As the Shute Shield takes a weekend off to celebrate an old English ladies' birthday, we thought we'd take the opportunity to check in with all 11 coaches and find out how they think their side is travelling at this point of the season. Finals footy might still be a long way off this year, but there isn't a lot of room for error in a competition as tight as this one. Manly: 3rd - 6 wins, 3 losses Manly have flown under the radar during the opening months of the season but are now third at the halfway point after three straight wins. We spoke to Billy Melrose to find out how the Marlins are travelling at this point of the season. How would you describe your start to the season? Are you where you thought you would be at this point of the year? “We went into the season with a very different squad from 2017 and had a decent injury toll during the first half of the season, so we’ve seen a lot of different players and picked quite a few different sides,” Melrose said.