A courageous Manly Warringah Sea Eagles fought hard until the very end in going down swinging to competition leaders Penrith Panthers 24-12 at 4 Pines Park on Thursday night.
The Sea Eagles mixed up their game plan by trying some unusual trick shots to throw the reigning premiers off their game.
It worked fairly well too for Coach Anthony Seibold's men, who can take plenty of encouragement and confidence from their performance against the premiership heavyweights.
Seibold spoke post match about his side's creative threats, their willingness to throw the ball around and go for early kicks, and most of all, their strength and pressure in defence to fall just short.
The Sea Eagles now need to win all three of their remaining matches to make the finals and rely on results to go their way.
Both sides were locked at 12-all at half-time in an entertaining first half before the Sea Eagles suffered a big blow losing Ben Trbojevic and Brad Parker just minutes into the second half through HIA. Both failed to return.
The Sea Eagles set the tone early with some exciting football in the opening minutes. Five-eighth Josh Schuster intercepted a pass on his 10 metre line to race 40 metres before choosing to kick the ball downfield for centre Brad Parker only for Penrith speedster Brian To’o to gain possession.
The Panthers replied four minutes later with an intercept of their own through Stephen Crighton after latching on to a pass from Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans to race 70 metres to score. Halfback Nathan Cleary converted for an early 6-0 lead.
Manly prop Toafofoa Sipley scored his first try of the season in the 18th minute with a barnstorming run, crashing into the defence on the tryline and wrestling away from three opposing players to ground the ball. Fullback Reuben Garrick converted for a 6-all scoreline.
The Sea Eagles had two tries in the space of seven minutes thanks to a desperate effort from Garrick to score. Cherry-Evans called for the ball down the short side on the last tackle and ran at the line, popping the ball out to Garrick. He found a gap in the defence and fell just short before reaching out far enough to ground the ball on the line. He converted his own try from the sideline for a 12-6 lead.
Both sides continued to play end-to-end football with points looking to come at any moment. Manly were forced to defend on their own tryline for a number of sets but replied in sensational fashion with a line break from winger Jason Saab sending the home side into the opposition’s territory. An early crossfield kick from Schuster saw a slight chance for the Sea Eagles to score but unfortunately the Panthers had it covered, winning the ball back moments later.
Penrith hit back on the stroke of half-time as Crichton grabbed his second try in the 37th minute. The centre timed his run and ran over untouched after a well-timed pass from second-rower Scott Sorensen. Cleary converted from the sideline to level the scores at 12-all.
A short kick-off from Cherry-Evans handed the Panthers a chance at field goal with 20 seconds remaining. Cleary came up short with his attempt to leave the scores level heading into the sheds for the break.
The Panthers took an 18-12 lead in the 45th minute with a try for winger Sunia Turuva underneath the posts before Cleary added a penalty goal for an eight point lead.
Manly’s best efforts in defence couldn’t hold out for much longer as the Panthers continued to prove why they are the premiership favourites after winger Brian To’o dragged a defender to score in the 63rd minute for a 24-12 scoreline.
Manly defended until the very end, preventing the Panthers from scoring any further points as the siren sounded.
The Sea Eagles now play the Warriors on Friday August 18 at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland.
