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Buhrer's season over after epic Manly win

Roar Guru
31st August, 2014
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Manly utility Jamie Buhrer will miss the remainder of the NRL season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Sea Eagles’ thrilling 26-25 win over Penrith at Brookvale Oval on Sunday.

The come-from-behind win, secured just 68 seconds from time through a Tom Symonds’ try out wide, catapulted Manly back to the top of the NRL ladder with one round to play.

The Panthers need to beat the Warriors at Penrith next Sunday in the final regular season game of the year to secure a top four spot.

But Manly coach Geoff Toovey revealed the emotional victory, which came with two tries in the final three minutes before a near full house of 18,654 fans in retiring prop Jason King’s farewell home match and Steve Matai’s 200th match, had taken a heavy toll.

“I don’t want to say too much but I think Jamie may have done his ACL,” Toovey said.

“He will have scans tomorrow but the initial diagnosis is not great and he is pretty upset about the whole thing and rightly so.

“He has been playing some really good football for us.

Always a key cog in the Manly machine, Buhrer had become even more vital after last week’s announcement that first choice lock South Sydney-bound Glenn Stewart had played his last game for the club after undergoing midweek ankle surgery.

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Buhrer had filled in more than ably for Stewart, since he suffered the injury in round eight against Canberra.

The City Origin representative also proved to be a competent fill-in at dummy half against the Panthers, before limping off in the 73rd minute after Matt Ballin failed to take the field for the second half.

Toovey said Ballin suffered a cork in his leg and should be right for the Sea Eagles’ final round match against North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday.

In one of the games of the year the injury-hit Panthers led for all of the match before Symonds’ second try in the shadow of fulltime.

Filling in for James Segeyaro, NRL debutant Kierran Moseley had an almost immediate impact when he steered Nigel Plum over from close range in the fifth minute.

Two more first half tries to Josh Mansour and Jamal Idris, the first of two from loose Jamie Lyon passes, from the visitors game them a 16-6 lead at the break, with Buhrer crossing in the 17th minute.

Soward jumped on another loose Lyon offload in the 46th minute to race 80m and the Panthers led 22-6.

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Manly then found another gear for Symonds to score his first in the 55th minute before James Hasson (64th minute)

A Soward penalty midway through the second half added to Penrith’s tally.

A Moylan field goal put the visitors ahead 25-18 with eight minutes to play, before Brett Stewart created a 77th minute try for Lyon and Symonds screamed over out wide for the match-winner two minutes later.

“I am very pleased that they hung in there and sometimes you need a bit of luck and we had a bit of luck today,” Toovey said.

Adam Docker is in doubt for the Warriors match after being reported for a lifting tackle on Jason King.

“I thought it was a good rugby league tackle,” Panthers’ coach Ivan Cleary said of the incident.

Steve Matai is on report for a first half shoulder charge on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

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“That’s just ridiculous,” Toovey said.

Soward complained bitterly to the referees that Penrith were robbed of vital seconds after Symonds’ try when the time-keeper failed to stop the clock.

Cleary said the try should have gone to the video ref.

“I would have liked them to have gone to the video, I thought some of those chasers were close (to offside), it would have stopped the clock too, which would have been nice,” he said.

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