Sea Eagles run riot in massive Flegg win
A dominant Manly Warringah Sea Eagles showed no mercy against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their massive 48-14 win at Blacktown today in the NSWRL Jersey Flegg Cup.
The Sea Eagles overcame an early 10 point deficit to take an 18-10 lead at half-time before piling on the points in the second half to make it four straight wins under new Coach Leon Latulipe.
Winger Teapo Stoltman and hooker Jamie Humphreys each grabbed a double to go along with tries to lock Caleb Navale, five-eighth Blake Metcalfe, prop Kylan Mafoa and second-rower Broden Konz.
Humphreys was impeccable with his kicking duties, nailing eight from eight attempts for personal haul of 24 points, continuing his fine form this season after a hat-trick last week against the Eels.
The Rabbitohs opened the scoring in the second minute with a try through centre Aaron Macey, with five-eighth Aaron Kurnoth placing a perfect grubber kick to the in-goal to send him over for a 4-0 lead.
The away side continued with the momentum and scored again in the 11th minute through fullback Dane Towns. Souths winger Deijion Leugaimafa found himself in open space after catching a crisp cut out ball and opted to kick in-field with a grubber kick, sitting up perfectly for Towns to score untouched. Centre Ethan Ferguson converted to make the score 10-0.
Manly found momentum and were on the scoresheet six minutes later with a well-worked try under the posts to Navale after a hard run and offload from forward Devante Mihinui. Humphreys converted for a 10-6 scoreline.
Some individual brilliance from Humphreys in the 22nd minute almost gave the Sea Eagles their second. He darted out of dummy half showcasing his speed before dancing around the defenders with some hard steps. The ball was offloaded to winger Cameron Brown who was unable to hold onto the ball, halting the momentum in front of Rabbitohs’ tryline.
Humphreys scored in the 25th minute thanks to a lovely play from halfback Harradyn Wilson and centre Charlie Thompson. The latter found himself in space with just the fullback to beat and passed infield to Humphreys who scored underneath the posts. He converted his own try to give Manly a 12-10 lead.
Five minutes later the Sea Eagles found themselves over again, this time through Blake Metcalfe. The five-eighth showcased his running game and footwork, beating multiple defenders and dragging them over the tryline to slam the ball down. Humphreys converted for a 18-10 lead for Manly going into half-time.
Manly extended their lead to 14 in the 42nd minute through Stoltman who pounced on an inch perfect grubber kick from Wilson. Humphreys converted from the sideline for a 24-10 lead.
The Rabbitohs hit back five minutes later with a stunning diving effort from Leugaimafa. The ball was shifted out quickly to the wingers left edge, giving him just enough space to push past the diving defenders to make it 24-14.
A barnstorming effort from Mafoa saw the prop score in the 51st minute through sheer brute strength in a 40 metre runaway try. Humphreys converted to bring the score to 30-14.
Konz then scored against the run of play four minutes later, flying out of marker to charge down a kick before scooping it up to outrun the fullback. Humphreys continued to showcase his kicking abilities with another successful conversion from the sideline for a 22-point lead.
Stoltman scored his second in the 60th minute after Humphreys fired a stunning double cut-out pass, leaving the winger unmarked on the sideline. Humphreys converted to take the score to 42-14.
On the stroke of full-time, Manly hammed the final nail in the coffin as Humphreys grabbed his second try. Wilson made his way through the tired defence with a strong run, dragging the fullback in before passing to Humphreys who strolled over under the posts. He converted for the final scoreline of 48-14.
Manly are next in action against the Melbourne Storm in Round 20 of the Jersey Flegg Cup at 4 Pines Park, on Saturday, July 15, at 3pm.
