A hard fought two competition points is what the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are taking back home to Brookvale tonight.
The Sea Eagles had to dig deep in the second half to hold off a strong fightback from the Wests Tigers to take a 22-16 victory at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in ANZAC Round.
The win moves Manly into second place. Manly will now wait on results of scans following injuries to full-back Tom Trbojevic (groin) and centre Brad Parker (knee).
Three former Tigers players lined up for the Sea Eagles in Aaron Woods, Taniela Paseka and Josh Aloiai. The match also marked the return from injury for Josh Schuster and Reuben Garrick and the NRL debut of exciting young forward Samuela Fainu.
The Tigers came out the gates flying with second-rower Isaiah Papali’i denied a try in the fourth minute for a double movement.
Manly flew down the left edge and grabbed the first points in the seventh minute with a stunning team display as Daly Cherry-Evans scored his fifth try of the season.
The play started at their own 40-metre line in the hands of Haumole Olakau’atu who took two defenders in a tackle before offloading to Morgan Harper who threw a cut-out to Jason Saab. Saab found support in Tom Trbojevic who sent Cherry-Evans on the way to the line. Garrick converted for an early 6-0 lead.
As the rain picked up, the errors did too. Manly hooker Lachlan Croker forced a sloppy mistake 35 metres out from his own line. Thankfully it didn’t lead to a try as Tigers second-rower John Bateman wasn’t able to get on the end of a Luke Brooks grubber kick in the in-goal, knocking the ball dead while trying to ground it instead.
Olakau’atu then ran a perfect line off a Cherry-Evans short ball at the line to slip through the defence to score his fifth try of the season in the 20th minute. Garrick converted to take the lead to 12-0.
Aaron Woods, who played 146 games for the Wests Tigers between 2011 and 2017, made his way onto the field at the half hour mark for Jake Trbojevic.
The rain was proving to be a tricky factor as Tom Trbojevic wasn’t able to hold onto a kick, leading to a try for the Tigers in the 34th minute through Charlie Staines. The winger dived over in the right corner after a quick pass from his centre Starford To’a. Five-eighth Brandon Wakeham converted from the sideline for a 12-6 scoreline which remained that way to half-time.
Samuela Fainu made his NRL debut as the second half commenced, coming on for centre Brad Parker. Manly were on the attack early after a big line break from Jason Saab on the right edge, coming off the back of a late offload by Harper and another perfectly executed pass from Cherry-Evans to send him through a gap in the defence.
Garrick converted a penalty goal for the Sea Eagles after a ruck infringement penalty on the left edge, taking the lead out to eight points at 14-6 in the 45th minute.
Tigers' hooker Apisai Koroisau scored in the 55th minute after breaking out of the scrum and slipping through the defence, slamming the ball down next to the posts. Wakeham converted from in front to bring the match within two points at 14-12.
To’a scored for the home side on the right edge eight minutes after their last, giving them a 16-14 lead, their first of the match.
Saab then scored for the Sea Eagles in the 71st minute with a sensational effort, leaping up ahead of his opposing winger to grab Cherry-Evans' perfectly placed bomb kick, spin out of a tackle and score.
Garrick converted from the sideline to re-gain the lead for his side, 20-16. Minutes before, Tom Trbojevic was unfortunately forced from the field with an injury.
Off the back of a hard run from Fainu inside the Tigers’ 10 metre line, the Sea Eagles were awarded a penalty for infringement in the ruck. Garrick converted the penalty goal to take the lead back to a converted try at 22-16 with two and a half minutes to play.
The Sea Eagles were tackled on the last play of the set with just over a minute to go, meaning the Tigers had one final chance to level the scores. The ball was shifted to the left and ended up in the hands of Tommy Talau who forced an error while trying to offload, bringing an end to the match as the siren sounded.
The Sea Eagles head back home to 4 Pines Park to take on the Gold Coast Titans in Round 9 of the NRL Telstra Premiership on Saturday April 29 at 5.30pm.
