New Manly halfback Jamal Fogarty has declared he is ready to slow a rampaging Hudson Young as he prepares to take on his former club for the first time.
Fogarty had a small chuckle when the NRL draw was released late last year, with the Sea Eagles slated to host Canberra in Round 1.
The 32-year-old spent the past four seasons in the nation’s capital and led the Raiders to the 2025 minor premiership before departing to take on the daunting task of replacing Manly legend Daly Cherry-Evans in the club’s No.7 jumper.
Fogarty is set to line up on the Sea Eagles’ right edge, directly opposite Raiders representative star Hudson Young.
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Seibold praises Fogarty’s early impact
The pair are close friends from their time together in Canberra, but there will be no love lost on Saturday night.
“I’m not a chirper but coming up against Hudson, he’s a renowned niggler,” Fogarty said.
“He was niggling me when I was down there so I can only imagine it’s going to be more intense and he’ll be more consistent with it this weekend. That’s something I’ve just got to deal with, I’m here to play footy and hopefully we can get a good start to the season.”
Manly coach Anthony Seibold named a full-strength side on Tuesday afternoon after resting many of his stars for the Witzer Pre-Season Challenge.
New captain Tom Trbojevic starts at fullback and brother Jake Trbojevic returns from a series of head knocks suffered last year. Taniela Paseka and Haumole Olakau’atu will also provide additional punch up front after suffering long-term injuries in 2025.
Across the league, Fogarty is one of a host of stars set for club debuts as the remainder of Round 1 plays out following a record-breaking season opener in Las Vegas last week.
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NRL Best Moments – Las Vegas
Cherry-Evans will line up for the Roosters in Friday’s clash with the Warriors, while new Eels playmaker Jonah Pezet faces his old club in Parramatta’s match against the Storm on Thursday night.
In other team news:
Young gun Ethan Sanders has first crack at the Raiders No.7 jersey as he looks to become Fogarty’s long-term replacement.
David Fifita starts in the back-row in his first outing as a Rabbitoh, while Ashton Ward will start at halfback after Jamie Humphries (suspended) and Jonah Glover (jaw) were ruled out. Jayden Sullivan (leg) has been named on the six-man bench as he pushes to overcome an infection.
Bronson Garlick will start at dummy-half for South Sydney in place of Brandon Smith (calf), with Peter Mamouzelos coming off the bench.
Cory Paix will start at hooker for the Broncos, with Ben Hunt to come off the bench.
Liam Martin will miss Penrith’s clash with Brisbane as he manages a calf injury.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow will line up at fullback in an electric Dolphins backline led by Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima.
For his part, Young is eager to navigate the fine balance between targeting Fogarty and sticking to his natural game.
The edge forward enters 2026 on the back of the best season of his career, having solidified his place in the NSW side and played a key role in the Kangaroos Ashes clean sweep.
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Fantastic Fogarty
Young does have unfinished business from 2025, however, after the Raiders suffered a 40-12 loss to Manly at 4 Pines Park in Round 3 last year. The forward hasn’t forgotten that match and hopes to rectify the result this weekend.
“Jamal was a big factor with us for many years at the club,” Young said. “He’s a great friend of ours and it will be hard to come up against him but he’ll just be another mate on the field that we’ll make sure we beat.
“They’re always tough to beat at Brookvale. They’ve had a full pre-season, it’s a clean slate for everyone so you can’t ride on anything from last year. They smoked us there last year so we need to go there and get them back.”