There were some impressive all round performances from the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players in the 31-6 win over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Saturday.
It was Manly’s first season opening victory since 2013 and their eighth win from the past nine matches against the Bulldogs.
We take a look at some of the best performances from the opening round NRL win at 4 Pines Park.
The Skipper leads the way!
Inspirational captain Daly Cherry-Evans kicked off the season with a stunning performance that saw him score his first hat-trick in his superb 284 game career.
After being deliberately rested from the Pre-Season Challenge, 'DCE' turned in a dominant display in his first game for 2023 in a true captain’s knock that saw new Coach Anthony Seibold praise his leadership.
“First career hat-trick for Daly, not bad at 34. A really good performance by our leaders. The leaders have done a really good job through the pre-season,’’ Seibold said.
Cherry-Evans’ hat-tricks sees him on top of the NRL leading try scoring board for 2023, one ahead of five other players. He is just two tries away from matching his 2022 try-scoring efforts.
The 'Turbo' warms up
There were more eyes on full-back Tom Trbojevic than any other person in his first NRL game since May last year.
The 2021 Dally M winner made a very successful return following his recent trip to America to work with reconditioning specialist Bill Knowles.
‘Turbo’ made 174 metres from 16 runs, had two line breaks, a try assist, and scored the team's opening try off a grubber from Cherry-Evans.
Trbojevic has scored eight tries in his past four games against the Bulldogs.
802 and Counting
With his 14-point haul, winger Reuben Garrick went past 800 NRL career points for Manly.
Garrick’s tally of 802 moves him into seventh place on the most points list for Manly. Graham Eadie heads the list on 1917 points.
Furthermore, Garrick also has an impressive winning record against the Bulldogs with six wins from six games. He has scored 90 points (seven tries and 31 goals) against Canterbury. His best haul was 30 points in the 66-0 win in 2021.
Top Defence
There were some great defensive efforts in the sweltering conditions.
2022 Club Player of the year in hooker Lachlan Croker picked up from where he left off last season, topping the Sea Eagles tackling count with 35 ahead of prop Jake Trbojevic (33). Both finished in the top two last year for most tackles for Manly.
Centre Brad Parker also put in some great hits from his 23 tackles.
Half century for Haumole
Damaging second-rower Haumole Olakau'atu turned in another strong performance in his 50th career game for the Sea Eagles.
Olakau'atu made several of his barnstorming runs and came within an inch of scoring a try.
He also did a superb job in shutting down dangerous edge runner Viliame Kikau in his club debut for the Bulldogs.
United we stand
New Coach Anthony Seibold and his coaching staff also deserve a round of applause for their tremendous work on and off the field over summer.
Throughout the pre-season, the players have spoken about the real sense of belonging and togetherness 'Seibs' and his staff have created amongst the boys.
There's a long way to go but the energy and positivity flowing throughout the club and the Northern Beaches community is very clear to see.
Big thank you to our fans!
A special mention to all of the great Manly supporters who braved the humid conditions to get behind the team.
You were loud and passionate as ever and it certainly made a difference. The energy around a sold out 4 Pines Park was electric as the Sea Eagles ran away with a great win in the second half in front of a crowd of 17, 278.
Bring on our round three home game against the Parramatta Eels on Thursday, March 16, at 8pm. Get your tickets here now as another huge crowd is expected.
