How good are Manly going. At the top of the NRL ladder, flying high and playing really well over some good opposition.
As I watched them last weekend I thought about why they are so good…..and it hit me like an weekly Adrian Morley stiff arm that supposedly bounced off my chest!
Manly brought players better then the ones they already had!
Its seems simple does it, but think about the players NRL teams buy. How often do NRL teams just shuffle tallent. You lose a Blacklock, you sign a Best. You lose a Fittler, your sign a Firman. You lose a Girdler, you sign a Franze.
Take one good look at South Sydney over the years, they are the best at shuffling average players and then wondering why they have a terrible side year after year!
But Manly went about things differently. They only brought in guys that were better then what they already had. Kite isn’t a superstar at prop, but he is dependable, reliable, he turns up every week and doesn’t slack off….
Ben Kennedy gave them a veteran, a hard worker, a game breaker in the back row and someone who could give some leadership to some of their younger players.
When they wern’t signing players from other clubs, they were promoting their juniors. Guys like Stewart, Randall and Watmough…..
Its been really well thought out, well planed squad building from the Sea Eagles and the reward is a brilliant start to the season, big home crowds and what looks like a trip to the NRL Finals, even this far out.
When put up against the big budget spending of a club like Parramatta…..you can see how money alone doesn’t buy you sucess.
