Manly Sea Eagles finish strong on top of the Canterbury Bulldogs at McGrath Foundation Stadium to win 18-6 on Saturday night.
MATCH DETAILS
A slow grinding match to begin saw the Bulldogs gain momentum through penalties from Manly. Dogs on the Sea Eagles line for multiple sets crafted a dummy half play through Michael Lichaa assisting Reimis Smith to have him crash over in the 21st minute. Scores at 6-2 to Canterbury, made Trent Hodkinson concede a professional foul and be sin-binned with 7 minutes to remain in the first half. Resilient with a man down the home side Manly held out for the duration and came out in the second half to get the ball to fullback Tom Trbojevic, having him score twice in 10 minutes. Cherry-Evans controlled the possession for the rest of the match with another try assist for the last try to prop Addin Fonua-Blake to win 18-6.
FOUR POINTERS
EAGLES SECOND HALF SMASH
Having lost multiple games at home previous the Sea Eagles were out to find a needed win. Struggling hard with penalties and lacking enthusiasm Manly held on with a man down 6-2 at the end of the first half. The home side in the second half with new-found intent was more aggressive and controlling with two quick tries to Trbojevic sparking a smashing performance by the Sea Eagles to come away with a win 18-6.
DOGS HALVES STRUGGLE
The Bulldogs had a change to their halves pairing just before the match, Matt Frawley came in for Lachlan Lewis to play five-eighth alongside Jeremy Marshall-King. A late shift in the halves was an integral part of how the Canterbury side struggled throughout, between the halves pairings it was the lack of experience compared to their opposition. Off the back of a foundation built by their forwards dominating early their decision making at end of sets struggled.
CHERRY-EVANS INSPIRES
After a thrilling performance against the Cronulla Sharks the previous week, Daly Cherry-Evans produced another masterclass for Manly to win back to back. The skipper was clinical late in the fixture with the boot, finding the touchline and in goal area for 2 forced drop outs all while getting fullback Trbojevic into the game with early service. Cherry-Evans had 365 kick metres with two line break and try assists to steer his side to a crucial win for his club.
FORWARDS DOMINATE
Majority of this Women in league fixture was each side forwards laying into one another for huge contributions. Bulldogs front rowers in David Klemmer and Aiden Tolman ran for a combined 374 metres with 37 hit ups which had Dogs dominate early. Manly’s stand out forward was Fonua-Blake who crossed for the last try of the match while having 8 tackle busts along with a line break, in a stellar performance aiding heavily in his side’s victory.
THE RESULT
Sea Eagles 18
Tries: T.Trbojevic (2), Fonua-Blake
Goals: Cherry-Evans 3/3, Hodkinson 0/2
Bulldogs 6
Tries: Smith
Goals: Martin 1/1
SQUADS
Sea Eagles: 1 Tom Trbojevic, 2 Jorge Taufua, 3 Moses Suli, 4 Brian Kelly, 5 Bradley Parker, 6 Dylan Walker, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8 Addin Fonua-Blake, 9 Manase Fainu, 10 Martin Taupau, 11 Joel Thompson, 12 Shaun Lane, 13 Jake Trbojevic
Interchange: 14 Trent Hodkinson, 15 Kelepi Tanginoa, 18 Frank Winterstein, 17 Taniela Paseka
Bulldogs: 1 Will Hopoate, 2 Brett Morris, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Kerrod Holland, 5 Reimis Smith, 20 Matt Frawley, 7 Jeremy Marshall-King, 8 Aiden Tolman, 9 Michael Lichaa, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Josh Jackson (c), 12 Rhyse Martin, 13 Adam Elliott
Interchange: 14 Fa’amanu Brown, 15 Danny Fualalo, 16 Ofahiki Ogden, 19 Greg Eastwood