Jackson Hastings' NRL exile appears set to continue after he wasn't named in Manly's top 17 for Sunday's clash with the Sydney Roosters.
Hastings didn't train with the Sea Eagles top squad on Tuesday and was named as No.19 on their extended bench, with Dylan Walker selected at five-eighth in place of the injured Lachlan Croker.
Coach Trent Barrett also named youngster Moses Suli in the centres, however Manly will have to first consider whether they will upgrade him from their development list to their full-time squad.
It's understood the NRL have rejected Manly's request to play him as a development player on Sunday, based on the grounds there are other players in his position still available for selection.
However the NRL will allow him to take to Allianz Stadium if he is upgraded to fill one of the spaces in their 30-man squad for the rest of the season this week.
Regardless, Manly have also named Tom Wright in the No.18 jersey.
Wright was a star member of the club's under-20s premiership-winning team last year and can play in the centres of halves.
Both Wright and Suli are believed to have trained with the top squad on Tuesday with Walker at five-eighth, and the club have just one more full field session before Saturday's captain's run and Sunday's game.
Manly won just five of 13 games with Walker in the halves when he last played there in 2016, but vice-captain Jake Trbojevic expected him to be a far better fit for the club this year.
"He's got all the skills," Trbojevic said.
"He's a couple of years more experienced and I think he'll do a great job.
"Our style has even changed a little bit over the past two years which I think will make his role a lot easier.
"It's actually really exciting. Cherry (Daly Cherry-Evans) at half, Dylan and Tom (Trbojevic) - I think that's a really good spine and hopefully we can lay some good footy."
Trbojevic has felt the pain at the Sea Eagles as much as anyone in the past month.
He admitted he was close to tears after Manly's fourth straight defeat to Newcastle on Friday night.
But he said he felt more for Barrett, as an injury crisis that has claimed three players to season-ending knee injury compounds the horror Gladstone trip.
"You look at Baz, he's a rookie coach and he's two-and-a-half years in and he's doing a great job," Trbojevic said.
"A lesser man would have walked away from what he's got to face."
"To see how passionate he is week-in week-out is inspiring. When you lose, it hurts. You feel like you've let him down and you've let your teammates down and it's disappointing."
