The Eels will be delighted for star playmaker Mitch Moses after he earned a recall to the Blues side for Origin II but it makes their task a whole lot tougher against old foes Manly on Saturday night.
Moses was superb in Monday's win over the Bulldogs, nailing his audition for an Origin recall, and he will watch on from Blues camp as his Parra teammates chase a fourth straight victory.
The Sea Eagles are riding high after putting a half-century on the Dolphins but they head into Round 16 without their dynamic duo of Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic, who go head-to-head at Suncorp Stadium next Wednesday in Origin II.
When the sides met at 4 Pines Park in Round 3 it was Manly prevailing 34-30 to consign the Eels to a 0-3 start.
Brad Arthur's men have won seven of 11 games since to sit just one point outside the eight on 16 points and they can leapfrog Manly (17 points) this weekend with a victory.
Despite the absence of the big guns this still looms as an intriguing clash between two proud clubs with a history of epic clashes dating back to their grand final meetings in 1982 and '83 when the Eels reigned supreme.
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Team News
Eels: No changes on game day for the home side. After an impressive club debut at five-eighth on Monday, Daejarn Asi takes over the No.7 with Mitch Moses in Blues camp, with Ryan Matterson named at five-eighth in his return from a calf injury. With Junior Paulo also on NSW duty, Ofahiki Ogden will start and Joe Ofahengaue joins the bench. Hooker Josh Hodgson was a late withdrawal from the Bulldogs game with a neck injury and remains sidelined.
Sea Eagles: Karl Lawton comes into second row with Samuela Fainu shifting to the bench an hour before kick-off. Jake Arthur is the new halfback and Kaeo Weekes takes over at fullback with Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic on Origin duty for their respective states.
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Stat Attack
- Eels winger Maika Sivo is the NRL's leading tryscorer with 16 tries in 14 matches. His career tally now stands at 83 tries in 97 games and he has scored eight tries in eight games against Manly.
- Eels back-rower J'maine Hopgood leads the NRL in offloads with 35. His teammate Bryce Cartwright is equal third on the list with 24 offloads.
- Manly's tally of 58 points against the Dolphins was the most they had scored in a game since a 66-0 win over the Bulldogs in Round 16, 2021.
- The Eels have won their past four games at CommBank Stadium.
- Sea Eagles centre Reuben Garrick has scored 74 points in his past five games against the Eels.
- The Eels are missing Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown for only the second time since Brown’s debut in 2019.
- Sea Eagles winger Jason Saab has scored four tries in his past three games.
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Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the