The 2026 season will kick off for both the Manly Sea Eagles and Canberra Raiders when they clash at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night.

Jamal Fogarty has massive shoes to fill as he replaces Daly Cherry-Evans, who departs the Sea Eagles after a glittering 352 appearances. The halfback will make his Manly debut against his former side after guiding the Raiders to an unexpected minor premiership in 2025.

Canberra experienced a disappointing finals series, though, bowing out in straight sets. Whereas Manly experienced an inconsistent 2025 campaign, finishing 10th with a 12-12 record and no finals football.

The Sea Eagles did split their two encounters with the Raiders though, notably winning 40-12 at this venue in March.

A fit Tom Trbojevic starts the season at fullback for Manly and is set to be an integral part of the push for a finals return.

Canberra’s new halfback is young gun Ethan Sanders, who takes up his position surrounded by a squad largely unchanged from last season.

Can Fogarty show the Raiders what they’re missing? Or will his absence go unnoticed as the Green Machine rolls on?

For the latest news, odds and analysis ahead of this battle at Brookie, check out our Sea Eagles vs Raiders tips and predictions below.

Sea Eagles vs Raiders Prediction and Betting Tips

Head-to-Head Prediction

All eyes will be on one man when the Manly Sea Eagles welcome the Canberra Raiders to Brookvale Oval to close out Saturday’s Round 1 action.

That man is of course Jamal Fogarty who departed the Raiders at the end of last season and headed to the Northern Beaches to take on the gigantic task of replacing Daly Cherry-Evans as the Sea Eagles halfback.

Fogarty was one of the main reasons why the Raiders rock and rolled all the way to the minor premiership last season, so it will be interesting to see how they manage without him.

Still, there were 16 other players around Fogarty that helped the Green Machine finish first in 2025 so we’re not about to write them off based on one man.

Their away record is also nothing to scoff at, as they’ve won eight of their last 10 away matches.

Betting tip: Canberra Raiders.

First Try Scorer Prediction

After examining the form guide and the last five of a few different candidates, we’ve narrowed down our search for this market to two players. One from each side.

With home ground advantage on his side and a try in each of his last five appearances, Manly’s tearaway centre Tolutau Koula has caught our eye.

On the other side of the field, Canberra’s young gun five-eighth Ethan Strange has six tries in his last five, which are insane numbers for a half.

Either option is fine in our book, but we’re going with Koula here, just because his position on the field is more favourable when it comes to try scoring.

Betting tip: Tolutau Koula.

Over/Under Prediction

Five of the last six matches between Manly and Canberra have gone over the total match points line.

Betting tip: Over (43.5) total match points.

Line Prediction

Canberra has covered the line in each of their last seven Round 1 matches.

Betting tip: Canberra Raiders (+0.5) line.

Sea Eagles vs Raiders Teams

Manly Sea Eagles Team List

1. Tom Trbojevic (c)

2. Jason Saab

3. Tolu Koula

4. Reuben Garrick

5. Lehi Hopoate

6. Luke Brooks

7. Jamal Fogarty

8. Taniela Paseka

9. Jake Simpkin

10. Siosiua Taukeiaho

11. Haumole Olakau'atu

12. Ben Trbojevic

13. Jake Trbojevic

14. Joey Walsh

15. Kobe Hetherington

16. Ethan Bullemor

17. Nathan Brown

18. Clayton Faulalo

19. Brandon Wakeham

Canberra Raiders Team List

1. Kaeo Weekes

2. Savielo Tamale

3. Simi Sasagi

4. Sebastian Kris

5. Xavier Savage

6. Ethan Strange

7. Ethan Sanders

8. Josh Papalii

9. Tom Starling

10. Joe Tapine (c)

11. Hudson Young

12. Noah Martin

13. Corey Horsburgh

14. Jayden Brailey

15. Zac Hosking

16. Ata Mariota

17. Morgan Smithies

18. Daine Laurie

19. Jed Stuart

Sea Eagles vs Raiders Match Details

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026.

Kick-off: 7:35pm AEDT.

Location: Brookvale Oval, Sydney.