‘We’re a very good footy side’: Sea Eagles dealt no favours as they look to return to winning ways after ugly loss at home

Manly coach Anthony Seibold says his team’s focus has been entirely on what they have to do this week and not what happened on Sunday against the Storm where they almost conceded 50 points at home. The heavy defeat was a reality check for the Sea Eagles who usually play so well at home, with the club handed a six-day turnaround ahead of their next match against the Sharks in Perth. It’s far from an ideal preparation for a team missing superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic, with the club unable to do full opposed sessions given the rest of their squad is back in Sydney. The defensive lapses last week are a concern, but Seibold says they know where they went wrong and are ready to put that loss in the past. “It’s a real focus on us,” he said. “On a short turnaround, you don’t get to do much on the opposition, so it is about us. “When we’re at our best or somewhere near our best, we’re a very good footy side. We’ve made sure that we understand when we’re at our best, what that looks like.” Veteran prop Josh Aloiai returns to the starting side after he missed last week’s loss, while Jason Saab will try to prove his fitness at today’s captain’s run. “He’s always a really influential guy in our group, and the guys get a lot of confidence out of having Josh in our 17,” Seibold said. “We missed him last week against the Storm so he’s a good addition to our group this week.” Meanwhile, Eels coach Jason Ryles has praised Zac Lomax for his inspirational field goal in golden point while playing through the pain of a fractured foot. Lomax nailed the moment against his former side but will now miss the next six weeks, with Ryles hoping his side can build on the momentum of their breakthrough win. “He is like any top-line player in any team. We will miss him,” Ryles said in Darwin ahead of his side’s game against the Raiders. “But I think they see most days at training the way he competes so hard and the way he trains. That is the way he plays. “It was unfortunate someone landed on his foot and he didn’t think anything of it other than it being sore. Obviously he didn’t know he had a fracture in his foot. “It was good to finally get some reward for the effort the team is putting in. “We have been fighting really hard and having periods of the game where we have done a lot of things really, really well but unfortunately weren’t getting the result. “It was really good to get that breakthrough, and it was good for the players’ confidence and the mood around the club.”