By Blake Edwards
Illawarra Cutters five-eighth Shaun Nona is confident his refreshed teammates can overcome recent ahead of facing the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium on Saturday.
The Cutters head into the fixture coming off their allocated Bye Round but prior to this suffered a 30-0 defeat at the hands of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
In addition, the Sea Eagles are coming off a 28-10 midweek re-scheduled fixture win over the struggling Newcastle Knights.
The last time the two teams met was at the historic Nowra Showground, where the Sea Eagles ran out 42-10 winners in Round 9.
Nona notes that while the Sea-Eagles season is all but over, he believes his team can not take the opposition lightly.
Nona is of the opinion the sides preperation let them down in the Round 9 fixture, and knows his team need to improve this in order to get one over their opponents.
“Our preparation needs to be a lot better than what it has been recently,” said Nona.
“When we played them last our preparation leading into the game was poor and it was evident in the final result.
“It was good to have the bye in order to get away from footy for a while.
“Coach Jason Demetriou gave us a few extra days off last week to freshen up, and I think this will better prepare us for this weekends game.
“I am definitely looking forward to the challenge of lining up against Isaac John who has some NRL experience under his belt.
“I think himself and his halves partner Pita Godinet are Manly’s biggest threat, and we will be looking to limit their involvement.
“It’s also our last home game for the season so there is an added motivation to get the two points as we head into our final three games on the road.
"I know the boys will be pumped for this one.”
