'More united' Sea Eagles aiming for top four: Keppie

Manly forward Sean Keppie has declared that the Sea Eagles players are “more united” this season under new coach Anthony Seibold and are aiming for a top four berth after winning the inaugural NRL Pre-season Challenge.

Seibold has taken over this season from Des Hasler with immediate success after the Sea Eagles finished ahead of Cronulla in the Pre-season Challenge to claim $100,000 prizemoney following a 30-28 defeat of South Sydney and 28-16 triumph against Sydney Roosters.

Keppie said the back-to-back wins had given players confidence in the style of play Seibold had introduced, along with experienced assistants Shane Flanagan and Jim Dymock, and there was a spirit of camaraderie within the Manly squad this season.

“A coach is a coach, but I think we are a lot more united this year,” Keppie said. “Everyone is on the same page this year, which is a good thing, and in the trials we showed how good we can be and I think we did look united in the trials too.

It is not a fresh start, we are just a lot closer this year. Everyone's united.

Seibold has shown faith in Keppie by giving him the No.13 jersey for Saturday’s match against Canterbury at 4 Pines Stadium and moving Kangaroos forward Jake Trbojevic into the frontrow.

Now in his fifth season of NRL, Keppie said his ambition was to cement a regular starting berth and help Manly climb towards the top of the ladder.

“I think, just for me, consistency is a big one, and making that top four is a big one for us too,” he said of his and team’s 2023 goals.

“We are underdogs, but we will show everyone what we are doing this year. We will just show everyone what we are made of in the first round, and all of the rounds after that.

“[Winning the Pre-season Challenge] brings a lot of confidence for Round 1, but we have only just started.“

Ethan Bullemor has previously played under Seibold during his time in charge of the Broncos in 2019 and 2020, and the Sea Eagles forward was also full of praise for the new Manly coach.

"I debuted when he was there in Brisbane, so I am obviously familiar with him and know him as a person," Bullemor said.

"I think he has changed some things and moulded his coaching style over learnings he has taken over the last three years, but I think he is a tremendous person and that is still the same."

 After Manly's pre-season success, Bullemor said the opening premiership round clash with Canterbury, who have recruited Viliame Kikau and Reed Mahoney, would be a good test for the Sea Eagles.