Fozball to the fore: Manly’s premiership stocks on the rise

Having won five of their last six games under interim coach Kieran Foran, are the Sea Eagles premiership contenders?

That’s the question that Jimmy Smith and Greg Alexander pondered on SEN’s Kick-Off as Manly continues to rocket up the ladder.

Since Foran’s appointment after Round 4, the difference between the Sea Eagles from Anthony Seibold’s tenure to now has been night and day, having gone from 14th to 5th.

With their turnaround in form, calls for the former Sea Eagles half to be appointed permanently have grown.

And with a 32-4 win over the Brisbane Broncos on Saturday, Alexander believes their premiership stocks have increased.

Alexander: "Their stocks rose over the weekend; there's no doubt about that.

"Can they win the comp? They pushed Penrith two weeks ago, 18-16."

Smith: "They're fifth on the ladder."

Alexander: "That's what a few wins in a row will do.

"They still have the bye (in their record), so it's messy. You gotta talk about wins.

"How many wins a team's had, not where they sit on the ladder, I think."

Smith: "Well, they're five and four.

"But remember, in this era, the Foran era. What are they now? Five and one."

The same question would be posed to SENQ Breakfast’s Corey Parker, who wasn’t as bullish on their premiership chances.

However, he does think they were well and truly in the finals mix.

“They're well and truly in the frame,” Parker noted.

“I don't know about a genuine premiership threat as yet.

“I've enjoyed what I've seen from them.

“I'll hold reservations, but (they can) definitely play finals football.”

The Sea Eagles will be looking to continue their winning ways into Magic Round when they take on the Wests Tigers this Saturday.

SEN League will have live coverage of the match beginning from 2pm AEST across our radio network and on the SEN app. Kick-off takes place at 3pm.