“Completely outplayed”: NRL legend calls out Sea Eagles’ forward pack

NRL legend Greg Alexander has warned there is no clear answer to fix Manly’s forward pack issues after their third-straight loss of the NRL season.

The Sea Eagles forward pack has struggled against the Storm, Sharks and Dragons, averaging 97 metres a forward over the three games.

Speaking on SEN 1170 Breakfast, Alexander called out the Manly pack for their poor performances.

“I was speaking to a well-known Northern Beaches Manly identity, and he said, ‘I don’t think I’ve seen a worse pack than the current Manly pack’ and I’m not going to disagree with it,” Alexander said.

“Their middles were completely outplayed. The only middle at the moment for Manly who looks like he’s got any life in him is (Ethan) Bullemor… Bullemor has got a bit of speed, a bit of movement.

“Apart from that… there’s nothing happening for the middles and they will continue to get beaten unless they fix it.

“(Taniela) Paseka has been ruled out for the season so he’s not coming back.

“There’s plenty of teams that have lost important players, but I don’t know how Manly fix the problem.”

Taniela Paseka ruptured his Achilles in Round 3 against the Canberra Raiders, with a Round 25 return date set.

The Sea Eagles were without prop Josh Aloiai in their loss to the Dragons as he continues to manage a shoulder injury, only to lose Jake Trbojevic to a Category 1 concussion eight minutes in, and also have Nathan Brown and Ethan Bullemor fail to finish the match.

Prop Toafofoa Sipley has been referred directly to the judiciary for an alleged hip drop tackle on Dragon Mat Feagai, while Hooker Lachlan Croker is also expected to miss another month with a knee injury.

It leaves Manly with a crisis in their forward pack ahead of their clash with the Penrith Panthers on Saturday, with Gordon Chan Kum Tong, Caleb Navale, Corey Waddell and Michael Chee Kam all looming as potential replacements.

SEN/SAM KOSACK