It’s time to take a serious, and light hearted, look back on the Wests Tigers game in our weekly ‘The Things We Learnt’ column.
Oh, the pain and anger
Let’s not sugar coat this. It was bad, very bad. You can call that loss to the Wests Tigers anything you want. Manly fans, we know you are hurting. Frustrated, angry, and very disappointed! To be trailing 26-0 at half-time at ‘The Fortress’ was unacceptable, as were some of those errors. But no-one is hurting more than the players, Coach Trent Barrett, and his coaching staff. They work hard every day to get things right, so don’t think for a moment they don’t feel the pain. So, yes, be disappointed. But know this, there is a lot of pride in this team of ours. They will bounce back, and hard, too. Keep the faith!
Roaring Tigers
As for the Tigers, well, what a first 20 minutes. For a side that had scored very little points in attack in the opening five weeks, and were credited for their great defence, what an attacking performance it was, from Luke Brooks and the evergreen Benji Marshall. Quite simply, they did to Manly what the Sea Eagles did to the Eels and the Raiders in the first half…just blew us off the park. We will put this loss in the memory bank for our return bout at Campbelltown Stadium in round 24...Hang on, the Sea Eagles in Campbelltown? With the way that M5 road congestion is, we better leave now!
Taniela Rises
How good was it to see 20-year-old Taniela Paseka make his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles? He was very solid when he came on in difficult circumstances against his former club. Given time to mature and with natural development, the Sea Eagles certainly have a very good young prop moving forward. Besides, at 200cm, and 120kg, I’m certainly glad he is on our side!
Thanks to the fans
How good did the grand old girl, Lottoland, look on Sunday? We all know it is crying out for a major overhaul, and there is a big new screen coming soon (don’t ask when!), but there is just something special about our great home ground, especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon. To see a packed hill and over 15,000 people crammed in, was just beautiful….Ah, ‘the serenity’. Well, it was good until half-time! And a very big thank you to those wonderful fans who came back after the game to meet the boys at Manly Leagues Club. Your support was truly appreciated.
You can dance!
You’ve just got to love a Cheer Experience. And at half-time with the scoreline the way it was, Sea Eagles fans needed something to take their mind off the first 40 minutes. Enter, 400 kids, who joined the Seabirds (the best in the business) to dance their little hearts out in front of many proud family members. It was a great sight, so well done to all, and a big thank to our great major partner, URM, for their wonderful support of the event. Here’s to an even bigger dance spectacular in 2019!
Baby Sea Eagles Fly High
Well done to our Harold Matthews team on their nail-biting win over Parramatta Eels in the qualifying final at Lottoland yesterday. It was heart in the mouth stuff all the way and thank goodness that kicked from the sideline after the siren from the Eels feel short. Our SG Ball team fought to the death in their elimination final loss to Canberra in what has been a tough season with injuries for this talented team. Good luck to Coach Trevor Ott, Captain Samuel Pinomi, and the boys for the preliminary final in two weeks. Go Manly!
Hello, old friend!
‘Here We Go Again, Manly and Parra’…just five weeks after our 54-0 victory over the Eels at Lottoland, we head to ANZ Stadium on Sunday. There is no doubt the Eels will use that loss as heavy motivation as they search for their first win of the season. Then again, the hurt and frustration of the past two weeks against the Titans and the Tigers may well just be the spark Manly needs to get back on track. Beware the wounded Sea Eagle! See you there.
