Match Report: Round 4 vs Eels

It was a patient performance from the Sea Eagles with points hard to come by as the rain turned on and off like a tap. 

Adding another layer of difficulty was the loss of fullback Tom Trbojevic, who suffered a knee injury late in the first half and did not return.

Turbo will have scans on Monday to confirm a suspected MCL knee injury.

Manly opened the scoring with an exquisite play down the right edge, with Daly Cherry-Evans, Turbo and Reuben Garrick combining to put Jason Saab away.

Rather than risk passing to his inside support in DCE, Saab beat Eels fullback Isaiah Iongi on the outside, skirting down the western touchline to get the crowd on its feet for the first time.

The home side crossed for their second try in the 16th minute after pinning the Eels in their own half.

This time it was in the eastern corner. Left edge forward Ben Trbojevic dented the line and offloaded to brother Tom, who popped a basketball style pass for Lehi Hopoate to score the try.

Manly were awarded a penalty right in front a few minutes later when the Eels failed to take a drop out in regulation time to put them up 12-0 at half time.

With no Turbo in the second half, Hopoate shifted to fullback, Garrick to the wing and Ben Trbojevic to the centres.

Another penalty to Manly from in front for offside made it 14-0 with just over half an hour to play.

Eels prop Joe Ofahenguae celebrated his 200th NRL appearance by scoring Parramatta’s first try 15 minutes into the second half barging over from close range, although there was some doubt whether he grounded the ball.

Manly extended their lead to 20-6 when Cory Waddell ran a neat line off a Luke Brooks pass to score on the left edge.

Five minutes later Tolu Koula scored in the same position to put his team ahead by 20 points. Luke Brooks was again involved, as was Hopoate, who sent Koula in for the try.

The Eels scored a last-minute consolation try through Shaun Lane to confirm their fourth loss of the season.

For Manly, it keeps their perfect record at the fortress intact with three wins from as many games this season, and with another Sunday arvo game next week against the Storm.