If anyone understands St George Illawarra's dire situation it's Manly.
The Dragons are the only NRL team still winless in 2026 after the Sea Eagles finally claimed a maiden victory in the days after axing Anthony Seibold and appointing Kieran Foran interim coach.
"We know how they'll be feeling," said five-eighth Luke Brooks.
"The fans were obviously into them a bit after the game so they'll be fired up.
"We always have tough games against them and I think we're into them to be fired up, so we're expecting their best."
Despite a slow start, Manly are not copying the Dragons who sensationally wrote off their premiership chances before the season.
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan admitted back in February his side "probably know that we're not going to win the comp this year," but the mood is different on the Northern Beaches.
"We've only played four games and a bye so it's early days," said Brooks.
"You see a lot of the time over the years there could be teams that are going well at the start of the year but just fall off towards the back end.
"It's all about timing and we've just got to keep taking it week by week and go after what Foz (Foran) wants us to do."
Foran's men were in unfamiliar territory at Tuesday's training, relocated to the NSW Rugby League centre of excellence in Sydney Olympic Park while their home 4 Pines Park undergoes repairs.
But players had high praise for the 318-game veteran's transition to coaching after he led them to the monster 52-18 win over the Dolphins.
According to back-rower Haumole Olakau'atu, "grittiness and aggression" were points of emphasis that reminded him of when they were Manly teammates from 2021-22.
"He prides himself on his D (Defence)," Olakau'atu said. That's one thing he echoes out to us boys, just be very aggressive with our D.
"He's really direct with what he says and very genuine.
"He doesn't like to repeat himself, he likes to say things once and it's good because he's very infectious with his energy."
Olakau'atu had his best game of the year by far with 270 running metres and a try in Thursday's win.
"There's a bit of something behind it as well, a bit of purpose. I went out there and played freely and played for him (Foran) as well."
