Three hat-tricks were the talking point from Manly’s 58-10 win over the North Sydney Bears on Saturday in round five of the Harold Matthews Cup.
Centre Oliver Cummins, lock Oscar Palin and debutant winger Zion Paulo ripped the Bears apart with three tries each in a dominant performance at Mascot Oval that saw the Sea Eagles run in 10 tries to two.
Hooker Daniel O’Donnell also crossed for the Sea Eagles in the big win while half-back Teddy Wilson had a field day with the boot, kicking nine goals from 10 attempts. His only missed attempt hit the upright.
All of the point scorers in Cummins (Christian Bros), Palin (Cromer Kingfishers) and Paulo (Beacon Hill Bears), O’Donnell (Christian Bros) and Teddy Wilson (Beacon Hill Bears) are Manly juniors.
Furthermore, nine players who took to the field on Saturday for the Sea Eagles are from the Northern Beaches, with eight of them being in the starting 13.
Manly Coach John Michael was very impressed with the way his players started the game to lead 36-0 at half-time before going on with the job.
“We have been building towards a good performance like that and I am certainly glad that it has finally come,’’ Michael said.
“The signs were there in patches in our win over the Dragons the previous week. The boys worked really hard on the areas they needed to at training with a great attitude and they were rewarded for it against the Bears.
“It wasn’t a perfect game so we will be again addressing the issues we need to ensure we keep improving as a team.
“However, I was really pleased with their level of talk in what was a great team effort. Oscar Palin was very strong in the middle for us and it was good to see him get rewarded with his three tries.”
The Sea Eagles sit in third place on the ladder with three wins from four games.
Manly now play Western Suburbs Magpies at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Saturday, March 16, at 12pm.
