Manly will be shattered that there season comes to an end in such tight circumstances, but full credit to the Bulldogs – when the game was on the line they stood up.
It remains to be seen how much this one took out of them, Penrith will be pretty happy to see that game went to golden point.
FINAL SCORE:
Manly 17
Canterbury 18
Tonight marks the first time that the Manly Sea Eagles and the Canterbury Bulldogs face each other in an NRL finals match since 2012. Join The Roar from 7:45pm AEST today for live scores and coverage of this second elimination final.
There’s a lot at stake with the winner one win away from a place in the grand final, while the loser will be left to drown their sorrows.
Des Hasler is up against the man who replaced him at Manly, while the Sea Eagles are out to convince the game that their golden era still has one more play.
Manly have been forced to make a number of changes from the side that went down to the Rabbitohs last start.
Veteran Anthony Watmough is out through suspension resulting in a reshuffle of the entire back-row. Tom Symonds shifts to the second row and Dunamis Lui will start at lock.
It’s not all bad news for Manly though, James Hasson has recovered from injury and makes his return to the side from the bench.
Of greater concern for Geoff Toovey is who will take the hooking responsibilities. Youngster Jayden Hodges has been named to start and will be given to the final hours before the match to prove his fitness.
The boom prospect was in the wars in the battle against the Bunnies finishing the night in hospital where he was later cleared of a serious neck injury.
Regular hooker Matt Ballin hasn’t been named in the 17, but could make an early return from injury if the situation demands it.
Des Hasler has named an extended squad for the battle against his old club, but does have the luxury of making minimal changes to the run-on team that thrashed the Storm.
Pat O’Hanlon is out, while Reni Maitua, Moses Mbye, and Harlan Alaalatoa have all been named on the bench.
Prediction:
If relying on the form guide, the Bulldogs would be hot favourites to take out this match and advance to a preliminary final showdown with the Panthers, but you can never write off Manly.
The Sea Eagles along with the Storm have been among the most consistent performers in the NRL for over half a decade, and they won’t back down from that reputation without a hell of a fight.
There’s no question that this is their biggest challenge and they are missing some key cattle particularly in the forwards. In contrast, the Bulldogs will take to the field with a giant and mobile pack.
Manly will gain confidence from their last 25 minutes against the Rabbitohs, and with the dangerous Kieran Foran running the ship, they will fancy their chances to post some points at some stage.
Mentally, it will be interesting to see where their heads are at as they have had a challenging year with injuries and rumours of senior player unrest.
If the Dogs pick up from where they left off against the Storm they should have enough to get the job done.
Ululuan
Guest
Manly will win the GF next week. They are wonderful
Ululuan
Guest
Manly will will the GF next week
johnnno1
Guest
Because on both times the dogs were hideously offside. Reynolds was 8 metres offside on his second attempt in golden point
Matthew Edwards
Guest
I think it should get the same as guerra pending how carry overs effect it. I felt they were comparable neither look bad at full speed. Just an awkward tackle.
The Barry
Guest
Might be tough. The rule has been in place for a hundred years.
Haz
Guest
Least favourite rule: golden point. Second-last favourite rule: referee obstructing play = restart from scrum. (Should be: replay from the play-the-ball). Third-last favourite rule: 7 tackles after failed field goals. Poor end to a great game.
JayBob
Guest
Good point, but he did say "so they can get a sydney team in the final"... Sort of gives it away.
JayBob
Guest
Yeah we've always been bottom 8 before Hasler. *Looks at stats* I'm just glad Manly let us have Graham, Lafai, Jackson, & Reynolds. That was very nice of them.
JayBob
Guest
Yeh by breaking the QLD defence open when the series was on the line. Mr Cool. He may seem like he's not doing much a lot of the time, but when the game is on the line there's no one else I'd want at 7.
JayBob
Guest
You're a champion. Ps Roar should care. I vote for email sign up(by choice)
Gappy
Guest
How the cowboys are out????
Gappy
Guest
If we stole des Hodkinson and Trex well then the cowboys stole JT and I would love to have him in the dogs side right now
Danno1
Guest
EJ that was an enormous effort from that team, Toovey is obviously something special. Manly will still be a force even if the old brigade leave, because they had some guys out there who are barely first graders but played to the absolute best they could, only a special coach does that. I am the usual manly hater, but gee they're a tough team that try their best and hang in there. If they keep Toovey, they'll be sound whatever players they have.
Zee
Roar Guru
The ONE moment I root for Manly (Aka whenever they play Canterbury or Easts) And they always disappoint...
Zee
Roar Guru
Ha, whoever came up with this rule, should give themselves a thousand uppercuts. Ridiculous.
The Barry
Guest
Funny enough on triple m this evening before kick off bill harrigan was talking about how Brett Kimmorley used to kick the ball at him on purpose. I think the 7 tackles should only be if the ball goes dead from a kick outside the 20. That's what they were specifically trying to stop. It doesn't make sense for a knock on in goal or a defused kick or a grubber that goes dead by 30cm. Advantage of having tackle 1 on the 40 is too much.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
But somehow NSW overcame that handicap and won the series go figure.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
We are pretty good at sucking in teams to play our game.
Danno1
Guest
I'm Dogs through and through, but i give em slim pickings to win the whole show. Am amazed they've got this far after the last month, but I love they have hung in there. Would love to see them win for Ennis and Graham, those 2 guys have carried the team this year. I love Ennis, I love that he plays with heart and commitment and passion, and I love that he winds everyone up who doesn't like him. All footy fans know in their heart of hearts their team needs at least one guy like Ennis to rally the troops and every team that is successful has at least one like him. I'm always amazed professional footballers aren't quite professional enough to ignore him or manage how they deal with him. I hope he goes out a winner at the dogs.
The Barry
Guest
I've thought sene lafao lacked a bit of aggression in the past but he stepped up tonight. Bad luck but manly can be proud of their performance under the circumstances and that they didn't roll over despite how bleak things were looking. Lyon led from the front.