Manly Warringah Sea Eagles slipped to their first defeat in five rounds following a 26-10 loss to the Newcastle Knights in round 19 of the Jersey Flegg Cup at 4 Pines Park today.
Manly conceded two tries in the first 20 minutes to see themselves down by eight at the break. Two second half tries for the home side weren’t enough to claw their way back as the Knights held on with three second half tries of their own.
The Sea Eagles were looking for their fourth win in a row and their 12th of the season, but ultimately fell to a worthy competitor in the Knights, who also defeated them 26-24 in the reverse fixture on June 9.
Manly slip to fifth place on the ladder with 24 points, with Newcastle leapfrogging them into fourth place with 25 points.
The Sea Eagles came into the match with a handful of players injured and playing NSW Cup, with Devante Mihinui, Max Hayley, Kylan Mafoa and Daniel O'Donnell named to play for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, with the latter set to make his NSW Cup debut.
The opening stages were very scrappy for both sides, with cheap penalties allowing for easy possession. Despite the opportunities, sloppy errors cost chances at both ends of the field as Manly looked to continue their steady form in the league.
Newcastle scored tries in the 17th and 20th minute through Sosaia Latu and Malachi Smith for an early 8-0 lead.
Manly pushed to add points to the scoreboard before the break after being awarded a penalty. Centre Alton Naiyep tried to burrow underneath the defence as the siren sounded, to no avail, with the visitors maintaining their 8-point lead at halftime.
Newcastle's maintained their grasp on the match with a try two minutes into the second half through centre Jarome Falemoe to take the score to 14-0.
Manly’s best chance of the half came through Naiyep once again, with the young centre creating something from nothing to force a drop-out in the 45th minute.
The Sea Eagles finally broke through Newcastle’s tiresome defence one minute later as Nepote Taufa crashed over to score. The winger fooled the defence with a silky step and pushed a handful of defenders to cut the deficit to 14-4.
Manly were left a man short following prop Carsen Patu’s sin-binning in the 48th minute and it ultimately proved costly. The Knights took advantage and scored moments later as forward Bailey Carmichael crashed over to push their lead out to 20-4.
The home side bounced back immediately as the clock ticked down. Manly prop Jesse Jackson forced his way over the line after a short ball from the ruck to score next to the posts to bring the score to 20-10.
Newcastle secured their victory with a try through five-eighth Taj Blackman with 20 seconds to play for a final scoreline of 26-10.
The Sea Eagles take on the Penrith Panthers in round 20 of the Jersey Flegg Cup at St Marys Leagues Stadium on Saturday July 20, at 11am.
Knights 26 (Latu, Smith, Falemoe, Carmichael, Blackman tries, Sutton 3/4 goals) d Sea Eagles 10 (Taufa, Jackson tries, Weatherall-Stacey 1/2 goals)
