A two try haul to Ben Trbojevic was one of the highlights in a special day at 4 Pines Park for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
The Sea Eagles recorded a 36-22 win over the Wests Tigers in round nine of the Telstra Premiership on a day that saw three grades of rugby league played.
The NRL match was played in front of a sold out crowd of 17,385 - the first time a Sea Eagles home match had been sold out since the infamous Battle of Brookvale between Manly and the Melbourne Storm in 2011.
The Sea Eagles lost second-rower Haumole Olakau'atu through illness on the day of the game, forcing centre Ben Trbojevic to move into the second-row with Morgan Harper coming into the centres.
It was always going to be a special day for the Trbojevic family with Tom, Jake and Ben playing and starting together for the first time in the NRL at 4 Pines Park.
The Sea Eagles got off to a cheeky start to the game when half-back and captain Daly Cherry-Evans put a short kick through from the kick-off for hooker Lachlan Croker to gather.
Croker made an immediate impact too, running 55 metres downfield after scooping the ball from dummy half. The home side continued to dominate the opening stages of the game as points were beckoning.
The Sea Eagles eventually scored the first points in the 26th minute through Ben Trbojevic after he spun away from a defender to ground the ball for his first NRL try for a 4-0 lead.
Tigers forward Stefano Utoikamanu was sent to the sin-bin a minute after taking the field as Manly scored their second through Garrick in the 33rd minute. Tom Trbojevic ran hard at the line and threw a cut-out pass to the winger, who stopped and spun away from the defender before grounding the ball in the corner, for an 8-0 lead.
The Sea Eagles scored in the final minute before half-time when winger Christian Tuipulotu dived over, Garrick converted for a 14-0 lead at half-time.
Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans then showed some pace after centre Tolu Koula showed some flashy footwork before offloading to Cherry-Evans. The halfback pinned his ears back to beat the Tigers fullback for an 18-0 lead.
The Tigers hit back three minutes later through centre Luke Garner after an 80 metre run down the right sideline. Halfback Jackson Hastings converted to take the score to 18-6. They appeared to have their second two minutes later if not for a no try call from the Bunker, overturning the decision due to a knock-on in the grounding.
The Tigers were not to be denied a second time when utility Tyrone Peachey crossed in the 53rd minute. Hastings converted for an 18-12 scoreline.
From the kick-off, Manly forced an error thanks to a strong tackle from lock Jake Trbojevic. In the set that followed, prop Josh Aloiai crashed over for a try underneath the posts with a barnstorming run, carrying four defenders in the process. Garrick converted to take the score to 24-12 in the 56th minute.
Ben Trbojevic scored his second try in the 60th minute after spinning out of a tackle to ground the ball on the line. Garrick successfully converted from the sideline for a 30-12 scoreline.
Some fancy stepping from centre Oliver Gildart saw him score next to the posts. Hastings missed the conversion for a 30-16 scoreline.
The Sea Eagles secured victory when five-eighth Kieran Foran sent a lovely floating pass to Garrick to score. He converted his own try for a 36-16 lead.
The Tigers then scored a try through lock Joe Ofahengaue in the 77th minute for the 36-16 victory.
The Sea Eagles play the Brisbane Broncos in the second match of Magic Round, on Friday May 13, at 8.05pm at Suncorp Stadium.
