Manly edge Cowboys to crash NRL top four
Manly leapfrogged North Queensland into the NRL top four after grinding out an 8-6 win in Townsville on Saturday night.
Both teams were stoic in defence in the tight contest, where a Jamie Lyon penalty proved to be the difference.
The Sea Eagles now jump over the Cowboys and Brisbane into fourth spot, but will need to wait until the Broncos play Canberra in the national capital on Sunday to see if they can stay there.
The Sydney team started strongest and looked to have grabbed the first try of the night in the 11th minute when Tony Williams pounced on a Kieran Foran grubber.
But the video referee judged Anthony Watmough had impeded Cowboys defender Glenn Hall.
After an extended period of possession, the defending champions eventually opened the scoring on 25 minutes, Foran skipping past a slipping Dallas Johnson from the scrum base.
The try seemed to spark some life into the Cowboys attack and they had two scoring opportunities in as many minutes from the boot and stunning run by fullback Matt Bowen.
Starting off the second half as they finished the first, the Cowboys came out strongest in the second half.
Kane Linnett took advantage of a miscommunication between David Williams and Daly Cherry-Evans, the Manly pair not making any attempt to catch a Bowen bomb in the 52nd minute.
The ball bounced off Cherry-Evans’ leg and Linnett beat the two Manly players to put the Cowboys on an even pegging.
Manly looked to have taken the lead again through Brett Stewart, after the fullback fought his way across the line in the 63rd minute, but the video referee again intervened saying centre Steve Matai had impeded Brent Tate.
But the Sea Eagles did take the lead four minutes later, Cowboys back-rower Gavin Cooper penalised for being offside in front of the posts and Lyon opted to kick the two points.
The Cowboys had a chance to score at the death, but were penalised for being offside while trying desperately to get across the tryline.
Manly will have to see whether the match review committee charges Darcy Lussick with a high elbow on Ashton Sims in the 45th minute, while Matai went off the field injured in the 67th minute with an ankle injury.
The Cowboys have their own injury concerns, with starting halfback Michael Morgan leaving the field with a shoulder injury in the 71st minute.
© AAP 2013
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The Crowd Says (6) | Page 1 of Comments
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August 5th 2012 @ 6:05am
steve b said | August 5th 2012 @ 6:05am | Report comment
Hard game in all areas ,good win by Manly but i wouldn;t write of the cowboys just yet this one could have gone either way !!
August 5th 2012 @ 7:36am
Eagleshane said | August 5th 2012 @ 7:36am | Report comment
I was at the game big defence by both sides manly defence has been terrible this year that’s right could went either way but that footy go eagles!!
August 5th 2012 @ 7:22am
NF said | August 5th 2012 @ 7:22am | Report comment
Tough gritty game unfortunate Cows let another potential win slip through there fingers again so close so far.
August 5th 2012 @ 7:46am
Mals said | August 5th 2012 @ 7:46am | Report comment
Great win Manly, fantastic to see them defend so well against a team with a potent attack.
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August 5th 2012 @ 10:04am
B.A Sports said | August 5th 2012 @ 10:04am | Report comment
4th time this year Manly have won by 2 points.
Still not sure how Lusick stayed on the field. Especially if Burns tackle was equal to a send off just two weeks ago
August 5th 2012 @ 10:24am
Bearfax said | August 5th 2012 @ 10:24am | Report comment
Manly’s position on the table is impressive this late in the season. Didnt expect them to get this close to the top…though they have Souths and Brisbane to tackle yet. But their for and against. and the heart break manner in which they win these games has caused me to consider increasing my blood pressure tablet strength. Despite an earlier comment, I think generally Manly’s defence is what has kept them in the hunt. Their attack has been the problem most of the year and is still like a six cylinder car working off four cylinders. Against Canterbury, Souths and an awakening Melbourne, they wont win unless they can get those last two cylinders in operation.
Having said that a Well Done has to be given to a struggling Sea Eagle side. Defeating the Cowboys at home is no mean feat.