New Zealand Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles: NRL Friday Preview

On the back of an impressive victory over the North Queensland Cowboys in their first game of the season, Manly Sea Eagles will hope to maintain their winning start to the new NRL campaign when they head to Auckland to face the New Zealand Warriors on Friday night.

The Sea Eagles produced the performance of the opening round to ease to a 42-12 win over the Cowboys, with Tom Trbojevic once again the star of the show.

Putting seven tries past North Queensland in their opening game, the Sea Eagles will head to Go Media Stadium confident they can add to the Warriors' woes, after a 30-8 defeat for the Auckland outfit against the Canberra Raiders in Round 1.

New Zealand Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles betting preview

Sea Eagles hit the ground running

Manly showed little signs of early-season rustiness in their opening game at Brookvale Oval, as they proved far too strong for the Cowboys.

Trbojevic produced another excellent performance for the hosts in that game, scoring the third try of the night for Manly in a comprehensive victory.

Next, the Sea Eagles will have the Warriors in their sights, in a fixture that has been kind to Manly in recent years.

Winning five of their last six meetings with the Warriors, it’s little wonder the Sea Eagles are 1.40 favourites to fly back across the Tasman with the victory.

Manly winger Jason Saab will have fond memories of his last trip to Go Media Stadium after scoring a hat-trick on his last visit.

Saab is 1.75 to score a try on Friday and 7.00 to bag the opening try of the game.

Warriors’ defence questioned again

Conceding just under an average of 24 points per game last season in the NRL, defence was one of the main reasons the Warriors failed to secure a top-eight finish last year.

The early signs are not great for the Auckland side, as they conceded 30 against the Raiders and seemed to lack direction in attack.

Getting used to life without retired playmaker Shuan Johnson will take the Warriors some time but they will need to pick up the slack soon.

The Warriors, who won only four games from 10 at Go Media Stadium in 2024, are 3.00 to make a winning start on their own patch this season against the Sea Eagles.

Read more rugby league previews on site.

New Zealand Warriors v Manly Sea Eagles odds

New Zealand Warriors - 3.00
Tie - 26.00
Manly Sea Eagles - 1.40

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.