The Manly Sea Eagles have confirmed that all of Aaron Woods, Kelma Tuliagi and Josh Aloiai will need multiple weeks on the sideline to recover from respective injuries they picked up during Round 11 against the Cronulla Sharks.
Of the injuries, Tuilagi's facial fracture is the worst, and is expected to rule him out for at least six weeks as he recovers.
An impressive start to the year has seen the former Wests Tigers' second-rower lock his spot Anthony Seibold's run on side each week.
Josh Aloiai, who has also impressed in the number 13 jersey which has allowed Jake Trbojevic to play in the front row, suffered a dislocated shoulder and will miss between three and six weeks, pending on recovery, while Aaron Woods, who only recently moved from the St George Illawarra Dragons, fractured his thumb and will miss at least four, but potentially as many as six weeks.
The trio have all had to be replaced in this week's side to take on the Canberra Raiders, with Jake Trbojevic returning at lock forward for Aloiai and Ben Trbojevic starting in the second-row for Tuilagi.
Given Ben Trbojevic was on last week's bench, that has opened up two spots on the pine, with Samuela Fainu and Ben Condon both picked - in Condon's case, it will be his club debut after impressive form at NSW Cup level for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, which followed his move south from the North Queensland Cowboys at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
The Sea Eagles have also replaced Cooper Johns with Josh Schuster in the halves - Schuster would have returned regardless, although the club have confirmed Johns suffered a sprained ankle against Cronulla and would need to pass a fitness test to play at any level this coming weekend.
| Fullback |
| Wing |
| Centre |
| Centre |
| Wing |
| Five-eighth |
| Halfback |
| Prop |
| Hooker |
| Prop |
| Second Row |
| Second Row |
| Lock |
| Interchange |
| Interchange |
| Interchange |
| Interchange |
| Reserves |
The Sea Eagles come into the game against Canberra this Sunday on a three-match losing streak and on a slide down what is an overly tight ladder.
After sitting in the top bunch during the opening weeks, their recent form has see a slide down to 12th spot on the table, something that is unlikely to improve over an Origin period where they could ultimately play as many as four matches without captain and star halfback Daly Cherry-Evans.
In what is the final game before Origin teams are announced for Game 1 on May 31 in Adelaide, the Raiders will attempt to make it six straight and continue to improve on their own form as they sneak inside the top eight.
