3 minute read

Manly have moved themselves within two wins of becoming just the second side of the NRL-era to turn a winless opening month into a top-four finish.

Manly are poised to pull off the greatest recovery of the NRL era if they qualify for the top four after their horror opening month to the season.

The Sea Eagles can climb into fourth spot above the Sydney Roosters and claim a second bite at the cherry in the finals if they beat a struggling Canterbury on Sunday.

It's a situation that would've been considered unfathomable in late March, after Manly slumped to their fourth straight loss to start the year.

Only one other side in the NRL era has gone on to make the top four after losing their opening four games, that being St George Illawarra in 2005.

But while the Dragons' terrible opening month that year almost cost Nathan Brown his job, it still wasn't as bad as Manly's.

Manly's for-and-against through the opening month was a horrible -122, worse than the Dragons' -82 through the same period in 2005.

It came amidst Manly's worst-ever opening month in both attack and defence, before Tom Trbojevic's return helped spark their season.

Headed into Sunday's clash with Canterbury, Manly's for-and-against now stands at +206 and is the fourth best in the competition.

It has been driven by a relentless pursuit of the top-four that was first uttered back in round 16, which at the time appeared an optimistic goal given the reliance on other teams falling over.

"We've probably stuck to our side of the bargain," Manly coach Des Hasler said.

"We've just got to keep winning now. That means going out tomorrow and doing that.

"It's all part of it, for-and-against and just parts of the game that you really want to perfect or really want to get the detail right.

"Hanging on to the ball and defending well, it just all helps with the common goal."

Manly's run has been so dominant that for-and-against is now no longer an issue, with wins over the Bulldogs and North Queensland next week set to be enough to claim fourth spot.

They are also back to somewhere near full strength, with Trbojevic and Brad Parker both certainties to return against a Canterbury side besieged by drama this week.

"I think the top-four is a standard commonly amongst the 16 teams, just because of the way the semi finals are jigged," Hasler said.

"It was a good goal I think, it's good to work towards something to aspire for. It keeps you on track."