Manly prop Brent Kite admits proving the club's recent success was not all departed coach Des Hasler's doing is a major source of motivation for the players in 2012.
Hasler parted company with the club in bitter circumstances just five weeks after guiding the Sea Eagles to a second premiership in four seasons.
The defending champs are currently second favourites to claim back-to-back titles with the bookies behind Wests Tigers, although some pundits expect the Sea Eagles to struggle with rookie coach Geoff Toovey at the helm.
"The senior players and the playing group that have been here, we obviously want to show that we were a big part of the success that we've had in recent years and that might be a bit of extra motivation to do well," Kite said on Tuesday.
"If anything the changes are good and if there is added motivation because Tooves wants to go well and we obviously want to do well."
Asked if the off-season dramas involving Hasler, who will coach Canterbury-Bankstown in 2012, will galvanise an already 'tight' Manly squad, Kite replied: "It's hard to say just now but I think it will. I think getting into the season we'll draw from each other because that's all we've got. We usually get written off but it should be good."
Sea Eagles co-captain Jason King added of the recent upheaval at the club: "It's another challenge for us. As a group of men we've been put in another situation where people have already given us seemingly no chance of winning any games at all, so it's a fantastic challenge."
King, who had his 2011 campaign cut short by a pectoral injury, insists the playing group is united behind Toovey and says the onus is on the senior players to make life easier for the rookie coach.
"Everyone's 100 percent behind Geoff and the senior guys especially are ready and prepared to do as much as we can as senior players to provide him any advice or help him out in any possible way that we can," King said.
"It's all about working together, if we can help out and provide something from a player's perspective and be honest that's what we try to do."
Toovey says the balanced nature of the squad has made his transition from deputy to head honcho a smooth one.
And he's adamant he won't make any drastic changes to the club's winning formula this season.
"It's a very experienced side, a very knowledgeable side and the combinations are already there so it makes it much easier for myself," Toovey said.
"You don't throw out a winning combination or a winning formula, and that's what we have."
"So we'll just tinker with things as the year goes by but I'm very happy with the way the boys have been performing and how they've been talking on and off the field."
"It's a premiership-winning squad and a very competent side, a very experienced side and hopefully a winning side."