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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2668355, member: 1899"] I've been laying off old footy games lately but decided to go back and treat myself to Manly circa 2008. [B]Prelim Final Manly Sea Eagles 32 defeated Warriors 6[/B] This game is actually pretty tough to find and even the copy I found had no sound for the first half. Regardless, I was able to get my hands on it and got to see a red-hot Manly team put away a very gritty Warriors outfit. I was actually a little surprised. I never watched this game back in the day as I assumed the Warriors finally got exposed for the 8th place team that they were but they were pretty competitive on the night. Unfortunately they didn't have the strike of Manly. The Sea Eagles were such a well drilled team, their passing was spot on, their attack asked plenty of questions and their last tackle kicking was second to none. It was around this time Brett Stewart was really starting to make waves and was challenging Billy Slater for the Test spot at fullback. Of course history shows that Stewart's career from this point would be plagued by injury and Slater would continue on but Brett was magnificent to watch. He just had it all at this time and if there was one small blemish it was that he could be found out in the air on occasion which he was here. Lyon and Matai were the other stand-outs but Manly were so well balanced that it's difficult not to give the entire team a wrap. Under Cleary, the Warriors were a far more methodical team compared to years past who used their power to get the better of their opposition. It worked for large periods but the Kiwis just couldn't capitilise on their opportunities and it seemed like their only play was to give the ball to Manu who was having one of his off nights. It could have been interesting early had he scored when the line was open, but one of the Manly defenders did a great job of coming across and knocking the ball free. It changed the complexion of the game. And I know it isn't cool to hype up Manly, but that was the story of this game. This was Manly at their best and the 32-6 scoreline doesn't do them justice. They actually scored 7 tries but Orford's kicking game was off that night and as I said, they had to earn every single point. If I wasn't so heart-broken over the Broncos, I would have changed my tip on GF day but at that point I was too stubborn. [B] Misc Notes[/B] - There are some players who just remind you of certain years and for me, if you say Aidan Kirk, I know you're talking about the Warriors in 2008. He was the lone try scorer and it was funny because he turned what should have been the easiest consolation try into a bit of an ordeal. What happened was, the Warriors worked the numbers, half puts a kick through with plenty of space...the problem is Kirk is about 10m behind the play! He gets there just in time but it was looking like one of the worst chases up to that point. - Steve Matai absolutely dominated Brent Tate in this game and got me thinking, where does he rank amongst the other top centres in the modern game? Surely he'd be a Top 10 contender? I get the feeling that time is going to forget him which is a shame since I think he's been one of the better centres since at least 2007. In fact, if he is remembered, it'll be for his bad shoulder or for that hit on Gasnier which I think gave him a dirtier reputation than he really deserves. [/QUOTE]

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