Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2024 Jersey Flegg Cup campaign has been cut agonisingly short following a heartbreaking 28-26 defeat to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Saturday at Belmore Sports Ground.
Manly required a victory over the second placed Bulldogs side if they were any hope of making the top-five, with the results of the Sharks and Warriors game also needing to go in their favour.
The Sea Eagles put up a good fight and matched their opponents in the first half to score three tries for an 18-all scoreline at half-time. Manly took the lead in the 39th minute and a chance at finals footy was looming following their fifth try nine minutes later.
But in heartbreaking fashion, the home side fought back to score two late tries to steal the lead and the much-needed two competition points. Both teams finished the match with five tries apiece, with the deciding factor proving to be conversions.
A silly mistake from Manly deep in their own half gifted Canterbury the opening try in the third minute through hooker Reuben Moyle for an early 6-0 lead.
The Bulldogs made it two on the trot with a try off the back of a smart offload to five-eighth Mitchell Woods in the 11th minute to extend their lead to 12-0.
The Sea Eagles bounced back with a try through Blake Metcalfe in the 19th minute. A smart grubber kick to the in-goal bounced perfectly for the full-back to fly through and ground the ball for a 12-6 scoreline.
Manly soared back into the match with a try two minutes later through winger Nepote Taufa. A crossfield kick bounced awkwardly and fooled Canterbury’s defence, allowing for Taufa to take the ball on the run and dive over in the corner to level the scores at 12-all.
A 40/20 from the Bulldogs in the 27th minute propelled them downfield en route to their third try through half-back Cassius Tia as the home side regained an 18-12 lead.
The Bulldogs’ newly retained lead was cut short when they knocked the ball on from the kick-off, inviting the Sea Eagles into their territory with a full set of six.
Manly capitalised on the chance and scored through second-rower Broden Konz with three minutes to play in the half. Half-back Tylor Bunting took on the defensive line and threw a phenomenal short ball on his outside to send Konz through untouched for his tenth try of the season, levelling the scores at 18-all at half-time.
The Sea Eagles stormed onto the field in the second half and scored in the 39th minute through winger Kallum Weatherall-Stacey. A smart grubber kick from five-eighth Travis May to the right edge sat up perfectly for Weatherall-Stacey to dive on, giving his side a 22-18 lead.
Manly strengthened their lead with a try in the 48th minute through Kylan Mafoa. The prop used his strength and brute force to push off a handful of defenders and score in the corner for a 26-18 scoreline.
The Bulldogs kept themselves in the match and scored back-to-back tries to re-take the lead with eight minutes to play. William Afualo scored in the corner in the 53rd minute after a quick shift and Danny Gabrael scored a raceaway try in the 62nd minute to give the home side a narrow 28-26 lead.
The Sea Eagles finish their campaign in eighth place on 30 points, with 13 wins and 11 losses from 24 matches.
The side finishes with 23 different tryscorers in 2024. Broden Konz and Devante Mihinui topped the tally with 10 tries each.
Kallum Weatherall-Stacey was the side's top pointscorer with a total of 119 points (3 tries, 53 conversions and 1 field goal).
Bulldogs 28 (Tries: Corcoran, Woods, Tia, Afualo, Gabrael. Conversions: Wavik 4/5) d. Sea Eagles 26 (Tries: Metcalfe, Taufa, Konz, Weatherall-Stacey, Mafoa. Conversions: Weatherall-Stacey 3/5)
