Manly’s opening game of the 2025 Telstra Premiership season will mark 21 years since the Sea Eagles last played the North Queensland Cowboys in round one.
The last time the two clubs met in round one was on Saturday, March 13, 2004, in Townsville.
On that particular night, the Sea Eagles overcame a 14-0 half-time deficit to win 24-20 in front of almost 18,000 fans at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
This time around, the Sea Eagles kick-off their 2025 campaign against the Cowboys at 4 Pines Park, Brookvale, on Saturday, March 8, at 7.35pm.
Manly will be out to make it three straight wins in the opening round after having won their past two round one games since Anthony Seibold took over as Coach in 2023.
In his first premiership game at Manly, the Sea Eagles demolished Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 31-6 at 4 Pines Park with captain and half-back Daly Cherry-Evans crossing for three tries.
In 2024, the Sea Eagles kicked off the Telstra Premiership season in fine style, recording a historic 36-24 victory over South Sydney at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, in the first ever premiership game to be played in America.
Manly won over plenty of American fans along the way in their six tries to five victory after leading 12-10 at half-time. Centre Reuben Garrick almost scored half of Manly’s points through a try and six goals from six attempts for a personal haul of 16 points.
As for the Cowboys, they have won two of their past four opening round games under Coach Todd Payten since his first season at Townsville in 2021.
The Cowboys will also be out to make it three straight victories in round one, having accounted for the Canberra Raiders 19-18 in Townsville in 2023, followed by a 43-18 win over the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium in 2024.
Manly beat the Cowboys 21-20 in Townsville in their only encounter this season with Cherry-Evans kicking the winning field goal in golden point.
The stage is now set for what promises to be a cracking opening round game at 4 Pines Park in front of another huge home crowd.
The Sea Eagles had incredible support at 4 Pines Park in 2024 with eight of 10 home games sold out.
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