Manly Warringah Sea Eagles fought hard to the very end in going down 32-22 to premiers Penrith Panthers today in round 14 of the NRL Telstra Premiership at Penrith Stadium.
The Sea Eagles went toe-to-toe with the three-time defending champions in what turned out to be a try-scoring affair, with 11 tries scored between them. Conversions turned out to be the deciding factor, with Manly centre Reuben Garrick having a tough night with one from five attempts.
All three of Manly’s State of Origin representative players backed up to play following Wednesday’s game, with one unfortunately failing to finish the match. Second-rower Haumole Olakau’atu was forced from the field in the first half and didn’t return with a calf concern.
Although disappointed not to get the result, Manly Coach Anthony Seibold was pleased with the effort from his team.
"We threw enough punches at them. We scored (five tries) against the best defence of the last three, four years. It’s the other side of the footy where we weren’t good enough,'' Seibold said.
“I’m just a bit frustrated, if we could’ve tidied our yardage defence and our last tackle defence, we could’ve been a real good chance against a real good team. But ultimately, they made us pay for our lack of detail.”
A quick shift to the edge saw Penrith winger Brian To’o open the scoring in the 11th minute for a 4-0 lead.
After soaking up several defensive sets in front of their line, the Sea Eagles hit back and scored in the 18th minute through the first of four tries to winger Tommy Talau.
Manly took the momentum and surged downfield to score again four minutes later, with Talau crossing for his second after good work by second-rower Ben Trbojevic for an 8-4 lead.
In sensational fashion, Talau dived over in the corner in the 26th minute to cap off an eight minute hat-trick off a deflected kick from five-eighth Luke Brooks for a 12-4 scoreline.
To’o crashed over for the Panthers in the 32nd and scored his third try four minutes later to join Talau in scoring a hat-trick, giving his side a 16-12 lead heading into the break.
Penrith controlled the opening 10 minutes of the second half and extended their lead through a penalty goal to centre Paul Alamoti in the 45th minute before winger Sunia Turuva scored six minutes later to push their lead out to 22-12.
Panthers prop Liam Henry crashed over next to the posts in the 59th minute for a 28-12 scoreline.
Talau replicated his efforts from the first half to score his fourth try three minutes after Penrith’s last. A quick shift to the edge gifted Talau enough space to dive in and ground the ball in the corner, cutting the deficit to 28-16.
Turuva scored his second try for Penrith in the 67th minute to extend the lead to 32-16.
Manly hit back through Jason Saab with just over ten minutes to play in the match. The winger took a tough pass and tip-toed along the sideline before slamming the ball down for a 32-22 scoreline.
Seibold praised Talau on his four tries with the winger taking his season tally to 11 tries from 11 games.
Talau became the first player since Reuben Garrick in 2021 to score four tries in a match, joining 19 other Manly players in this feat. Les Hanigan holds the club record for most tries in a match for Manly with five against the Sharks in 1967.
“He’s (Tommy) probably our most improved player. He’s done a really good job since coming over to us in the pre-season,'' Seibold added.
The Sea Eagles take on the St George-Illawarra Dragons in round 15 of the NRL Telstra Premiership at 4 Pines Park, on Sunday June 16, at 2pm.
Panthers 32 (Tries: To’o 11’, 32’, 36’, Turuva 51’, Henry 59’. Conversions: Alamoti 4/6) d Sea Eagles 22 (Tries: Talau 18’, 22’, 26’, 62’, Saab 70’. Conversions: Garrick 01/5)
