A heartbreaking 23-22 loss to the Wests Tigers today has left the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in a precarious position heading into the final round next weekend of the Jersey Flegg Cup.
With the top five teams contesting the finals, Manly have slipped to sixth position on 30 points, one point behind the fifth-placed Cronulla.
The Sea Eagles will now need to beat the second placed Bulldogs at Belmore Sports Ground next Saturday and hope the 11th placed Warriors can spring an upset over the Sharks.
Errors and failing to secure various kick-offs proved costly in the clash at Lidcombe Oval after a lacklustre first half saw Manly trail 10-6 at the break.
With the two competition points slipping out of their grasps, the Sea Eagles switched on in the second half. Two tries in a two-minute period propelled the side into the lead with 20 minutes to play.
Both sides scored in the final ten minutes to set up a grandstand finish. Manly snuck over in the 67th minute to level the score but that wasn’t the last of the action. The Tigers landed the final dagger in the 69th minute with a field goal to win the match.
Manly hooker Daniel O’Donnell had the first major chance in the opening stages as he dived over for what he thought was a try after ten minutes, only for the referee to call the play back for a knock-on in the buildup.
Hard-hitting Sea Eagles centre Alton Naiyep broke down the sideline in the 21st minute with some dazzling footwork to fool his opposing defenders. With just the full-back to beat, Naiyep threw a pass infield which unfortunately missed its target, turning over possession.
The Tigers took the lead four minutes later through winger Heamasi Makasini after capitalising on a penalty deep in Manly’s half for a 6-0 scoreline.
The home side pushed their lead out to 10-0 in the 28th minute when full-back Cameron Kanaan used his speed to break through the defence and score.
With two minutes to play in the half, Manly prop Carsen Patu crashed over next to the posts off a pass from the ruck for his seventh try of the season to cut the deficit to 10-6 at halftime.
The Sea Eagles shot out the gates in the second half and went close on two separate occasions in the opening seven minutes but weren’t able to finish off the chances as they turned over possession inside the Tigers ten-metre line.
Off the back of Manly’s error, the Tigers went downfield to score their third try through forward Finnley Neilsen for a 16-6 scoreline with 25 minutes remaining.
A knock-on from the kick-off granted the Sea Eagles a lifeline which was taken immediately as lock Nicholas Lenaz crashed through the defence to score under the posts in the 47th minute, cutting the Tigers lead back to 16-12.
Manly pounced on the Tigers two minutes later to score again in sensational fashion. Full-back Blake Metcalfe blitzed the defence with his electric speed to find a gap and beat a handful of chasing defenders to score next to the posts, giving his side an 18-16 lead.
The Tigers weren’t going to give up without a fight, and fight they did. The home side surged downfield off the back of a Sea Eagles error at the halfway line to score and regain their lead through second-rower Zakauri Clarke with seven minutes to play. The second-rower converted his own try to set up a grandstand finish with a 22-18 scoreline.
After winning the ball back from the kick-off and being awarded a penalty deep in the Tigers’ half, Manly scrambled well with a quick shift to the left edge to send winger Una Uasi over in the corner for a try, levelling the scores at 22-all with three minutes remaining.
A wayward bounce from the kick-off favoured the Tigers as they won the ball back 35 metres out from Manly’s tryline. Tigers half-back Max Liles took a shot at field goal just shy of the 30-metre line which was deflected by some desperate Manly defence. The ball still managed to go over the crossbar despite the deflection, securing a 23-22 victory for the Wests Tigers.
Wests Tigers 23 (Tries: Makasini, Kanaan, Neilsen, Clarke. Clarke 3/4 conversions. Liles Field Goal) d Sea Eagles 22 (Tries: Patu, Lenaz, Metcalfe, Uasi. Weatherall-Stacey 3/4 conversions)
