Plays To Watch: Anthony Watmough mixing attack with defence – he made 154 metres against the Knights then backed it up with 48 tackles against the Titans; Robbie Farah ducking into dummy-half and demanding fast play-the-balls from teammates – their 31 Fast PTBs were a deciding factor in the win over the Eels last week; Steve Matai (four offloads, most by a centre) creating migraines for Blake Ayshford; Aaron Woods (two tries) and Adam Blair looking to get over the stripe from inside the Manly red zone, like Ryan James did for the Titans last week.

Key Match-Up: Kieran Foran v Benji Marshall. A pair of attacking maestros who will have plenty of say in the contest, particularly creating opportunities close to the opponent’s try line.

Foran has been a little quiet to start 2013; he’s yet to score a try or make a break and has contributed just the one try assist to date – although to be fair that’s mostly because Daly Cherry-Evans has taken control (two try assists, a try, line-break and line-break assist). It’s just a matter of time before his attacking stats even out with his No.7’s.

Benji Marshall is the most dangerous player from both sides and if Manly’s defensive line speed isn’t up to scratch Marshall will cut them to pieces. He led all players for try assists and line-break assists last season (with 35 and 32 respectively) – with just the two try assists and one line-break assist so far, a breakout game surely isn’t too far away. And Benji set up two tries the last time they met.

Where It Will Be Won: While both teams feature plenty of potential match-winners in attack it’s likely the side that muscles up in defence will play from in front – and it’s here the Sea Eagles hold a clear edge. Through three rounds Manly have missed the third-fewest tackles, averaging just 16.3 per game, and have conceded the fewest line-breaks of all teams (just 1.3 per game).

Despite notching two victories the Tigers have offered mediocre resistance to date: they are missing the most tackles in the NRL (30.3 per game – almost double the Sea Eagles’ tally) and have conceded the fifth-most line-breaks (5.3 per week).

The History: Played 17; Sea Eagles 10, Wests Tigers 7. Manly have won six of the past nine – but the Tigers have won three of the past five. It should be a close contest – four of the past five clashes have been decided by four points or less.

Match Officials: Referees – Jared Maxwell & Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials – Adam Reid & Adam Gee; Video Referees – Chris Ward & Gavin Reynolds.

Televised: Channel Nine – Live 7.30pm (AEDT); Fox Sports 1 – Delayed 10pm.

The Way We See It: Based solely on what they’ve shown defensively in 2013 it’s difficult to go past the Sea Eagles. One thing’s for sure: there will be plenty of points scored over the 80 minutes. Manly by eight points. (PS – fans planning to go to the game are urged to allow plenty of travel time given anticipated Easter traffic congestion up the F3 on Thursday afternoon.)

MAINLY SEA EAGLES:

Brett Stewart, Jorge Taufua, Jamie Lyon, Steve Matai, David Williams, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Brenton Lawrence, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Justin Horo, Jamie Buhrer
Interchange: Jesse Sene-Lefao, Joe Galuvao, David Gower, Tom Symonds

WESTS TIGERS:

Tim Moltzen, Joel Reddy, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Matt Utai, Benji Marshall, Jacob Miller, Aaron Woods, Robbie Farah (capt), Jack Buchanan, Braith Anasta, Liam Fulton, Adam Blair
Interchange: Ben Murdoch-Masila, Ava Seumanufagai, Matt Bell, Eddy Pettybourne, Masada Iosefa (one to be omitted)