Manly lose gun five-eighth Schuster for season opener

Manly lose gun five-eighth Schuster for season opener
By Joel Gould

Manly have suffered a blow on the cusp of Anthony Seibold’s first NRL game as coach with five-eighth Josh Schuster ruled out of the round-one clash with Canterbury.

Schuster sustained a calf injury in Friday’s 28-16 victory over the Sydney Roosters in the Pre-Season Challenge with MRI scans on Tuesday confirming his much-awaited crack at shining in the No.6 jersey will be delayed.

The 21-year-old will be unavailable for the home game against the Bulldogs at 4 Pines Park on Saturday, March 4.

With the Sea Eagles having a second-round bye, Schuster is expected to be fit for the home round-three showdown with 2022 grand finalists and fierce rivals Parramatta.

Schuster’s unavailability will provide an early opportunity for either Cooper Johns or Kaeo Weekes.

Seibold said Weekes was a standout against the Roosters where he started at fullback and had three try assists and a line break, while running for 130m.

Manly five-eighth Josh Schuster will miss the start of the 2023 season.Credit:Getty

The 21-year-old Weekes, who played three NRL games in 2022, is also a playmaker and it was his creativity and ability to set up his supports that impressed against a strong Roosters outfit.

Johns, 23, played both trials in the halves and has more NRL experience than Weekes after playing 11 NRL games for Melbourne in the past three seasons.

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The Sea Eagles want to get back to playing finals football after a dire end to the 2022 season which led to them missing out on the finals and the sacking of two-time premiership winning coach Des Hasler.

Seibold has made a strong start to his tenure as head coach with expansive wins over South Sydney and the Roosters, allowing Manly to win the inaugural NRL Pre-Season Challenge.

All eyes will be on Schuster when he returns from injury to partner captain Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves.

With 2011 premiership-winner Kieran Foran joining the Titans it will be vital that Schuster and his veteran skipper strike up a winning combination.

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