Meet the emerging Manly halves ready to step into spotlight

Walsh grew up on Sydney's Northern Beaches an avid Manly fan and spent his winters on the 4 Pines Park hill dreaming of emulating Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans. 

The dream is now reality for the 19-year-old, who trained alongside Cherry-Evans last year and has spent the summer learning directly from Foran, who joined the Sea Eagles coaching staff after his retirement.  

The youngster has been a sponge, soaking up every piece of information he can from his more experienced teammates and coaches. 

Walsh concedes he still has to pinch himself from time to time but is slowly getting used to working with one of his childhood idols. 

"I watched lots of Foz growing up so it's surreal to have him coaching me now," Walsh said. "Watching Foz and Chez play together, they were two young halves so it was pretty inspiring for me. 

"Foz has been teaching me lessons from his career about working hard and how you want to play as a halfback. We watch film together and seeing how he views the game has been helpful for me. 

"I've been pretty fortunate having Luke Brooks, Chez and now Jamal [Fogarty] to learn off. Then we've got Foz and Brett Kimmorley on the coaching staff so there's lots of good halves around the club. I'm doing as much as I can to learn from them because they've experienced a lot more than me."

The Sea Eagles fended off rivals from within the NRL and rugby union to secure the signature of the Manly product who went to school at St Augustine's College, a stone's throw from the club's 4 Pines Park base. 

It was a major coup for a team searching for a long-term replacement for Cherry-Evans and Walsh has impressed in the 15 months he has spent with the top squad. 

The halfback made his NRL debut off the bench in Round 27 last season and has impressed coaching staff with his development throughout the pre-season. 

The recruitment of Fogarty to replace Daly Cherry-Evans has allowed Seibold to be patient with the youngster but he will spend a lot more time in the top grade this year.

Large arrived from the Tigers ahead of the 2025 season, however a shoulder injury restricted him to just four games in Jersey Flegg. The 18-year-old has been elevated to the Top 30 for 2026 and is expected to spend plenty of time in NSW Cup before stepping up to the NRL.

Like Walsh, the five-eighth was a talented rugby union player and captained the Junior Wallabies before committing to league. 

Seibold is eager to avoid putting too much pressure on the pair but is eager to challenge his young halves when they face the Warriors next month. 

"It's about learning how to manage a game at this level," Seibold said. "As a half, every grade you jump to is quite different. The responsibility of that role becomes more important. 

"Joey will get heaps of game time in both trials, against the Warriors and South Sydney. It's about managing a game, getting to the end of sets, making sure we hand over the ball in an uncomfortable position for the opposition. We want Joey to be selective with his passes, but we also want him to use his ability and back himself. 

"Onitoni is going to play SG Ball trials and the first round but he's in our Top 30. We've got high hopes for him over the next few years so we want him and Joey playing some time together in that first trial. We'll give him that opportunity at this level."

Which future stars will burst on to the scene during this year's Pre-Season Challenge? Catch all the action from February 7 live on Kayo and Fox Sports.