Here we go again, Manly and Parra.
One of the game's great rivalries reached a peak in the early 80s when the Sea Eagles and Eels met in consecutive grand finals and has been going strong ever since.
Speaking of grand finals, that's where Parramatta were just five months ago but they have started the new season 0-2 and face a tough road trip to 4 Pines Park to face a rejuvenated Manly.
Under new coach Anthony Seibold, the Sea Eagles won the Pre-Season Challenge and carried that form into Round 1, where the return of Tom Trbojevic sparked a 31-6 win.
With skipper Daly Cherry-Evans in majestic form and 'Turbo' quickly finding his feet after a long lay-off, Manly lived up to the hype in a five-try romp.
The Eels won both clashes between the sides last year, including a 36-20 victory at 4 Pines Park in Round 21, but the Sea Eagles were hitting the skids at that stage of the season as opposed to hitting their straps now.
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Team News
Sea Eagles: No changes in the one-hour prior to kick-off team update, other than Karl Lawton moving up to be the replacement player. Five-eighth Josh Schuster (calf) returns in the only change to the side that beat the Bulldogs in Round 1. Hooker Lachlan Croker suffered a head knock in the season opener, but with the benefit of the bye in Round 2, he is good to go. Earlier in the week, Cooper Johns, Morgan Harper and Ben Condon dropped off the reserves list.
Eels: Winger Maika Sivo was charged with Dangerous Contact, but he is free to play after receiving a fine. Coach Brad Arthur is sticking firm with the 17-man squad that went down to the Sharks. The Eels are otherwise unchanged from last week's defeat with Jake Arthur named as 18th Man once again. Ofahiki Ogden drops out of the squad in the one-hour-prior to kick-off team update. Back-rower Ryan Matterson is one more week away from completing his suspension.
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Stat Attack
- Sea Eagles fullback Reuben Garrick has scored 98 points in eight games against the Eels.
- Eels halfback Mitchell Moses has never won at 4 Pines Park (four games, four losses).
- The Sea Eagles are chasing back-to-back wins for the first time since last July.
- Manly centre Brad Parker plays his 100th NRL game this week. He debuted in Round 19, 2016 against the Warriors.
- Eels prop Junior Paulo has made 159 post-contact metres across the opening two rounds, second highest in the NRL behind Payne Haas (169).
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.