Pathways Wrap:06/04/25

Manly's Harold Matthews Cup side suffered a 26-20 defeat to the Parramatta Eels in their round nine fixture at Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation on Sunday morning.

Despite the defeat, the Sea Eagles have still managed to secure their place in the 2025 finals series thanks to their points difference on the ladder.

Manly's four second half tries helped soften the blow and close the gap that Parramatta had built in the first half.

Both teams finished the season with 12 points, with the Sea Eagles in sixth place on a points difference of 50 and the Eels in eighth place with 28.

With a lot riding on the result, the Eels quickly shot out of the gates with three tries in the opening 13 minutes for a 16-0 lead.

A converted penalty goal from Parramatta five-eighth Talen Risati in the 19th minute took the lead to 18 points.

The Sea Eagles were denied on two separate occasions in the span of two minutes.

A double movement call prevented Hunter Chan's try from counting in the 24th minute and one minute later, full-back Oscar Crotty was taken out of bounds next to the corner post after a spectacular link-up play propelled the side downfield.

The Eels were playing cautiously and thinking of their points difference as they elected for another penalty goal, pushing their lead out to 20-0 at half-time.

With their season on the line, Manly stormed into the second half and scored after four minutes through winger Tom Longland.

Hooker Ashton Large threw a pass to Crotty that was deflected, throwing the defence off and finding the fullbacks against one another. Crotty passed infield to Longland who raced away to score for a 20-4 scoreline.

The Sea Eagles were flying as they had their second try two minutes later.

Quick hands from captain Sifa Oldfield freed up space for Chan to fly down the sideline. The winger passed infield to half-back Max Prykiel who raced away to score and cap off a near 80-metre effort, cutting the deficit to 20-12.

Parramatta capitalised on a Manly mistake and raced away to score under the posts to push their lead out to 26-12 with 11 minutes remaining.

A wayward kick to the left corner in the 56th minute turned into a moment of sheer brilliance as Manly crossed for a try.

Prykiel chipped the ball towards Chan, who batted the ball back infield towards Oldfield. The second-rower, playing centre, squeezed past one defender next to the sideline to score for a 26-16 scoreline.

Manly were awarded a penalty in the 59th minute and chose to continue their attack, keeping the pressure on Parramatta.

Lock Lukas Butler found prop Kai Brennan with a short ball inside the ten-metre line, allowing for the latter to break through and slam the ball down for a try next to the posts for the final score of 26-20.

SG Ball Cup

Manly's under 19s side succumbed to a 46-10 defeat to the Parramatta Eels in their final match of the season in the second of four matches at Narrabeen on Sunday.

The Sea Eagles were forced to defend in their own half for the opening stages of the match as the Eels' attack was too much to contain.

The visitors capitalised on their possession with four tries to take a 22-point lead after 25 minutes.

Manly pulled something from nothing en route to Max Davies' try in the 28th minute.

The centre slipped through the defence with a silky step at his own ten-metre line before sending Taj Thompson into open space on the right sideline.

The winger passed back infield to Davies, who sprinted 40 metres to score under the posts for a 22-6 scoreline.

Parramatta scored five tries in a 22-minute period to take the score to 46-6.

The Sea Eagles scored a consolation try on the stroke of full-time through Ezekiel Paulo.

Davies grubber kicked the ball to the in-goal and it looked to be rolling dead, only for Paulo to steam through and ground the ball inches from the deadball line for a try to cut the deficit to 46-10.

Lisa Fiaola Cup

Manly's Lisa Fiaola Cup side fought hard but were ultimately downed 24-8 by the Canberra Raiders in their final match of the season.

Two tries to open the match weren't enough as the visitors fought back to score 24 unanswered points to walk away victors in the third of four matches in Narrabeen.

The Sea Eagles scored first after four minutes through centre Ember Joseph.

A quick shift to the left edge found Chaniel Berryman with ball in hand. The full-back drew the opposing winger before passing to Joseph who dived over in the corner for a 4-0 lead.

Manly scored their second try four minutes later with Lahni Moore doing the hard work. The five-eighth slipped through three defenders and crashed over to score for her side, extending the lead to 8 points.

Canberra scored two tries in six minutes through Adelaide Norris and Jade White to level the scores at 8-all at half-time.

After trailing for 30 minutes, the Raiders took the lead. Ocean Kaiwai-Rangikauhata scored in the 34th minute for her side's third successive try for a 14-8 scoreline.

Canberra looked to have scored their fourth try after a charge down at their own ten-metre line. But that wasn't to be thanks to some desperate defence from Manly's Lahni Moore. 

The five-eighth never gave up and prevented a try with an 85-metre effort to bring the ball down metres out from her own line. And her efforts in the next tackle were even better, lunging out of marker to force an error.

After countless sets of defending in their own half and a handful of near-intercepts, the Sea Eagles slipped up and let the Raiders through for their fourth try as the match slipped away.

Kaiwai-Rangikauhat crossed for her second try and extended her side's lead to 18-8 with seven minutes remaining.

Canberra put the nail in the coffin with a try on the stroke of full-time for a final scoreline of 24-8.

Tarsha Gale Cup

The Sea Eagles’ Tarsha Gale Cup side fell to a 38-6 defeat to the Canberra Raiders in their final match of the season, in the fourth game in Narrabeen on Sunday afternoon.

The Raiders captialised off early momentum and a penalty deep in the Sea Eagles' territory to score after two minutes through Eliza Taylor for a 4-0 lead.

The Sea Eagles looked to have bounced back in the eighth minute when five-eighth Katie O'Mara crashed over for a try, only for the referee to overturn the call and award a penalty on the tryline to the visitors.

Canberra took advantage of the call in their favour and turned it into a mountain of momentum. The visitors scored five tries in a 20-minute period for a 28-point lead at half-time.

The Sea Eagles finally cracked the Raiders’ defence in the 43rd minute when full-back May Fueina Sasa broke through the defence, fending off one defender before spinning out of another tackle from her opposite number to ground the ball for a 28-6 scoreline.

Manly carried the momentum as they pushed for a second try in the 50th minute.

Prop Teulia Robertson charged towards the line and broke through four defenders but was unable to ground the ball making an error on the tryline.

Canberra halted the home side’s momentary surge and scored in the 57th and 60th minute through Jessica Nicholas and Elise Simpson to extend their lead for a final scoreline of 38-6.