Manly coach Anthony Seibold admits his task to make the top-eight has got a whole lot harder after losing prop Matt Lodge to an ACL injury.
Lodge was taken off the field early in Thursday’s loss to the Sydney Roosters, leaving their middle rotation severely depleted.
The prop, who is on a train and trial deal at the club after being let go by the Roosters earlier this year, has yet to sign a contract beyond the end of this season.
If he can land a deal at Manly or elsewhere for 2024 it will likely be on a reduced rate given that he will probably miss at least half of the season.
It spells more woe for the Sea Eagles with props Josh Aloiai and Taniela Paseka already both ruled out for the season ahead of their run towards the finals.
Daniel Tupou is tackled by Matt Lodge. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Seibold, whose side sit one win out of the finals places, said Lodge would be out for “an extended period of time.”
“He’s obviously shattered, we’ll pick up the pieces over the next couple of days. I feel for him and his family,” added the coach.
Matters weren’t helped when Tof Sipley spent time in the sin bin. Seibold said prop Sean Keppie, who was ruled out with a back issue, could be back for next week’s game with Penrith.
The Manly coach said he took pride in how his side rallied against the Roosters.
“That was our third game in 11 days and they’ve all been really physical games in some way, shape or form,” Seibold said.
“We were still throwing some punches at the end, we just didn’t get it quite right We’ve got two days to get away from footy and then we come back here and we start preparing for next week.
“But we’ve got four opportunities left and we are still in the fight. It becomes a little bit harder, but we’re still in the fight and feel as though we’ve still got this in our own hands.”
Holbrook set to reject Super League offer
Justin Holbrook, the recently sacked Titans coach, is set to reject a return to head coaching almost immediately with a move to Warrington Wolves in favour of taking on an assistant’s role at Canterbury or the Roosters.
He has only been out of work for six weeks and had been touted as a potential replacement for Adam O’Brien at Newcastle, and was offered a return to the UK, where he previously won a championship with St Helens.
Warrington only sacked their previous coach, Daryl Powell, on Sunday following a string of defeats that has left them scrapping for a spot in the finals despite having started the season with eight consecutive wins. They have gone 3-12 since.
Holbrook was interviewed this week and was offered the job, but according to a NewsCorp report, he has opted to remain in the NRL to rejoin the Roosters, where he previously served as Trent Robinson’s understudy, or become a sounding board for rookie coach Cameron Ciraldo at the Bulldogs.
with AAP
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/bzIUNQR News: Lodge’s future clouded after devastating injury, in-demand Holbrook makes surprise coaching call
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