilagi
13. Jake Trbojevic

Interchange 14. Karl Lawton 15. Taniela Paseka 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Toafofoa Sipley 18. Ben Trbojevic 19. Morgan Harper 20. Ben Condon 21. Christian Tuipulotu 22. Kaeo Weekes 23. Jacob Sykes 24. Jamie Humphreys

He hasn't done much in the last few years, and the recruitment last year was awful. Some people say we had 'a stable/ settled team' between last year and this one - but I haven't been excited about new players apart from possibly Koula.

What do you think our biggest problems have been so far this season.

I think our attack is way too slow and kicks have been terrible

My fellow Manly Warringah Sea Eagle brothers & sisters, I'm 61 years old & have followed this wonderful team for as long as I can remember. Growing up at Narrabeen in the 60's was a joy & a burden. The joy came from the splendour of the beach, the people & the carefree life of a child. The burden was watching Manly come so close, so often, only to be deigned by Eric Simms's Rabbits twice in three years. But the 70's was another story, 72, 73, 76 & 78. Bozo was a god. The 80's, 90's, 00's & 10's brought more success. So here's Manly, the only team to have won premierships in every decade since the 1970's, on the precipice of continuing their legacy into the 2020's. Their team is as good as I have ever seen and their coach is the equal of any in the teams history. So buckle in folks, because I feel it's about to happen again. Of course, if not now, there's 8 more years to complete the task.