A test of Manly coach Geoff Toovey's toughness Geoff Toovey at Manly Sea Eagles training at Narrabeen Sports High this week. IF expectation versus reality is the equation to determine the amount of pressure on a coach, then Brisbane's Anthony Grifffin and Manly's Geoff Toovey face the toughest year of their professional football lives. Toovey was a truly great competitor, a player who could absorb not only enormous amounts of physical punishment but equal amounts of pressure. However, like many great players, he has found out coaching is a whole new ball game. On the positive side, Toovey has proved he is a man worthy of the job after being thrust into the Manly coaching position under difficult circumstances last year. On the negative, 2013 will prove to be doubly difficult. Geoff Toovey has inherited enormous problems at Manly, problems the club knew were coming but were delayed by back-ended contracts to numerous players. Now it has all fallen in Toovey's lap. In most cases the NRL deems the practice of back-ended contracts acceptable, but it puts pressure on the club to shed other players down the track to stay under the salary cap. When a club has numerous stars on these types of contracts, they face serious future difficulties. This is why Manly spent most of the off-season trying to entice other NRL clubs to take one of their representative forwards - and why, even at the back end of last week, the Sea Eagles were shedding players to be able to register the contract of Brett Stewart. When Manly take on Brisbane tonight, they will field a team capable of beating the competition's very best. But even in a relatively injury-free season clubs will use from 25 to 30 players - and Manly no longer have that sort of depth. Going into this season Manly have lost international forward Tony Williams, rising stars Darcy Lussick and Dean Whare, as well as good honest professionals such as Vic Mauro, Liam Foran, Daniel Harrison and Michael Oldfield, who gave the club depth during a difficult run with injuries and the representative period. Twelve months earlier Manly lost Michael Robertson, Shane Rodney and let's not forget William Hopoate, who will go to Parramatta once his Mormon mission is complete. Glenn Stewart will start the season on the sidelines and Anthony Watmough said on Monday he would endure painkilling injections every week to get on the park. In this salary cap era you pay a price for your premierships and the debt collector is banging on Manly's door. Broncos coach Anthony Griffin. Meanwhile, Broncos coach Anthony Griffin begins 2013 acutely aware that nothing less than a top-four finish will satisfy Brisbane. But before a ball has been kicked in serious premiership football, cracks seem to be appearing up north. Club legend Steve Renouf, a man of the highest quality who chooses his words carefully, stated in Rugby League Week last week: "There's a fear (amongst ex-players) that the culture that we had a lot to do with creating is slowly dwindling." That culture is success. The city of Brisbane expects success and if that success doesn't come, someone will pay the price. Ivan Henjak succumbed to the pressure and Anthony Griffin is experiencing the same strains with this team. Last year, the Broncos' first half of the season was simply outstanding then, suddenly, the lights went out. Brisbane went from the fittest, fastest, most powerful team in the competition to firing blanks. The spark disappeared and, from what I saw in their trial match in New Zealand, it has yet to return. Scotty Prince has been a wonderful player and showed some very nice touches during the All Stars match, but if they have brought Scott to the club for a steady head and direction, then what does that mean for Peter Wallace? And that is what concerns me about the Broncos - in key positions there is a sameness about their play. Prince, Wallace and hooker Andrew McCullough as a combination lack that bolt of lightning that key combinations in the top sides like Melbourne, the Cowboys and the Bulldogs possess. It certainly seems that in the ugly relationship break-up that occurred between Wayne Bennett and the Broncos, Wayne has got on with life better. I'll be surprised if he doesn't return to the Broncos before he reaches for the golden handshake. On the strength of Daly Cherry-Evans, Kieran Foran and Brett Stewart, I expect Manly to have too much firepower for the Broncos in Brisbane tonight. Don't miss The Monday Night Show with Matty Johns on Fox Sports.