Manly Leagues suffered a 40-22 loss to St Marys in round 15 of the Sydney Shield in a home game at Belrose today.
Trailing 28-6, the Sea Eagles fought back to score scoring three quick fire tries to get their side back to a converted try. However this would not be enough, with a penalty goal sparking St Marys back into previous form to finish strong.
Early on, St Marys had a landslide of possession in Manly’s red zone. Manly's grit and resilience shun through defending consecutive sets, even holding up multiple St Marys players over the try line.
The visitors eventually struck first in the 10th minute through five-eight Joseph Nohra who took on the short side for a 4-nil lead.
Fifteen minutes later and St Marys were in again, this time through back rower Henry Tuiafiso who scooped up a charge down and finished a lovely team try next to the posts. Five-eight Nohra converted to extend their lead to 10.
Manly finally hit back in the 36th minute through winger Lachlan Burt who soared up above the pack to catch a pinpoint chip kick from halfback Callum Dowell. Lachlan converted his own try for a 10-6 scoreline.
St Marys winger Samuel Curtain would extend their lead back out to a handy 10 points through a converted try on the stroke of halftime thanks to the winger pouncing on a well placed kick.
A poor handling error from Manly gifted St Marys' golden field position, which would allow them to score their fourth try in the 49th minute through lock forward Riley Stokes under the posts for a comfortable 22-6 lead.
Four minutes later and forward Leroy Magalogo would run a perfect line off his half to extend the visitors lead to 28-6 through a converted try.
The home side would grind a try back through forward Fakavale Tonga who used his brut strength to fight off three defenders to get over the line.
Centre Justin Burt scored out wide off an overlap for a 28-18 scoreline.
The left edge would continue to fire for Manly, scoring their second try in consecutive minutes through Lachlan Burt who would cross over for a unconverted try to get his side back to a six point margin.
A penalty goal from the boot of St Marys Joseph Nora in the 74th minute halted Manly's momentum to push the score out to 30-22.
St Marys then kicked the life out of Manly through winger Samuel Curtain who finished off a 40m run from centre Kaleb Farr for a 36-18 lead.
They then put the final nail in the coffin thanks to centre Kaleb Farr, who slammed the ball down untouched in the corner on the siren for a final score of 40-22.
The Sea Eagles take on the Rams in round 16 on Sunday July 21, at 1:30pm at Lionel Watts Reserve, Frenchs Forest.
St Marys 40 (Joseph Nohra 10’, Henry Tuiafiso 24’, Samuel Curtain 39’, Riley Stokes 49’, Leroy Magalogo 53’, Samuel Curtain 75’, Kaleb Farr 79’) def Manly Leagues 18 (Lachlan Burt 35, Fakavale Tonga 59’, Justin Burt 68’, Lachlan Burt 70’).
