Manly coach Anthony Seibold has called for action from the NRL after his club's third match in 11 days resulted in a close loss to the Dragons on Thursday night. The Sea Eagles' round six match was at home on April 6, followed by a trip to Perth against the Sharks on April 12. Overall, Manly has played five matches in 25 days. Post-match, captain Daly Cherry-Evans described it as "bizarre" but wasn't willing to use it as an excuse. "The last three games, two of the three were there to be won and we just didn't come up with the right plays at the end of the game," he said in his press conference. Once Cherry-Evans had finished his answer, Seibold stepped in. "I was going to say it regardless of the result tonight. That's five games in 25 days. The NRL has never been more demanding and we talk about player welfare and wellbeing. I don't understand how not only is it five games in 25 days, but if you narrow it down a bit more it's three games in 11 days, and I see it's the same with other clubs. I see it with the Raiders and the Sharks schedule," he said. "Three games in 11 days and then we lose two days in the air to Perth. It's five hours each way so there's another two days down. I don't understand it. The competition's never been more demanding, the GPS data is through the roof this year and I've got to say I think it's something that needs to be looked at. It's certainly not an excuse for how we played because I thought we competed really hard to the end and you don't do that without energy. "We had 20 minutes on the field this entire week. It's difficult. It's not just us; it's across the competition, and needs to be looked at." Asked if he'd approach the RLPA about the situation, Seibold stated he was simply "putting it out there". "No one's going to listen to one coach/ I'm just putting it out there. We talk about wellbeing and player welfare and this is something that needs to be looked at going forward," he said.
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