Thursday’s NRL 2018 Round 24 match is between Wests Tigers and Manly Sea Eagles. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:50 local time with the game to be played at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney. The home team Wests Tigers are the favourites for the match.

View our preview and teams for the game between Wests Tigers and Manly Sea Eagles.

When: 19:50 | Thursday 23/08/2018

Where: Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney

Preview:

The Wests Tigers have little left to play for but pride while starting the building phase for next year.

The Tigers went oh so close to giving the league what they wanted but were unable to topple the Dragons.

Has all the air been let out of their balloon or is there still great hope?

One thing they’ll need to fix if they are to be considered is their ball control with their sets.

They were poor in this area last week and it cost them dearly.

As for the Manly side, unfortunately their week went from bad to horrible.

The wheels look to have well and truly fallen off.

Without the Trbojevic brothers Tom and Jake, they would have been smashed by plenty more.

Odds:

Tip: Wests Tigers at $1.53

Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Esan Masters at $13.00

More Info:

Teams:

Wests Tigers:

1. Moses Mbye 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Esan Marsters 4. Mahe Fonua 5. Kevin Naiqama 6. Benji Marshall (c) 7. Luke Brooks 8. Russell Packer 9. Robbie Farah 10. Ben Matulino 11. Chris Lawrence 12. Michael Chee Kam 13. Matt Eisenhuth 14. Alex Twal 15. Sauaso Sue 16. Luke Garner 17. Josh Aloiai 18. Jacob Liddle 19. Robbie Rochow 20. Tyson Gamble 21. Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.

Manly Sea Eagles:

1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Moses Suli 4. Brian Kelly 5. Brad Parker 6. Dylan Walker 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Manase Fainu 10. Martin Taupau 11. Joel Thompson 12. Shaun Lane 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Trent Hodkinson 15. Kelepi Tanginoa 16. Jack Gosiewski 17. Lloyd Perrett 18. Frank Winterstein 19. Matthew Wright 21. Tom Wright 22. Toafa Sipley.

NRL News:

The NRL spotlight may have temporarily shifted from Ivan Cleary’s coaching future, but the pressure is still on the West Tigers mentor to keep his side’s finals hopes alive.

The Tigers sit two wins out of the top eight following Brisbane’s 38-18 victory over South Sydney on Thursday night.

He admits the Broncos’ upset threw a spanner in the works and sets up a must-win clash against St George at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday.

“It makes our job a little bit harder,” he said.

“Their win last night put a bit more of a gap between us but we do play twice before they play (again), so the ball’s in our court.

“(But) we’ve got to win the first game.”

The Tigers have found their feet after hitting a rough patch of mid-season form, Cleary said.

“The boys have got a bit of confidence,” he said.

“Since Robbie (Farah) and Moses (Mbye) came into our team, we’ve had a few games together now and I think those combinations are growing.”

The Tigers firmed into favouritism for a fifth win in six starts after Dragons captain Gareth Widdop was ruled out with a dislocated shoulder.

But Cleary expects Widdop’s five-eighth replacement Kurt Mann to present a threat of his own.

“Our preparation will stay the same,” he said.

“They’re chock-full of internationals and Origin players and Kurt Mann himself has played a lot of football in different positions in that team.”

Cleary was last week caught up in the NRL coaching merry-go-round, denying reports of a potential move to fill the vacant Penrith job.

His counterpart Paul McGregor’s future was also placed under a cloud this week after St George slumped to a 40-4 loss, the Dragons’ fifth in six matches.

But Cleary wouldn’t buy into talk the fifth-placed Dragons were choking away their season.

“There’s lots of labels out there,” he said.

“You either read into it or you don’t. We know we’re going to face a pretty determined outfit tomorrow night.”