The Sea Eagles return to 4 Pines Park for a third consecutive match on Saturday night looking to get back into the top eight when they host arch-rivals Newcastle.
With a four-way logjam around eighth spot on the Telstra Premiership ladder, Manly have proven there's still life without Tom Trbojevic, stringing together three wins in their past month to remain in finals contention.
The Knights are coming off a high-scoring 40-28 loss in round 17 and look like a team who aren't completely on the same page despite several stars in their line-up.
Manly got the victory in the corresponding match in round five, a 30-6 win in Newcastle, and will be looking to make it two from two in 2022 on Saturday.
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The Rundown
Team news
Sea Eagles: Origin stars Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic are both set to back up after Wednesday's decider, while Josh Aloiai returns from concussion and takes the place of Taniela Paseka in the team. With Aloiai starting at prop, Toafofoa Sipley moves back to the bench.
Knights: Kalyn Ponga, Jacob Saifiti and Dane Gagai have been named to back up after Origin III. Centre Bradman Best is out after suffering a new injury to his thumb in the loss to the Rabbitohs, while Kurt Mann has dropped out of the squad for Lachlan Fitzgibbon, which sees Mitch Barnett move to lock and Fitzgibbon start in the back row.
Leo Thompson was named in place of Pasami Saulo on the interchange when the squad was cut to 19 players on Friday.
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Key match-up
Kieran Foran v Anthony Milford: Both veterans have proven to be handy for their sides in 2022 by taking pressure off their respective halves partners. Foran has turned back the clock in the past month particularly and has nine try assists overall this year. Milford has five try assists in six games since arriving to Newcastle, adding more potency to the side's attack.
Stat Attack
The Sea Eagles and Knights are in the NRL's top five for total kick metres in 2022, highlighting their ability to get out of territory in their own half. Manly (9026) are third behind Parramatta and Canterbury in this area while Newcastle are next on 8855, just in front of Penrith.
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