Former hard-hitting Manly Sea Eagles, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Penrith Panthers prop Mark Carroll has earmarked Sean Keppie as the man to breakout in 2022.
Keppie was rated as the next big thing in the front-row at Manly by many good judges well before his debut in 2019.
The now 23-year-old has now made 42 NRL appearances, playing in 20 games during 2021. Predominantly from the bench, Keppie defended strongly, made 17 tackle busts, 12 offloads and ran for 72 metres per game in limited minutes.
He was brought into the starting side by coach Des Hasler for matches against the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs during the finals campaign and Carroll said on SEN Radio that he is has been doing "quite a bit of work" with the youngster at Manly training.
“One guy who I’ve been doing quite a bit of work with is Sean Keppie,” Carroll said.
“He certainly stood up last year, but I think this is going to be a signature year for him.
“He’s got to be the leader of the pack, when I played for Manly you feared playing against them, you always left with bruises.
“That’s how it’s got to be this year.”
The 54-year-old Carroll played 88 games for the Sea Eagles between 1994 and 1997, delivering a premiership to the club, developing a reputation as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense prop for the club while also playing for New Sout Wales and Australia during that time.
Keppie is likely to fight for a spot in the front row for Manly this year alongside Martin Taupau, Taniela Paseka, Ethan Bullemor, Josh Aloiai and Toafofa Sipley, while Sione Fainu could also put pressure on.
