 Steve Matai made his first grade debut in that match, a late replacement after John Hopoate was suspended, then sacked by the club.Furthermore, the season overall was dominated by the team's fear of playing matches at night, with most of their defeats occurring under lights.This was pointed out by the Channel Nine commentators prior to its round eight, Friday night match against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium (which was in fact Manly's first Friday night match in six years) which the Sea Eagles indeed lost by a scoreline of 38–12.