Sea Eagles make it three wins straight in Flegg
A hat-trick of tries from hooker Jamie Humphreys has led Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to their third straight win in the Jersey Flegg Cup today with a 38-24 victory over the Parramatta Eels.
The former half-back turned hooker also kicked five goals for a personal haul of 22 points.
Manly has been more than impressive in the past three weeks under new Coach Leon Latulipe with their big win over the Eels following on from victories over the Wests Tigers (36-16) and Canberra Raiders (34-32).
The Eels opened the scoring when Parramatta captain Nicholas Lenaz sliced through Manly's defence off a crisp pass to score underneath the posts. Halfback Joshua Lynn converted for a 6-0 lead after seven minutes.
Manly's defence stood firm and their constant pressure forced an error from the Eels eight minutes later when hooker Jamie Humphreys burrowed his way over from dummy half. He converted his own try for a 6-all scoreline.
Minutes later, some individual brilliance from winger Matthew Komolafe saw Parramatta score in the corner for a 10-6 lead.
After sliding on his side to take a spectacular catch, Komolafe found his feet and managed to fend off multiple defenders in a 70 metre run to the line.
Humphreys crossed for his second try in the 23rd minute after Manly chancerd their arm on the last tackle for the hooker to force his way over the line. He converted his own try again for a 12-10 lead.
Manly continued to apply the pressure, forcing another error from the home side, this time 10 metres out from their own line. Off the scrum Manlys right edge put the ball through multiple sets of hands to find a sweeping Lehi Hopate at Fullback who created enough space for winger Charlie Thompson to score in the corner to make the score 16-10 after 27 minutes.
With two minutes left in the half, Sea Eagles second rower Connor Cromarty was denied underneath the posts due to a second effort. The penalty allowed the Eels to march up the field for Komolafe to score his second to leave Parramatta trailing 16-14 at half-time.
In the opening five minutes of the second half, Manly withstood three consecutive sets on their own try line. Parramatta threw a lot at Manly's defenc but the visitors stood firm.
Off the back of some gritty defence, Manly was rewarded with some possession through yet another forced error. Manly would capitalise through Humphreys who tunneled his way underneath three Parramatta defenders to slam the ball down for his third. He converted his own try for a 22-14 scoreline after 47 minutes.
With 15 minutes remaining, the Sea Eagles extended their lead out to 14 after an inch-perfect grubber landed softly in the arms of utility Daniel O'Donnell to score in the corner.
A crafty offload from full-back Lehi Hopate in the 59th minute led to Sea Eagles centre Viliami Kuli racing away to dive over in the corner to push Manly'' lead out to 18.
Parramatta refused to fall over, getting the ball back off a short kick off. A shifty grubber from the Eels allowed for winger Richard Penisini to pounce and score. A successful conversion from halfback Joshua Lynn made it 32-20 scoreline with eight minutes remaining.
Eels half-back Joshua Lynn then laid on a kick for Penisini to score his second try in three minutes before Manly captain Caleb Navale secured victory with a try off a barnstorming run. Humphreys converted for the 38-24 win.
Manly host the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 17 of the Jersey Flegg Cup at HE Laybutt Field, Blacktown, on Sunday, June 25, at 1pm.
