This weekend will see Daly Cherry-Evans pass the torch to one of Manly's future stars, with a young playmaker set to make his first grade debut.
Cherry-Evans will leave the Sea Eagles at season's end in a move that originally rocked the rugby league world all the way back in March.
The 36-year-old will bow out in front of his home fans at Broovkale Oval against the Warriors in what looms as his final game for the club, with Manly needing a miracle to make the finals with one round remaining in the regular season.
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All eyes will be on Cherry-Evans when he runs out onto the famous ground and injured teammate Reuben Garrick is hopeful it's a farewell to savour.
"He will go out on a good note for sure," Garrick told Nine's Freddy and The Eighth.
"His last couple of weeks have been first-class and I hope we can get the win for him.
"I don't know where he's going, but I hope that everyone shows up for him this weekend and I'm sure we will get a massive crowd."
It is widely expected that Cherry-Evans will join the Sydney Roosters in 2026, with an official announcement likely to come at the conclusion of the campaign.
While all the noise will be surrounding Cherry-Evans in round 27, the other big milestone on Friday will be the debut of teenager Joey Walsh.
The 19-year-old has been named to come off the bench and is expected to spend time in the halves alongside the departing skipper, potentially giving Manly supporters an early glimpse into the future of the halfback position at the club.
Brad Fittler described Walsh as a "gun" after watching him come through the lower grades with his son Zac, while Garrick opened up on the teen's early impressions.
"I've been loving watching him at training," the strike centre said.
"I guess when there's a lot of hype around a player and you see them come into the first grade squad, training is the first look you get.
"He's got a bit of mongrel in him and he takes the line on. He's an absolute competitor.
"There were a couple of wrestle sessions where you try and see where they're at and even when you get him on his back, he is fighting like all buggery to get out of it.
"I love watching him at training, so I'm keen to see him this weekend and I think he'll have a good career."
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Walsh has five tries, 15 try assists and eight forced dropouts in 14 appearances at NSW Cup level this season, while also averaging just shy of 100 run metres per game.
Garrick also heaped praise on Onitoni Large, who is signed long-term at the Sea Eagles and has been touted as Walsh's potential long-term halves partner.
Manly have signed Jamal Fogarty to wear the No.7 jumper next season, while Luke Brooks remains signed on the Northern Beaches for another two years, giving time for the two youngsters to hone their craft and develop into first graders.
While there are certainly some green shoots coming through, it has been a tough year on the field for the Sea Eagles, who will miss out on the top-eight for the second time since Anthony Seibold's arrival as head coach in 2023.
The negativity surrounding Manly this year has been hard to ignore – whether it be centred around Seibold, Cherry-Evans, the club's board or something else – but Garrick admitted it was up to the playing group to shut out the external noise.
"Obviously it's always tough when you're not there in the finals … there's a couple of games there which we'd love to have back," he said.
"It did feel like we were under the microscope there for quite a while. You see other teams who we thought we were going better than who weren't getting that treatment.
"There's been a few things going on at the club this year, but I don't think they've really had too much of an effect on the playing group itself.
"It's very hard to not see it at all – it's everywhere in the media all the time – but you've got to be able to deal with that. You can't look into too much of the hierarchy of it all or the politics, it's not our jobs and we need to just keep our heads down.
"A lot of it is outside noise and people putting the microscope on us, but we haven't come up with the results at the end of the day and that's what puts the pressure on you and your coach and the captain and the rest of the club.
"We thought at the start of the year that we were a good chance of being a top-four side, but we fell pretty far short of that … we can only blame ourselves."
Manly sit on 28 competition points heading into the final round – level with the Dolphins and two points behind the eighth-placed Roosters.
However, their points-differential puts them at a distinct disadvantage and could end up being the reason for Seibold's men missing out on the post-season.
