It's a rare day that Manly's coach, the ultra competitive perfectionist Geoff Toovey, finds nothing to be critical about following a Sea Eagles game.
But with his side exploding out of the blocks to lead 42-0 after 32 minutes then closing out the match 54-18 with just one healthy reserve on the bench, several key players iced up in the sheds, and a young five-eighth on debut with Kiwi Test pivot Foran already on the sidelines, Toovey said he was happy with the all-round display.
"Everything we threw up stuck; the passes all stuck, sometimes that happens," Toovey said. "It was a really professional first half."
He said despite having spoken during the half-time break about maintaining that intensity, the side tailed off somewhat, conceding three tries to two to lose the second half 14-12.
However, with lock Glenn Stewart (ankle) spending half the game off the field with an inflamed ankle, centre Jamie Lyon (knee) leaving the field in the 54th minute, second-rower Anthony Watmough battling an ongoing elbow injury and plenty of others nursing niggles, they had some excuse for taking their foot off the gas.
Toovey was optimistic all players other than Foran would be available for the Round 10 trip to Melbourne in a fortnight.
"I think [it is hard to maintain that form], we spoke about it at half-time but it doesn't matter how many times you speak about it, it's always in the back of their minds. It was a really good display I thought," he said.
"It was an all-round fairly polished performance, particularly at the end when we only had one reserve. I'm pleased for the boys that were out there that last 20 minutes. It wasn't pretty but they gutsed it out and hung in there when we only had one replacement left."
He was happy with the debut of Jack Littlejohn, who he said "had no major blemishes" in the game
He said while he was fairly happy with how the side is travelling (with a share of the competition lead and a 6-2 record), he cautioned Manly has enjoyed plenty of home games with some tough road trips to come.
"There are a lot of away games at the back end of the season which will make it tough for us," he said.
"It's always good to get away to a good start and not be chasing your tail at the end of the season. Particularly home games, it's pretty important to win those ones and keep the crowd coming back as well."
But with his side exploding out of the blocks to lead 42-0 after 32 minutes then closing out the match 54-18 with just one healthy reserve on the bench, several key players iced up in the sheds, and a young five-eighth on debut with Kiwi Test pivot Foran already on the sidelines, Toovey said he was happy with the all-round display.
"Everything we threw up stuck; the passes all stuck, sometimes that happens," Toovey said. "It was a really professional first half."
He said despite having spoken during the half-time break about maintaining that intensity, the side tailed off somewhat, conceding three tries to two to lose the second half 14-12.
However, with lock Glenn Stewart (ankle) spending half the game off the field with an inflamed ankle, centre Jamie Lyon (knee) leaving the field in the 54th minute, second-rower Anthony Watmough battling an ongoing elbow injury and plenty of others nursing niggles, they had some excuse for taking their foot off the gas.
Toovey was optimistic all players other than Foran would be available for the Round 10 trip to Melbourne in a fortnight.
"I think [it is hard to maintain that form], we spoke about it at half-time but it doesn't matter how many times you speak about it, it's always in the back of their minds. It was a really good display I thought," he said.
"It was an all-round fairly polished performance, particularly at the end when we only had one reserve. I'm pleased for the boys that were out there that last 20 minutes. It wasn't pretty but they gutsed it out and hung in there when we only had one replacement left."
He was happy with the debut of Jack Littlejohn, who he said "had no major blemishes" in the game
He said while he was fairly happy with how the side is travelling (with a share of the competition lead and a 6-2 record), he cautioned Manly has enjoyed plenty of home games with some tough road trips to come.
"There are a lot of away games at the back end of the season which will make it tough for us," he said.
"It's always good to get away to a good start and not be chasing your tail at the end of the season. Particularly home games, it's pretty important to win those ones and keep the crowd coming back as well."
