A gritty and determined Manly Leagues team recorded a vital 28-16 win over Moorebank Rams in round 16 of the Sydney Shield competition on Sunday.
Manly Leagues have now moved four points clear away from the bottom placed Rams with four rounds remaining.
It was Manly Leagues' fifth win in their debut season in the open age Sydney Shield competition under Coach Anthony Watmough.
In a dour contest at a dusty and hard Lionel Watts Park, Frenchs Forest, the Sea Eagles opened the scoring in the 29th minute after second-rower and captain Jake Watmough pounced on a perfectly weighted grubber kick from half-back Callum Dowell for a 6-0 lead.
Ten minutes later, the Sea Eagles took a 12-0 lead into half-time when prolific pointscoring winger Lachlan Burt finished off a nice blindside play to score in the corner.
The Rams got themselves back into the contest with two tries in 13 minutes to second-rower Abdallah El Ters and centre Daniel Mohammed to trail 12-10 after 56 minutes.
The Sea Eagles then steadied their ship when lock Lachlan Armstrong threw massive dummy to crash over near the posts in jubilation for a 16-10 lead three minutes later.
Manly Leagues extended their lead to 22-10 in the 67th minute when Dowell scored under the posts after a sharp play with full-back Munga Baruani.
The Rams hit back with a try to full-back Aston Pollard four minutes later to make it 22-16 to set up a nervous finish.
However, the Sea Eagles were not to be denied victory and secured the two points when Wiremu Tibbutt used his strength to charge through three defenders to score right on full-time for the 28-16 victory.
The Sea Eagles now tackle Cabramatta in a home game at Forestville Oval, Forestville, on Sunday, July 28, at 3pm.
Manly Leagues 28 (Jake Watmough, Lachlan Burt, Lachlan Armstrong, Callum Dowell, Wiremu Tibbutt tries; Lachlan Burt 4 goals) d Moorebank Rams 16 (Abdallah El Ters, Daniel Mohammed, Aston Pollard tries; Vincent Valentinetti 2 goals).
