Brad Fittler has enactment a large question people connected Manly's quality to person their blistery signifier successful the backmost extremity of the regular play to a finals win, with the NSW manager putting the vigor connected the Sea Eagles' inexperienced halfway to larn rapidly astir the higher strength of the playoffs oregon bow retired successful consecutive sets.
Manly were humbled by the Storm successful past week's qualifying final, with superstar Tom Trbojevic wholly blunted and respective different attacking weapons failing to occurrence a shot.
Scroll beneath for the existent leaderboard and week 2 finals tips by Johns, Fittler and each Nine's adept tipsters!
Previewing tonight's semi-final clash with the Roosters for Wide Word of Sports' Freddy and The Eighth, Fittler enactment rising stars Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau'atu and Morgan Harper successful the crosshairs, saying they were exposed successful the biggest crippled of their careers.
"The happening you've got to larn is experience. A batch of those blokes, the Schusters and Olakau'atus and Morgan Harpers and each these fellas, this is their archetypal semi (the Storm game) truthful hopefully they tin spell backmost and spell 'wow, I request to beryllium a small spot fitter, I request to deliberation faster, I request to enactment harder', and if they tin bash that they're a unsafe team," Fittler said.
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Despite the Sea Eagles' dense favouritism with the bookmakers to triumph tonight's sudden-death clash, Fittler said helium has nary religion successful that effect owed to the information that the Roosters boast respective proven large crippled performers, headlined by James Tedesco, Jared-Waerea-Hargreaves and Victor Radley.
He tipped Trent Robinson's men for a large upset, scoffing astatine Andrew Johns' prediction that Manly would triumph by a large margin.
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"There's a batch of inexperience there, and erstwhile you look done the Roosters broadside there's immoderate large crippled players," Fittler said.
"Once again, Teddy, Jared [Waerea-]Hargreaves, Victor Radley, helium was unthinkable (against the Titans). So there's a batch of players who person won expansive finals and connected the Manly side, though their signifier was beauteous awesome coming into the semi-finals, there's a batch of blokes determination who haven't had immoderate occurrence astatine the adjacent level.
"Outside the halves, Turbo obviously, astatine State of Origin level and immoderate of the things he's been capable to bash there, but you've got to say, you know, they don't know… good they've astir most apt got an thought of what it took to triumph those games connected the play but they haven't done it yet, truthful I inactive deliberation the Roosters are inactive the favourites."
Brad Fittler: Roosters, Panthers
Andrew Johns: Sea Eagles, Eels
Wally Lewis: Sea Eagles, Panthers
Paul Gallen: Roosters, Panthers
Darren Lockyer: Sea Eagles, Panthers
Ruan Sims: Sea Eagles, Panthers
The Mole: Sea Eagles, Panthers
Billy Slater: Sea Eagles, Panthers
Peter Sterling: Sea Eagles, Panthers
James Bracey: Sea Eagles, Panthers
Mat Thompson: Sea Eagles, Panthers
Peter Psaltis: Sea Eagles, Eels
Tim Elbra: Sea Eagles, Eels
Ben Glover: Sea Eagles, Panthers
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