Des Hasler became a bit agitated yesterday when asked if his Manly players may have had one eye on Melbourne as they prepared for South Sydney yesterday.

"You've got to give them more credit than that," Hasler replied. "They're pretty professional the way they go about things."

But at the risk of causing further agitation, it seems best to now focus almost solely on Friday night's clash between Manly and Melbourne, even with the dust still settling on the Sea Eagles' 20-2 win yesterday. You see, even the dust seemed to settle with a lack of energy after a performance which was forgettable for both sides - just more so for Souths.

Taking on Melbourne at Olympic Park after beating the Rabbitohs of yesterday - who were alarmingly close to the Rabbitohs of yesteryear - is akin to warming up to eat at Tetsuya's by dining at McDonald's.

Manly prop Jason King, for one, admitted the Sea Eagles faced a "touch up" if they played like that in the grand-final rematch.

"We had Souths under the pump," King said. "We should have just completed some sets and played some good football, but we threw it around and got too carried away, not completing our sets. We won't be able to do that again or [the Storm will] touch us up. I don't think we'll get away with a performance like that against Melbourne.

"We just dropped off. It's a mental thing more than anything. We have to improve."

Centre Jamie Lyon, too, admitted three tries against a team which is yet to win a game this season was not the ideal preparation.

"We need to improve in quite a few areas," Lyon said. "I don't read too much into this grand final replay - we've got a different team, there's not as much at stake. It's not going to be a big rematch. But we've got to lift in a few areas to even compete against them."

Fullback Brett Stewart said: "They've been the benchmark the last two or three years. Everyone saw our performance. It wasn't up to scratch. We're aware of that."

Of course, both sides have suffered damage since last season's decider, not least the fact both have lost as many games as they have won so far this season.

Melbourne have lost Matt King and Ben Cross, but against the Broncos on Friday night they produced a performance of high quality.

Manly halfback Matt Orford said the Melbourne machine was still "as dominant" as it was when they steamrolled the Sea Eagles 34-8 last year. Steamrolled even with the attacking gifts of Michael Monaghan, who has been missed by Manly.

"Obviously, they're in the same boat as us," Orford said. "They've had a couple of losses. But they showed on Friday night that they're back to their best. And playing down in Melbourne in front of their home crowd is a big ask.

"They deserve to be favourites. They've got a great group of players down there and a great coaching staff, and they're going to be very hard to beat."

Importantly, when a football game broke out amid the comedy routine yesterday, it was Orford who had the say in the most plays, even though they were few and far between. However, it has to be countered by the context: the Rabbitohs were abysmal.

The scene was set early, when a Souths player yelled from the scrum in a strong attacking position: "We don't need to score this set."

It was noble as well as novel - however, it would probably have been better served if it were followed by a try some time in the next 70 minutes.

It was Orford who effectively ended Jason Taylor's stint with the Northern Eagles as a player. Yesterday, he heaped further pressure on Taylor's new career as a coach.