Sea Eagles recruit Jamal Fogarty has spent the summer teaching emerging halves Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large the finer details of the craft, but he says he must keep evolving his game or risk losing his spot in the team.<\/p>\n
Fogarty says the threat from within \u201ckeeps me hungry\u201d, with the 32-year-old signing a deal that will keep him on the northern beaches for the next three seasons.<\/p>\n
He has learnt plenty off his younger teammates who are seen as the future of the club, with the former Raider keen to add new strings to his bow to ensure he remains halfback.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think healthy competition is great competition,\u201d Fogarty told the NewsWire. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know that him (Walsh) and Onitoni are very exciting young prospects at the club, and that pushes me to keep bettering myself each week. I\u2019ve got to keep evolving my game because if I don\u2019t, then they\u2019re going to take over, and that keeps me hungry. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I also know that I need to pick their brains on a couple of things that they do really well. Just because they\u2019re young doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t learn anything off them and vice versa. <\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially with Joey, he\u2019s got a rugby union background, so his passing skill set, his craft, and deception with the ball is excellent. I\u2019ve seen it so many times here at training. I tip him up when he does it well and ask what he\u2019s doing with it. <\/p>\n
\u201cThose are things that he does really well. But he\u2019s also got a strong running game, so I\u2019m watching him and thinking maybe I need to put that into my kit bag and take that with me moving forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, they feel free to ask any questions about anything football-related and take one or two things away that I do well and put into their game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fogarty will start against his old side on Saturday night and partner Luke Brooks following the departure of long-time Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans.<\/p>\n
His experience makes the transition a lot easier than it could have been, although there is a view in Manly that 19-year-old Joey Walsh is almost ready to take control of the team.<\/p>\n
The former rugby prodigy is a local talent who got his chance off the bench in the final round of the 2025 season and has had some lovely moments in the trials.<\/p>\n
Walsh will come off the bench on Saturday night and is happy to keep working with Fogarty, Brooks, assistant coach Kieran Foran, and NSW Cup coach Brett Kimmorley, who has a wealth of experience in the halves. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy main goal this year is just to play consistent footy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some unreal halves here at the club who are very experienced as well, so I just want to learn as much as I can from Jamal, Brooksie and also having Foz (Foran) and Noddy (Kimmorley) here on the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got some really good footy heads, so for me it\u2019s just taking on as much experience from them as I can and play consistent footy whatever grade it\u2019s in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Manly have built a really good system here, and I\u2019m totally happy to learn as much as I can and build my game whatever grade it is. I just want to learn as much as I can and get as much experience as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be interesting to see how Walsh is used with the new interchange rules where teams will have six players on the bench with four available each game, with suggestions he should spend a few weeks in reserve grade where he would get 80 minutes in the halves. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have complete faith that Seibs (Manly coach Anthony Seibold) and the coaching staff will manage it really well, whether it will be sticking to Cup just for experience or maybe getting 50 minutes in Cup and being someone on the bench in that 19-man squad,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut whatever happens, I just want to put my best foot forward and do what the coach and the club needs.\u201d<\/p>\n