Richard Hooper, Matt Lucas & Jordy Reid from Manly face-off against
Pauliasi Taumoepeau, Brendan McKibbin & Phil Mathers from Easts in today’s second semi-final
Photos: seiserphotography.com

by Paul Cook –

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Manly this week has been getting themselves up for another game of rugby after their soul destroying last minute loss to title favourites Sydney University last Sunday at Manly Oval. Such was the dramatic ending to a match in which the Marlins had thrown the kitchen sink at the Students – leading 17-0 at one point and 23-17 with only 3 minutes left on the clock – that the emotional and physical toll defeat at the hands of a Bernard Foley drop goal would have imbued, must have been hard to recover from.

Skipper Ed Gower admitted to Rugby News this week that it was the bitterest body blow he had felt in the game. “To be honest, directly after the match it was devastating and without doubt the most heart breaking moment of my rugby career,” he said. “But, after having more time to ponder the game this week, I could see how close we came and I could pin point about four or five crucial moments where luck went against us. If any one of those moments had gone our way, I think we would’ve won.”

He is now able to take the positives out of what was one of the gutsiest efforts against a Super Rugby laden side that you could hope to see. “If we see them again they’ll know that we won’t be easy to beat,” assures Gower. “Knowing what it feels like to lose will be fresh in our minds and it will only drive us further to play harder.”

Ed Gower will make it five Preliminary Finals in the last 6 years if Manly win. He’s ready to go one better – Photo: seiserphotography.com

The exhaustive mental and physical toll from the match led to coach Phil Blake allowing a bit of leeway on the training front this week, not a luxury he’s afforded the Marlins very often in his tenure at the Village Green. “Blakey’s an outstanding coach with high standards but yeah, it’s been a lighter week,” admits Gower. “For months now we’ve been training long and hard as a team and improving each week to get to the point where we nearly knocked off a virtual Super Rugby side. It was a physical game and there is only a few small things we want to change so we can do that mainly by talking about it. We’ve just used the week to recover and continue building together.”

The Marlins have a pretty handy recent record against Easts, beating them 39-20 in round five at Woollahra Oval and 26-22 in a tighter contest in round 14 at Manly Oval. However, while Gower feels that those results are a positive to take into this clash, all bets are most definitely off when it comes down to finals footy.

“We can take confidence into the game but we can’t have arrogance,” he asserts. “They are a strong team and will build up if we let them. Finals, and especially elimination finals, bring a new level of urgency and desire to any team. The best thing about rugby is that you don’t have to be the best team to win, sometimes you just need to want it more.

“Easts are a team with a strong forward pack that they rely on. I’m a believer in the old saying ‘forwards win the match, backs determine by how much’ and this game is no different. We will do our best to win the game up front and set it up for our boys out wide.”

On a personal level, victory this afternoon would take Gower another step closer to achieving that elusive place in a Shute Shield Grand Final. Having reached the Preliminary Finals in four of the last five seasons, twice with previous club Gordon in 2008/09 and twice more with the Beasts in 2011/12, he’s definitely ready to go one better this time around and he feels he is leading a side with the potential to do just that.

“It’s felt like Groundhog Day in the past,” he concedes. “This end of the season rolls around and I’m confident going in but then we lose and somehow it doesn’t feel right. This season feels different, I’ve never played in a team with such ability. Every player in every team in the world will say they play in a team who gives everything and is tight together and I’ve played in a few teams but I know this is different. If you don’t believe me, ask anyone who was at Manly Oval last Sunday. They know we have something special and I can assure you we can, and will be, even better than that.”

Eastern Suburbs come into the game as most people’s underdogs given the results between the two sides, their relevant ladder positions and Manly’s performance against Sydney University last weekend, but rule them out at your peril.

Easts’ prop Rob McMickan runs out for the 100th time for the Beasties today – Photo: seiserphotography.com

Perhaps more than any side coming into the finals, they have the ability to pull out a result against any side on their day, but as loose forward Phil Mathers told Rugby News a couple of weeks ago, they don’t know when that day is going to be anymore than anyone else does! “We can beat the best teams and lose to the worst,” he said “but I think we’re a genuine danger.”

Wins over Eastwood and Sydney University this year confirm that, although, with the caveat that the Students at least were a different animal back in round three. They also pushed a rampant Woodies side to the limit only three weeks ago before the Minor Premiers kicked away late in the game to win 39-22 but it was their win over Norths in last week’s Qualifying Final that marked them out as a team on the rise.

They hadn’t beaten the Shoremen in almost two and a half years but a 36-27 win laid that particular hoodoo to rest and with the side now boosted by an injection of Waratahs – incumbent halfback and 2010 Ken Catchpole Medal winner Brendan McKibbin, loose forward Mitchell Chapman and new recruit Tala Gray – they loom as the darkest of horses for Manly to contend with.

Keep an eye out too for skipper Pauliasi Taumoepeau. The former Australian Schoolboys captain is a genuine try machine from the back row, crossing 12 times this season, is a leader by example and adds plenty of starch to the Beasties pack alongside back row cohorts Gray and Ryan Hodson.

One man in the pack who can celebrate today’s game before a ball is kicked is prop Rob McMickan, who runs on for the 100th time in Easts’ colours at Coogee Oval. A durable front rower and well-respected scrummager, McMickan will become the club’s 55th centurion and offers an enormous amount of experience and motivation for his fellow teammates.

“It really is an incredible milestone for me to reach in front of my friends and family and I’m honoured to be able to join the ranks of some of the clubs legends,” he said. “I guess what I will try and bring from my experience is calmness in flustering situations, what the boys have to remember is it’s an 80 minute game and it’s not always going to go our way.”

Manly: 1 Dave Porecki, 2 Pat Leafa, 3 Eddie Aholelei, 4 Ed Gower (c), 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 6 Dylan Sigg, 7 Jordy Reid, 8 Luke Jones, 9 Matt Lucas, 10 Marshall Milroy, 11 Jacob Woodhouse, 12 Brian Sefanaia, 13 Malietoa Hingano, 14 Richard Hooper, 15 BJ Hartmann

Eastern Suburbs: 1 Sione Kolo, 2 Alex Walker, 3 Rob McMickan, 4 Mitchell Chapman, 5 Phil Mathers, 6 Pauli Taumoepeau (c), 7 Ryan Hodson, 8 Tala Gray, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 10 Henry Hudson, 11 Charlie Clifton, 12 Mark Murray, 13 Anton La Vin, 14 Elijah Niko, 15 Will Fay

Referee: Andrew Lees