National Rugby League PremiershipBy W D Nicolson - February 26, 2017
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NRL SuperCoach and NRL Fantasy pundits rejoice - your old mate The Postman is back with his take on the 17 Sea Eagles he believes Trent Barrett will pick for Round 1:
- Tom TRBOJEVIC
- Jorge TAUFUA
- Dylan WALKER
- Jono WRIGHT or Matt WRIGHT or Brian KELLY
- Akuila UATE
- Blake GREEN
- Daly CHERRY-EVANS
- Brenton LAWRENCE
- Api KOROISAU
- Martin TAUPAU
- Frank WINTERSTEIN
- Curtis SIRONEN
- Jake TRBOJEVIC
BENCH - Lewis BROWN or Jackson HASTINGS
- Addin FONUA-BLAKE
- Jarrad KENNEDY
- Nate MYLES
- Trent Barrett must decide if Jono Wright is the right man for the centres... or does he give young Brian Kelly a chance? SuperCoaches are hoping for the latter... and maybe more than a few Manly fans too. That all said, Matt Wright would have got the spot if fit - and he still may be - for Round 1.
- Akuila Uate will get his chance to revive his career on the wing, with Brad Parker (and the Wright brothers and Kelly) his main rival. And jot this name name an NRL debut later this year - Tom Wright... and it might be at fullback if Tom Trbojevic ends up in the NSW team.
- The backrow is very open in terms of who might start - with Frank Winterstein and Curtis Sironen starting there in the final trial but Jarrad Kennedy very much in the frame.
- Nate Myles and Addin Fonua-Blake will be the bench props, with Brenton Lawrence and Martin Taupau starting.
- The utility spot on the bench comes down to Lewis Brown's Mr Fixit ability (he's also an under-rated dummy-half) vs Jackson Hasting's belief that he didn't come to Manly to play reserve grade... over to you Trent Barrett on this one.
- Darcy Lussick is the only long term injured player missing from Manly's best 17 - but he's not back til Round 4 on.
Brett Stewart and Steve Matai (Retired), Darcy Lussick (Wrist - Round 4 on), Matthew Wright (Hand - Opening Rounds).
