Manly were at the pointy end of the Shute Shield ladder around the June long weekend last year, but faded from there and were knocked out by Norths in the preliminary final after winning just two of their last 10 matches.  

Coach Chris Delooze is keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of round one, but seems confident the Marlins will push deeper into the playoffs this season.

Overview with Chris Delooze: 

“It’s a really exciting time of the year now that we’re ready to get in to it,” Delooze told Rugby News. 

“We played a trial against the Waratahs and Warringah earlier in the year and I gave mosts player at the club at least 20 minutes that day. Everyone across the grades, plus a few colties, got a run , which was great for the club. 

“We also did a full club camp a few weeks ago which included our grade, colts and women’s sides. We also had our volunteers involved and plenty of past players on hand. 

“We’re bringing Manly to life, it’s great to be involved in. 

“In hindsight, I’m still relatively happy with how our grade program performed last year. We also picked up some silverware through our third grade colts. 

“We’re also really excited about our women’s XVs program. We didn’t have a XVs side last year but the girls were able to win at Warringah against a pretty talented Gordon outfit. 

“Like most clubs, we’ve lost some players and gained some players so we’ve been working hard to bring everyone in under the same umbrella and make sure everyone understands what we stand for as a club. 

“We finished second in the Jeff Sayle Cup (grade club championship) last year and the aim is to take that a bit further this season.”

2024: Semi finalists (lost to Eastwood 54-20 in week one, then Norths 23-5 in week two)

Ins: “There are a lot of gains because a lot of people want to live in Manly and we’re fortunate to be a rugby club up the road from the beach. 

“I don’t like highlighting individuals though.”

Outs: Zac Barnabas (Warringah), Ofa Manuofetoa (France), Ivan Fepuleai (Moana Pasifika), Sio Tatola (retired), Nick ‘Front Row’ Brown (Hong Kong), Nick ‘Back Row’ Brown (West Harbour), Harrison Mataele (Easts). 

What style of rugby will we see from Manly this season?

“I think the law changes are going to have an impact but we also need to wait and see exactly how the game is refereed,” Delooze explained. 

“We will obviously need an effective change in behaviour in defence but I think that will lead to some changes in side’s defensive systems more than anything else. 

“Once we see where the defence goes, our attack coaches can look to problem solve and find a way to break through those new systems. 

“We always want to coach our players to have the ability to adapt and this year is going to be a great test of that. 

“Our general attacking principles won’t change though. We’ll look to find space and score tries and that space might come from punching through and piercing the line after a low tackle, or it might come out wide.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“There are always players to watch at Manly,” DeLooze said. 

“I think what I’m most pleased with is our depth and there will be a lot of players that get opportunities this year on the back of strong seasons last year. 

“We’ve also got guys that have come from different areas of the globe and from other Shute Shield clubs and I’m excited to see what we can all do together as a club.”

Which two teams will play in this year’s grand final and why? 

“I think we’ll be there and I want us to change the narrative this year,” the coach said. 

“I’d like to think we’ll be playing on August 31 and I’d love to be playing against Randwick. Not because I have anything against them, but I spent time playing with Steve at the club. 

“Who do I think it’s going to be? It’s always hard to pick at this time of the year but I think it would be great for the game if we did play the Rats in front of the biggest crowd possible.”