Manly have no excuse but to be firing at their physical best against a mammoth South Sydney pack in Friday night’s NRL grand final qualifier, according to Matt Ballin.
While the hooker concedes the Sea Eagles’ brutal finals clashes with Cronulla and the Sydney Roosters have taken their toll on his teammates’ bodies, two days off and solid recovery sessions had left them all feeling “pretty good”.
“There’s no excuse for being physically flat,” Ballin said on the eve of the ANZ Stadium eliminator.
“Everyone’s excited so, mentally, it shouldn’t be an issue either.
“We know we’ve only got two games – at the most – left this year, so everyone’s going to be giving everything they’ve got.”
The Sea Eagles might boast plenty of threatening quality across the park, but there’s no doubting the power of the Rabbitohs’ big men.
Their frontline forwards have averaged more than 96 metres per match this season – almost nine metres more per forward than Manly (87.9m).
And Ballin knows it.
“Like any team, if you’ve got good forwards, it’s half the way to winning a game,” he said.
“The Burgess brothers are very big and physical. Their backs are even big.
“Look at their fullback (Greg Inglis) – he’s over 100kg and can (run) 100 metres in maybe 10 seconds.
“Physically, they’re a very strong side and, tactically with the ball, they’re good.
“… So I think it’ll be a very physical game.”