How Vegas experience prepared Sea Eagles to take flight in finals
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Manly players will draw on the experience of their season-opening match in Las Vegas to help prepare them for Sunday’s elimination final against the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.
More than a third of the Sea Eagles squad have never played finals and for many, including star five-eighth Luke Brooks, the sudden-death clash before an anticipated 50,000 crowd will be the biggest game of their careers.
However, Sea Eagles captain Daly Cherry-Evans, who is playing in his eighth finals series with the club, said the experience of playing the Rabbitohs at Allegiant Stadium in Round 1 would hold them in good stead.
The Sea Eagles also played the Broncos before a crowd of 50,971 at Suncorp Stadium during Magic Round.
“We have had a glimpse of that sort of big game experience this season with Vegas and the other one, crowd-wise, is Magic Round,” Cherry-Evans told NRL.com.
“It's not finals footy, but that's what we've got to lean on for our younger fellows to show them that, you know, in all of those games as well, we actually played really well so I don't think we're going to be overawed by the occasion.
“Finals footy is a different beast so the game itself is going to be played at a higher level, but the experience of the build-up, the extra media commitments, the bigger crowd, that that's something that we've already had a taste of.”
DCE happy to be part of something special
Manly had the chance to host the sudden-death encounter at 4 Pines Stadium if they beat Cronulla last weekend but Cherry-Evans said he looked forward to playing the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.
While the Sea Eagles have only made the finals three times since 2014, the Bulldogs have not featured in the play-offs for eight years and their huge fan base in south-western Sydney has got behind the side.
However, after beating Canterbury 34-22 before a crowd of 35,502 at Accor Stadium just two weeks ago, Cherry-Evans said the match had no fears for his team.
“That actually was really, really good for us,” Cherry-Evans said. “It was nice to get a taste of what that environment feels like.
“It's great for our younger fellows and you know what, it's actually really good for our game when the Dogs are in the finals, I think we can all agree.
“We obviously want to go out there and beat them this weekend, but there is just a different feeling when the Bulldogs are in the finals. It adds an extra element to it all.
“They support their team, they're very passionate and that's why we're probably going see 50,000 this weekend, which is great. As a rugby league player, they're the games that you want to play in.”
Match: Bulldogs v Sea Eagles
Finals Week 1 -
home Team
Bulldogs
6th Position
away Team
Sea Eagles
7th Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Chery-Evans won a premiership in his first season with Manly in 2011 and was the Clive Churchill Medallist in the 2013 grand final loss to Sydney Roosters.
However, after a decade of annual finals appearances from 2005 to 2014, the Sea Eagles only managed to qualify for the top eight in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Now 35-years-of-age, the Maroons and Kangaroos halfback said he didn't want to let the chance slip by exiting with a loss to the Bulldogs on Sunday.
“That's what normal was for me when I first entered the comp because of the club and the playing group. I was so lucky to come into that environment,” Cherry-Evans said.
“It's not that I didn't appreciate it, but it's not until now that I've had some on and off years playing finals footy that I've understood you need to make sure that everything's all lined up from the club to the coach to the playing group.
“That's what's happened this year. We've lined things up and with that we've done enough to make finals.
“I understand how hard it is to get here, so when you do get here, you don't want to throw it all away in week one.
“A really important message for our team is that it's hard to make final series and when you're here, you’ve just got to take it with both hands and run with it.”
