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Pic by Rads

Scott Bailey

In recent weeks the young brigade of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have left all before them with two dominant Monday night thrashings to continue their early season winning streak.

This weekend, the South Sydney Rabbitohs Toyota Cup side will be the next on their demolition path, however the second placed Sea Eagles are unlikely to have it all their own way against the highly placed Rabbitohs this Sunday afternoon at ANZ Stadium.

Souths too have shown strong early season form, with their five wins from seven matches placing them just within the top four, while also being on a four match winning streak.

The young Rabbitohs side has built their game firmly around defence, boasting the second best defensive record in the National Youth Cup, something the Sea Eagles must successfully probe if they wish to claim the points this Sunday afternoon.

The Redfern boy’s defence however is only bettered by the Manly-Warringah outfit, and it has been through this David Penna’s young men have built their premiership campaign.

The Sea Eagles however boast much more than just solid defence, with their fifty point haul on Monday showing they have plenty of potency in attack, particularly through their quick backs.

In order to win this match though, the Sea Eagles will need to turn over the history books. The Rabbitohs are one of a few clubs to have strong record against Manly, having won three of the four matches contested between these clubs in this competition.

The match also pits up two of the best young fullbacks in the competition against one another in Will Hopoate and Malcolm Webster.

Both players have been a key behind their side’s success, with strong cover defence a major reason behind their impressive defensive records.

While Hopoate is seen to have a big future in the game, Webster is not all that different. Being both a New South Wales and Indigenous representative in his younger year, Webster was picked at fullback in the Toyota Cup team of the season in 2009.

The small standing fullback, with two years experience in the National Youth Cup, missed the beginning of the season through injury, however has returned in fine form to score a try in both of his matches thus far.

Webster will also be looking to continue to be dangerous in general play, with the Rabbitohs desperate to see him return to 2009 form which saw him break the line 22 times.

Hopoate meanwhile, has been deadly in the Maroon and White’s attack. He sits equal fourth in the season’s try scoring lists, with another hat trick on Monday night taking his tally to eight tries.

If South Sydney wish to stand any chance of stoping the Sea Eagles rampant roll, they will need to shut Hopoate down and have Webster at his best in cover defence, while producing the same attacking flair he was able to in 2009.

This clash promises to be an exciting match between two of the NRL front runners. A winning streak will end while the other team will continue their march to the top. Kick-off is at 12:45pm.