If any club needed a 'fast forward' button late in the 2022 season, it was the Manly Sea Eagles.
Teetering on the edge of the top eight, the 'pride jersey' saga dividing the team before imploding their season, finishing 11th after losing seven straight to finish the year, and ending Des Hasler's time at the club.
With Anthony Seibold's appointment came questions, the man that won Dally M Coach of the Year in his rookie season and deliver Brisbane their maiden wooden spoon in the space of three years.
Despite the criticism, he's slotted straight into the coaching box, and gone to work.
Tom Trbojevic's off-season hamstring injury brought more dark clouds, however a pre-season challenge win, made more impressive by beating premiership-threats South Sydney and the Roosters, and all things are looking peachy over the Spit Bridge.
By all reports, the squad is extremely tight knit under Seibold which is the first stepping stone to a successful season. Provided 'Turbo Tom' can stay on the park, the Sea Eagles could be in for a surprising season.
Recruitment Report
Ins: Ben Condon (North Queensland Cowboys, 2025), Zac Fulton (2024), Cooper Johns(Melbourne Storm, 2023), Nathaniel Roache (2023), Kelma Tuilagi (Wests Tigers, 2025)
Outs: Andrew Davey (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), Sione Fainu (Wests Tigers), Kieran Foran(Gold Coast Titans), Jorge Taufua (Wakefield Trinity), Martin Taupau (Brisbane Broncos), Dylan Walker (New Zealand Warriors)
Recruitment Impact
Outside of the coaching ranks, the big move for Manly is the exit of experienced playmaker Kieran Foran to the Gold Coast, pushing the talented Josh Schuster into five-eighth, and opening the left edge for Kelma Tuilagi to slot.
Tuilagi is fresh off a World Cup campaign with Samoa, playing in the final, and forming a scary back-row with Haumole Olakau'atu. Cooper Johns impressed in the trials, and if Schuster doesn't fire, expect Johns to slot in.
Key talking points
Can Anthony Seibold rediscover his fire?
Anthony Seibold's promising career went up in smoke as soon as it begun. After a successful rookie season guiding the Rabbitohs to the top four, Seibold forced himself out of Redfern to take up a five-year deal with Brisbane - and was sacked 18 months later.
He hasn't head coached since mid-2020, but things look to be off to a flyer in Brookvale. He may be unconventional, but Seibold has a great rugby league brain, and has the potential to drag the Sea Eagles back to the top eight.
Positional switches on the cards
The Sea Eagles are looking to make more changes than just in the coaching box, with a host of players eyeing positional moves in 2023.
While Josh Schuster's long-touted move from the back-row to five-eighth has been written on the wall since Foran put pen to paper with the Titans, however it appears Jake Trbojevic and Reuben Garrick could be next.
Trbojevic lined up at prop for the Sea Eagles on Friday and looks set to make the permanent switch there, while Reuben Garrick is eyeing a move to the centres. He scored a hat-trick against the Roosters out wide, and looks set to remain on a flank until Jason Saab returns mid-season.
Tom Trbojevic's fitness
It's the big question - can Tom Trbojevic stay on the park in 2023?
An off-season hamstring injury has been dissolved by a trip to Philadelphia to visit conditioning specialist Bill Knowles, but will it be enough to fix the broken Turbo?
We saw what he could do in 2021, albeit in the 'six-again season', however they need their custodian on the park if they are to return to finals footy.
Star Player: Daly Cherry-Evans
Many will be crying out, saying Tom Trbojevic is the star here, and with a Dally M draped around his neck, it's hard to argue.
However stats show how much more important Cherry-Evans is to this side than Trbojevic, and more than 'Turbo', they need their skipper on the park.
Between 2014 and now, the Sea Eagles have won under 28% of games without their halfback, where the Sea Eagles actually had a winning record without Tom last year until the 'pride round' saga. DCE, coming off a mixed Kangaroos campaign, is key.
Player Under Pressure: Lachlan Croker
Every team needs a solid player that will do their job, make their tackles, and essentially just be a reliable cornerstone, while others produce the flashy stuff.
That's Lachlan Croker.
