The Manly Sea Eagles will unearth Joey Walsh this weekend with reports surfacing Jamal Fogarty has failed to overcome a groin injury.

Fogarty left the field in Manly’s huge win over the Parramatta Eels on Sunday with an injury affecting his ability to move freely.

With it still troubling him, 10Sport is reporting that head coach Kieran Foran has called upon young gun Walsh to make his second appearance in the NRL.

There is no greater challenge for Walsh than coming up against the Penrith Panthers at their home ground.

Foran could have opted with Brandon Wakeham to company Brooks in the halves, but given the Fijian international’s quality form in the hooker position, he’s bringing in a like-for-like replacement.

It keeps the rotation of Wakeham and Jake Simpkin undisrupted, which has been working a treat over the last month.

The rugby convert has been strong in the NSW Cup to start the year, scoring six tries and recording six-line breaks in six appearances.

The time in reserve grade has allowed him to develop his game as the chief playmaker of a side rather than 15-minutes off the bench in the NRL each week.

The Northern Beaches local product has a decorated junior resume, representing Australia U18s as rugby flyhalf and captain in 2023.

With Foran’s troops’ impressive run of form recently, it sees the Sea Eagles come into this match as genuine contenders.

However, with the Panthers being so dominant and expected to win almost every match they enter this year, there isn’t a whole lot of pressure on Walsh to dominate the contest. But rather, just giving the young gun a crack and seeing what he can produce.

They face off in the late time slot of 6:15pm on Sunday night.