Manly Warringah suffered a 26-16 loss to the Sydney Roosters in a tough night for the Sea Eagles at the Sydney Cricket Ground in round 23 of the Telstra Premiership.
The Roosters ran in three tries in the first half to lead 18-2 at the break with the Sea Eagles cause not helped by the loss of prop Matthew Lodge with a knee injury in the seventh minute.
The loss leaves the Sea Eagles in 10th place on 25 points, one point behind the eighth-placed Cowboys subject to further results, with four rounds remaining.
The match marked the 100th game for Manly for hooker Lachlan Croker, less than five days after he brought up 100 NRL games in Wollongong.
Manly second-rower Haumole Olakau'atu produced a try saving tackle in the sixth minute to stop winger Daniel Tupou from scoring.
The Roosters opened the scoring when Tupou leapt above opposing winger Jason Saab to reach out to score from a Luke Keary kick in the 19th minute. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii converted from sideline for a 6-2 lead.
The home side were in again when centre Joseph Manu took off from dummy half to charge over in the corner. Aukuso Suaalii converted from the sideline for a 12-2 lead after 25 minutes.
A minute later, Croker lost the ball in trying to ground it next to the posts after a strong run from dummy half.
Aukuso Suaalii gave the Roosters an 18-2 lead at half-time after converting Tupou's second try from the sideline in the 39th minute.
The Roosters took a 22-2 lead after centre Billy Smith fended off Tolu Koula to score in the corner in the 54th minute.
Match Highlights: Roosters v Sea Eagles
Five minutes later, the Sea Eagles lost prop Toff Sipley to the sin bin before the Roosters had forward Nathan Brown sent off for high shot on Ben Trbojevic in the 63rd minute.
Manly got their first try a minute later when five-eighth Josh Schuster chipped over the top to regather to score behind the posts. Garrick converted for a 22-8 scoreline.
Suaalii then scored in the corner to stretch the lead to 26-8 after 68 minutes- before Manly centre Brad Parker scored off a Schuster kick to leave the Sea Eagles trailing 26-12.
The Sea Eagles then grabbed a try in the 79th minute to centre Tolu Koula off a Olakau'átu pass for the 26-16 scoreline.
In winning, the Roosters also retained the second annual Gotcha4Life Cup that saw Sea Eagles' Premier Partner, Shaw and Partners Financial Services, again donate $100,000 to Gotcha4Life, as well as giving up their sternum branding for Gotcha4Life for this game.
The Gotcha4Life Cup highlights the important message of building mental fitness, and help to give people the tools to openly talk about their feelings and experiences.
Manly return home to 4 Pines Park to play competition leaders and defending premiers Penrith on Thursday, August 10, at 7.50pm.
