Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 4 clash between the Dragons and Sea Eagles.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
St George-Illawarra Dragons Vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Venue: WIN Stadium
Date: Saturday March 30, 5:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Zac Lomax 3. Moses Suli 4. Jack Bird 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Kyle Flanagan 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Luciano Leilua 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Tom Eisenhuth 14. Jesse Marschke 15. Jack de Belin 16. Hame Sele 17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 18. Christian Tuipulotu 19. Michael Molo 20. Viliami Fifita 21. Connor Muhleisen 22. Mathew Feagai
Sea Eagles: 1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Raymond Tuiamalo Vaega 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Karl Lawton 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown 18. Jakob Arthur 19. Tommy Talau 20. Aaron Woods 21. Brad Parker 22. Toafofoa Sipley
Referee: Ashley Klein
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
After a strong win in the opening round against the Gold Coast Titans, the St George Illawarra Dragons return to WIN Stadium for the first time in 2024 following two heavy defeats to the Dolphins and Cowboys, conceding 84 points in that time. Things were looking positive against the Cowboys in the first half when they led 18-4, however a bombed try signalled the end for the Dragons who collapsed to lose 46-24.
Manly opened their account with two good wins over the Rabbitohs and Roosters, before giving up a 14-0 lead early against Parramatta to go down 28-24 for the first time for the season. The strong form of the likes of Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans, among others, will have Sea Eagles faithful believing it was a one-off and the good times will continue on Easter Saturday.
Shane Flanagan has made a number of changes to the team that lost to North Queensland, with Francis Molo returning to the front row from suspension, while Jacob Liddle (concussion), Jaydn Su’A (quad) and Hame Sele (hamstring) all return from injury. Tom Eisenhuth will move from the bench to lock, with Jack de Belin, Jesse Marschke and Raymond Faitala-Mariner sliding back to the bench. Michael Molo, Viliami Fifita and Connor Muhleisen all drop to the reserves, with Ben Murdoch-Masila dropping out of the squad entirely.
Things are much simpler for Manly coach Anthony Seibold, who has named an unchanged 17 from last weekend.
The Dragons have had the better of matches between the two sides over the past few years, winning seven from ten since 2017. They’ve also won nine of the eleven matches between the two sides in Wollongong, however the Sea Eagles broke a 20-year drought when they last played there in round 22, 2023.
This will be the first time Shane Flanagan and Anthony Seibold have coached against each other since Flanagan was an assistant to Seibold at Manly and the second time in their careers. Their one previous meeting was won by Seibold, when South Sydney defeated Cronulla 22-14 in 2018.
Last time St George Illawarra played Manly on Easter Saturday was 2019, when they won 12-10 at WIN Stadium.
The attacking flair of Manly’s outside backs should be enough to take advantage of St George Illawarra’s struggling defence.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Round 4 Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Sea Eagles by 12 points.
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