This article has been transcribed without permission from The Manly Daily, Tuesday, 5th March, 1996, page 28.
Manly captain Geoff Toovey is not losing any sleep over his side's form, despite the Sea Eagles slipping to their second consecutive pre-season loss on Sunday. Manly went down 34-22 to a more committed Illawarra line-up before a small crowd at a sun-drenched Brookvale Oval.
The six tries to four loss comes after a defeat at the hands of the South Queensland Crushers and an uninspiring draw with neighbour North Sydney.
But Toovey insists his side's sluggish start to the new year is of no great concern, although he concedes a major lift in form is needed. ``I think there are a few small areas we need to work on, but overall I don't think there is anything drastically wrong,'' he said. ``We probably didn't have our minds on the job as much as we should have and Illawarra took advantage. We let ourselves down with a couple of mistakes and they capitalised. We don't really have an excuse. They just played better football on the day.''
One aspect Toovey was pleased with was Manly's second-half fightback. After trailing 16-6 at half-time and 22-10 midway through the second term, the Sea Eagles fought back to 22-22. But just when the Steelers looked like wilting in the oppressive conditions, they lifted another gear to finish the home side off and score a rare win at Brookie. The final margin was a fair indication of the difference between the two sides.
The form of replacement forward Matt Guberina, who has worked overtime in the off-season, was one of the few bright spots for Manly. The former Warringah rugby backrower has come to grips with the 13-a-side game after a year in reserve grade and looks certain to press for a top-grade berth this season.
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