2021 NRL Round Five, Warriors 12 Sea Eagles 13 – Report

Brad Inger reviews the Warriors Vs Sea Eagles clash ….. Here’s how the game went.

SCOREBOARD

Player of the Year Points

3 pts – Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles)
2 pts – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors)
1 pt – Josh Schuster (Sea Eagles)

MATCH REPORT

1st Half

After trading sets for the first ten minutes with neither side getting the upper hand, it was Manly who had the first attacking threat when Jake Trbojevic burrowed his way towards the Warriors line before losing possession. Respect for the ball appeared to be an issue for both sides, with handling errors plaguing both sides in the first quarter of the game. The New Zealand side spent repeat sets in the Sea Eagles red zone but struggled to challenge Manly’s goal-line defence. A solid set from the Sea Eagles saw them charge up the field with relative ease, and it was Trbojevic who had his eye on the try line once again, only to lose the ball as he reached out for the line. Moments later, Manly was at it again when Lachlan Croker looked to have pushed his way over only to lose the ball as he struggled with Jazz Tevaga. In the 28th minute, the deadlock was finally broken when the Daly Cherry Evans quickly kicked from the base of the scrum to allow young speedster Jason Saab to kick it into high gear, outrunning everyone on the way to the try-line. This appeared to wake the Warriors up as on the next set, a short ball from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck saw Jack Murchie running in open space before sending centurion Ken Maumalo over in the corner to bring the game’s level. More errors by both sides saw the first half ended with both sides going into the sheds disappointed about their completion rates, with the score a low 6 all.

HALF-TIME: New Zealand Warriors 6 Manly Sea Eagles 6

2nd Half

Manly started the second half with intent, but another dropped ball handed the Warriors great field position; however, the New Zealand side continued to look lost on the final tackle and were stopped before they could get a kick away. A bone-rattling tackle on Saab by Marcelo Montoya saw Manly struggle to get out of their own half. The Warriors finally managed to get their attack to click when Sean O’Sullivan dummied his way over for the first points of the half. However, the Warriors were back to their old tricks on the next set with another poor ending set. The Sea Eagles injury woes continued when Dylan Walker pulled a hamstring the defusing a bomb and was assisted to the sidelines; despite the setback, Manly kept themselves in the hunt with some solid running down the left edge and got themselves on the scoreboard once again when Josh Schuster dived on a Cherry-Evan’s grubber that was dropped on the goal-line by Kodi Nikorima. After evening up the scores, it looked like Manly had swung momentum in their favour, but continued errors with the ball in had were coach killers; Sea Eagle fans breathed a sigh of relief when the Warriors also gave the ball away far too easily. As the game was winding down, O’Sullivan attempted a field goal that missed to the left by a country mile. Manly asked plenty of questions of the Warriors defence putting up several kicks, but the New Zealand side held them out. An untimely error by Murchie have the Sea Eagles great field position, and after Tohu Harris charged down his first field goal attempt, Cherry-Evans lined up and nailed his second attempt, earning his side their first win for the season.

FULL-TIME: New Zealand Warriors 12 Manly Sea Eagles 13

Injuries

Jack Gosiewski (Sea Eagles) – ankle
Dylan Walker (Sea Eagles) – hamstring

Match Review Committee

Nil

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