Despite their lowly position on the VB NSW Cup ladder the Newtown Jets will be well-advised not to take the Manly Sea Eagles side lightly in their round 16 match up at Henson Park on Saturday.
The eighth-placed Jets face a Manly outfit languishing in 11th position, ahead of just one team on the NSW Cup table, however fielding a squad with a sprinkling of NRL talent it would be best for the Newtown side to beware in a match that will have an impact on their finals aspirations.
The Manly side is skippered by former Sharks prop Siosaia Vave, while in Jack Littlejohn, Jayden Hodges and Jesse Sene-Lefao there is more than enough ability in the Sea Eagles side to make for an interesting afternoon.
However as coaches often say, preparation and the ultimate result is more about what you can do rather than what the opposition is going to bring, with the Jets set to be desperate on the back of two straight losses.
The Jets were outplayed by the Illawarra Cutters in going down by 24-6 back in round 14, before having the chance to reassess during a Bye week in round 15.
Their opponents on the other hand played one of only two NSW Cup matches last weekend, coming out on the wrong end of a 38-26 score-line against Wyong.
In trying to halt the slide Jets coach Greg Matterson has made some positional switches rather than personnel changes, with Dallas Wells swapping with Nathan Gardner and going from wing to fullback, with Nesi Mataitonga goes from the wing into the centres.
The Jets will run out a strong forward pack, led by Tinirau Arona, Sami Sauiluma and Junior Roqica.
The two teams have already met once this year, with the Newtown team emerging 32-26 in a closely fought contest.
The Jets v Sea Eagles match in the NSW Cup is scheduled for a 3.00pm kick-off at Henson Park tomorrow (Saturday).
Newtown v Manly
Henson Park, Saturday 27 June 3:00pm
Referee: Drew Oultram Touch Judges: Mathew Damaso, John Woods
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JETS: 1 DALLAS WELLS 2 NATHAN GARDNER 3 NESIASI MATAITONGA 4 MITCH BROWN 5 DANIEL ABOU-SLEIMAN 6 KURT KARA 7 TODD MURPHY 8 RAY MOUJALLI 9 PAT POLITONI 10 TIM ROBINSON 11 TINIRAU ARONA 12 SAMI SAULILUMA 13 JUNIOR ROQUCA 14 ANDREW PEARN 16 KURT DILLON 17 SAULALA HOUMA 20 PATRICE SIOLO COACH GREG MATTERSON
SEA EAGLES: 1 DOM REARDON 2 BEN FRITZ 3 BRAYDEN WILIAME 4 TONY SATINI 5 DELROY BERRYMAN 6 JACK LITTLEJOHN 7 KURT ALDRIDGE 8 SIOSAIA VAVE (C) 9 JAYDEN HODGES 10 TYSON ANDREWS 11 DYLAN KELLY 12 MICHAEL CHEE KAM 13 JESSE SENE-LEFAO 14 MANAIA RUDOLPH 15 JORDAN LATHAM 16 UITI BAKER 17 TODD WILSON COACH LUKE WILLIAMSON
