Wright injury adds to Manly kicking woes

Manly's NRL goal-kicking issues could be compounded by a Matthew Wright leg injury, which could leave Daly Cherry-Evans to convert attempts.

Manly could be forced to turn to Daly Cherry-Evans for goal kicking again next weekend, with Matthew Wright carrying a leg injury.

Wright missed his first attempt on goal in Sunday's win over the Wests Tigers, before he handed over the duties to skipper Cherry-Evans - who missed his first before landing his last three.

It was a similar situation to last weekend's loss to Penrith, where Wright was again unable to kick and was deputised by Apisai Koroisau and early-season straight-shooter Dylan Walker.

However it's understood Walker has been told he cannot kick due to a minor hamstring complaint, meaning Cherry-Evans may need to continue making the attempts against St George Illawarra next Sunday.

"He's got a problem there with his leg. It's affecting his goal-kicking," Manly coach Trent Barrett said of Wright.

"He had it last week as well.

"The skipper stepped up and wanted to take them and nailed the one from the sideline which was handy."

Following Jamie Lyon's retirement at the end of last year, Manly have the equal-worst goal-king strike rate in the NRL at 66 per cent.

It's proven costly time and time again this season.

In round two, they scored the first three tries but failed to convert any, before South Sydney ran away with the game.

They also should have led Brisbane 18-0 but for two missed attempts in round 10, which opened the door for the Broncos to fight back and win the match.

And it was almost a case of deja vu for Barrett on Sunday, as Wright and Cherry-Evans missed conversions from the opening two tries of the match, before the Tigers hit back momentarily to take the lead.

"It's a huge part of the game - four instead of six," Barrett said.

"It's massive If we had of gone out to 12-0 at the beginning it might have been a different result.

"It's an area we need to look at."


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Source: AAP



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