However, his job is far from safe. Gordon Chan Kum Tong, a 21-year-old hooker on a development deal, started both trials for Manly, and his running game added a whole new dimension to the Sea Eagles. He isn't top 30 in 2023, yet, meaning he can't play until Round 11.
But an upgrade will have Croker nervous.
Breakout Star:Â Viliami Fifita
If you didn't know who this kid was before, you will very, very soon.
If it wasn't for his two offloads in their first trial against South Sydney, the Sea Eagles would be $100,000 poorer right now. The young behemoth averaged about 90 metres and 17 tackles per game off the bench, and looked right at home mixing it with long-time first-graders.
Don't be surprised if the 21 year-old earns a Round 1 debut via the interchange bench.
2023 Draw impact
No team will travel less in 2023 than the Manly Sea Eagles.
The club only leaves Sydney five times throughout the entire season - which includes a home match in Mudgee, and Magic Round in Brisbane. Add in a trip to New Zealand, Melbourne and Canberra, and that's all the travel they'll do this year.
They have an early bye, Round 2, however the other two are midway through and shortly after the Origin period. They have 7+ day turnarounds for 17 of their 24 games, which could be a blessing or a curse.
Fixtures to watch
Round 10 v Brisbane Broncos, Suncorp Stadium, 8:05pm AEST Friday May 5th
Short and simple, the Sea Eagles were absolutely embarrassed at Magic Round last season.
Brisbane absolutely hammered them 38-0 in front of a packed Suncorp Stadium, including a Selwyn Cobbo hat-trick, and Manly will be out for revenge in front of 50,000 screaming Queenslanders.
Daly Cherry-Evans still attracts the odd boo up north when playing club footy, which has been the case ever since his 2015 backflip on the Gold Coast Titans. Expect a hostile environment, especially being the first time Anthony Seibold meets Brisbane since 2020.
Round 17 v Melbourne Storm, AAMI Park, 7:35pm AEST Saturday June 24th
One of the fiercest rivalries in rugby league, book this clash in as another chapter in their long-running feud. Outside their two grand final meetings, the 'Battle of Brookvale' in 2011 and Dylan Walker v Curtis Scott in 2018 are notable entries.
Both will have troops returning to back-up from State of Origin, pitting the two Maroons' halves against one another for a blockbuster. This could have big ladder ramifications down the line.
Round 27 v Wests Tigers, 4 Pines Park, 6:00pm AEST Friday September 1st
Another match that could have a big impact on who finishes where on the NRL ladder.
Neither side has been tipped to play finals football in 2023, but with new head coaches and fresh rosters, there's opportunities for both, and their respective chances could come down to the final round.
Kelma Tuilagi will face his former club in Manly's final home game of the year, which could double as the last match in both club's season.
Prediction
Jack Blyth
There arguably hasn't been a more exciting and intriguing team this off-season than the Manly Sea Eagles.
The ‘pride jersey' saga saw them lose seven on the trot to end 2022 and cost them their head coach, however Anthony Seibold comes in with a point to prove, and has made immediate change.
Jake Trbojevic will play prop, Reuben Garrick will eventually move into the centres, running hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong may get a start, and Tom Trbojevic will start the season fit. Teething issues will cost them, but write them off at your peril.
9th.
Dan Nichols
No club needed 2022 to end more than the once fancied Sea Eagles. On and off the park this club were reduced to laughing stocks.
A change in coach and a much mooted shift in culture should see a return to winning ways for Manly. That said, if Tommy Turbo can't stay fit then 10th is probably their ceiling.
Foran has left the club meaning DCE will carry an enormous responsibility early on. I'm not sure he's up to it given the way he limped to the finish line last year.
Newcastle aside, the Sea Eagles have a horror draw to start the season. We'll know where Manly's season is headed by round seven.
13th.
Scott Pryde
It's hard to know what to make of the Sea Eagles. If Tom Trbojevic stays fit, they realistically could be anything in 2023, as they were in 2021 when he last played a majority of the season.
Still, that was when the rules around "let's make the game as fast as possible" were at their absolute peak. They no longer reside in that space, although it's still fast.
Manly have too many questions around their forwards and halves combination even if Trbojevic stays fit though to suggest a real climb up the ladder.
11th.
