Sea Eagles fall to Panthers in Jersey Flegg
A spirited second half fightback wasn't enough for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in Penrith today in round six of the Jersey Flegg Cup.
Fresh from their first win of the season over the Knights last weekend, the Sea Eagles went down 30-16 to the Penrith Panthers at their home ground on Saturday afternoon after a 20-point deficit at half-time.
Tries from Jamie Humphreys, Harryadyn Wilson and James Uesele in the space of 12 minutes in the second half weren’t enough to grab the lead as the Sea Eagles unfortunately left their attack too late into the match to make a difference.
The Panthers opened their account in the fourth minute through winger Luke Philp after a simple shift in play from the scrum 20 metres out for a 4-0 scoreline.
Penrith were on the verge of their second try eight minutes later, only to be stopped by some desperate defence at the line from Uesele and fullback Blake Metcalfe, wrapping the ball up and preventing it from being grounded.
Centre Daeon Amituanai dived over for the Panthers in the 15th minute after scooping the ball up from the floor following a contest between both teams' wingers. Philp converted from the sideline for a 10-0 lead.
In a matter of minutes, the home side were in again on the right edge through centre Samuel Lane, ducking through the defence after a quick passing play from his halves to score the try and take the lead to 14 points.
With their first chance of the match, the Sea Eagles went close to getting points on the board in the 24th minute through Uesele. The prop ran off a short ball out of the ruck and was met with a wall of defenders, spinning out of the tackle and trying to ground the ball on the line to no avail, losing the ball in the process.
With their next set, Penrith surged downfield and won a fresh set of six after a Manly error, leading to a try for hooker Connor Mason in the 28th minute. Mason picked the ball up and poked it through the line with a sharp grubber kick, finding the right post and scooping the rebound up before diving under the posts untouched. Philp converted from in front for a 20-0 lead heading into the break.
A Manly error gifted the Panthers their fifth try through winger Cody Lawson, pushing the scoreline out to 24-0 in the 45th minute. The try overshadowed the Sea Eagles’ defensive efforts minutes earlier, holding out Penrith on multiple occasions at their own tryline with some last gasp trysavers.
Five minutes later, Humphreys scored his side's first try off the back of a strong run in between two defenders, reaching out to ground the ball. He converted his own try to bring the score to 24-6. A set earlier, Humphreys poked a grubber kick through the line and chased hard to force a drop-out, keeping the momentum in favour of the Sea Eagles.
Manly had their second in the space of five minutes with a try from Wilson, diving over in the right corner with a well-worked try. Lock Caleb Navale held the ball up with a strong run, freeing up enough space for his halfback to go through untouched, bringing the score to 24-10.
The Sea Eagles attacked the tryline and had three repeat sets off the back of penalties. They finally cracked their opposition’s defence and scored through Uesele with seven minutes remaning. Wilson ran hard at the line underneath the ruck and threw a hard, flat ball to the prop who spun out of the tackle to ground the ball on the line. Humphreys converted from next to the posts for a 24-16 scoreline.
Manly were building momentum and made a break down the right wing through Iverson Mapu-Satiu. The centre had just the fullback in front of him and attempted to pass infield to one of his teammates, only to be denied by a Panthers player who swatted the ball away before diving on it, killing the chance.
Penrith closed the game out with two minutes with a try from forward Peter Taateo underneath the posts. Halfback Ryley Smith converted from in front for a final scoreline of 30-16.
Manly take on the Canberra Raiders in Round 7 of the Jersey Flegg Cup on Saturday April 15, at 2pm at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan.
