Manly star Jake Trbojevic is confident Manly can continue their surprising early-season form in the NRL as they come to grips with the absence of skipper Daly Cherry-Evans for up to six weeks.
Returning coach Des Hasler has exceeded pre-season expectations as the Sea Eagles have won four of their opening seven games of the season to sit in sixth spot.
However, they now have the challenge of staying in the top eight without Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic, who are both likely to be out until June.
"It's obviously disappointing to see (Cherry-Evans) out. He's been working really hard and in great form," Jake Trbojevic told reporters on Wednesday.
"As a team we'll definitely miss him but we've got great players around him and we'll prepare really hard.
"They've got big shoes to fill but everyone around him will step up."
Trbojevic assumes the captaincy for the first time since stepping in for an injured Jamie Lyon before the champion centre was forced into retirement late in 2016.
The 25-year-old Trbojevic was in a battle with Cherry-Evans for the leadership role the following season, before then-coach Trent Barrett opted for the halfback.
Hasler revealed the captaincy news to Trbojevic on the Wednesday morning before Saturday's clash with Canterbury.
"Daly's been doing a great job, big boots to fill but looking forward to it," Trbojevic said.
"A couple of years back I did a few games. It's still pretty nerve-racking.
"It's something I'm new to, so still a little bit nervous.
"But we've got great guys around me and there'll still be some really good leaders in the team who'll help out. Hopefully I can do alright."
The Kangaroos and NSW State of Origin representative credited Hasler for the team's early success, particularly when it comes to preparing for their upcoming opponents.
"He's extremely thorough in his preparation. He sends us a lot of video every week. It's unbelievable how hard he works," Trbojevic said.
"You go into the game fully prepared and confident on the back of it.
"It's been really good for us defensively and both our attack, and some of the performances have shown on the back of that.
"We get a lot of video that the boys struggle to watch all the time but he really does prepare you well."
