Cormac Pearson reports on Manly Sea Eagles’ win against Canterbury Bulldogs on Saturday night at Lottoland.
MATCH DETAILS
The return of Origin forward Dylan Napa bolstered the Bulldogs pack, while Manly were without a few stars in Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic. The scoring started in the sixth minute with a beautiful harbour-bridge ball from call up Kane Elgey which hit winger Reuben Garrick who scored untouched a few metres in from the sideline. Ten minutes later, deja vu, Bulldogs winger Jayden Okunbor came up and in which opened up space for Garrick who received another great cut-out ball from Elgey. At 12-0 up Manly were sitting nicely 20 minutes in.
Then came one of the aerial tries of the year so far, when Reimis Smith flew up to take Jack Cogger’s cross-field kick over his opposite centre and winger. The young winger took it with one-hand, pulling it back in to score in the corner. Manly had two tries denied by the bunker and a the Bulldogs were lucky to only to be down by 8.
The second half brought the Bulldogs well into the arm-wrestle as field position and possession evened out. You could sense the Bulldogs were gaining momentum and it was only a matter of time till they went over. 19 minutes into the half the Bulldogs ran a set play from about 35 metres out, with bench forward Adam Elliot providing a gem of a ball to create the overlap that gave Reimis Smith his second in the 57th minute. An exciting 20 minutes remained.
A gift penalty extended Manly’s lead to six with just over ten to go. It was end to end football with Manly’s fitness really being tested. The Bulldog’s launched raid after raid but Manly’s resilient defence was holding. A smart play from bench utility Manase Fainu opened the red sea, which lead to a Bulldogs dropout. The short dropout attempt was short, giving Manly an 8 point lead with two minutes left and gave Manly another gutsy win.
FOUR POINTERS
HASLER’S GUTSY SEA EAGLES TURNING HEADS
At the start of the year many had Manly right down the bottom of the ladder. Then cam the injuries to key players in in Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans, but they have again continued to defy critics and have now won four from their last five. Des Hasler’s return to the North-Shore has given Manly the heartย they have been missing in recent years and are continuing to stamp their mark on the NRL sitting in fifth place on the ladder.
MANLY ROLE PLAYERS PLAYING BIG
Brendan Elliot, Brad Parker and Reuben Garrick. These are certainly not household names but players like these three have been the key to Manly’s success and were again tonight. A good sign of when a team is going well is when players likes these play above expectation and Des has managed to get them firing.
ELGEY MAKING 7 HIS OWN
Kane Elgey has responded after getting dropped against the Raiders two weeks ago. The former Titan had a dominating game with two line breaks, two line break assists and two try assists. Elgey will be using his time at the half to try and cement his spot in the Manly 17.
BULLDOGS WILL KEEP COMING
The Bulldogs are a young team with a lot of guts. They missed a few key chances in the latter end of the game that will come with experience. Lachlan Lewis continues to prove himself and with the return of Kieran Foran potentially next week, his late game decisions will improve.
THE RESULT
Manly Sea Eagles 18
Tries: Reuben Garrick 6′, Reuben Garrick 14′
Goals: Reuben Garrick 7′, 15′, 33′, 68,’ 77′
Canterbury 10
Tries: Reimis Smith 19′, Reimis Smith 57′
Goals: Rhyse Martin 20′
SQUADS
Sea Eagles: 1 Brendan Elliot, 2 Abbas Miski, 3 Moses Suli, 4 Brad Parker, 5 Reuben Garrick, 6 Lachlan Croker, 7 Kane Elgey, 8 Addin Fonua-Blake, 9 Apisai Koroisau, 10 Martin Taupau, 11 Joel Thompson, 12 Curtis Sironen, 13 Jake Trbojevic (C), 14 Manase Fainu, 15 Jack Gosiewski, 16 Corey Waddell, 17 Toafofoa Sipley
Bulldogs:
1 Nick Meaney, 2. Jayden Okunbor, 3. Kerrod Holland, 4. Will Hopoate, 5. Reimis Smith, 6. Jack Cogger, 7. Lachlan Lewis, 8. Aiden Tolman, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 23. Dylan Napa, 11. Josh Jackson, 12. Corey Harawira-Naera, 13. Rhyse Martin, 10. Ofahiki Ogden, 14. Fa’amanu Brown, 15. Danny Fualalo , 16. Adam Elliott
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