NRL Immortal Andrew Johns has declared who his smokey is for the 2024 title with three rounds until finals begin.
Currently, the Panthers and Storm are equal favourites with the latter four points ahead on top of the ladder while Penrith are second.
The Roosters sit third and have scored the most points out of the competition with 642 but have struggled against the top two sides.
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Meanwhile, Cronulla in fourth and the Bulldogs at fifth are outside chances.
However, the sixth-placed Sea Eagles are also in contention on 31 points and Johns believes they’re the side that can potentially stop a side like the Panthers winning their fourth premiership in a row.
“They have players who can go whack, big game players,” he said on Wide World of Sports’ Freddy & The Eighth.
“(Daly) Cherry-Evans has done it at all levels. Turbo Tom (Trbojevic) is a freak of nature, (Lachlan) Croker’s back, you’ve got (Haumole) Olakau’atu.
“Outside of the Roosters, Penrith, Melbourne who could win it, it’d be Manly.
“But they need everything to go their way.”
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If Manly are to reach the top four this season, they’ll need to win their next three matches.
They’ll play the Tigers on Thursday night before clashes with the Bulldogs and Sharks.
If they were to finish fourth, they would likely play the Storm.
League legend Brad Fittler believes Manly are incapable of backing up against so many tough opponents.
“They’re going to have to win some big games, I don’t know if they can win that many big games,” he said.
