The Canberra Raiders have endured a late Sea Eagles fightback to earn a 12-point victory in the nation’s capital.
It didn’t start off well for the home side after Josh Hodgson kicked out on the full on their first drive with two penalties following suit.
Manly opened the scoring with Daly Cherry-Evans showing some nice footwork to make his way through the line.
The Raiders had their say just five minutes later however as Jack Wighton stabbed a kick in for Brenko Lee. The try was denied at the bunker with Lee knocking on.
He got another sniff of the ball only three minutes later this time managing to hold onto the ball and make his way over the line after Jack Wighton helped him to the line.
The next scoring opportunity didn’t come until the 32nd minute when a gut-busting effort from Siosaia Vave almost saw Tom Trbojevic storm over only for the winger to be bundled into touch.
Josh Hodgson extended the Raiders’ lead just before the break off a Joseph Leilua offload which saw the England international fool the Sea Eagles’ defensive line and score to put Canberra in front 12-6 at half-time.
The second half started on a sour note for Manly with Daly Cherry-Evans sidelined with a syndesmosis injury.
It only worsened with Elliott Whitehead galloping over after Joseph Leilua offloaded to Josh Papalii to help the Englishman over the line in the 44th minute.
Jack Wighton then leaped high in the air to scored off an Aidan Sezer kick only five minutes later before setting up Papalii on the shortside in the 53rd minute.
With Jamie Lyon and Brenton Lawrence joining Cherry-Evans on the sideline, Trent Barrett had very few troops at his disposal.
Manly took a massive hit after Jamie Buhrer was steamrolled by Canberra’s latest addition Junior Paulo who demolished Buhrer from the kick-off sending the former State of Origin representative into the sheds.
It was relatively quiet from then on with Matt Parcell making the most of a tired Canberra line to dart through and score.
It sparked a revival from Manly with Apisai Koroisau putting on a one-man show to go over three minutes later.
Tom Trbojevic nearly went over as the Silvertails hunted for two late tries but it wasn’t enough in the end with Canberra storming home to hold on 30-18.
Jack Wighton was easily the best player on the field while Joseph Leilua, Jordan Rapana and Josh Hodgson continued to flex their muscles.
Jake Trbojevic led the way for Manly with his younger brother Tom also impressive as was bench forward Siosaia Vave who stepped up for the maroon and white.
The doctors on the northern beaches will now have their work cut out for them as the Sea Eagles prepare to take on the Panthers at Brookvale on Sunday week.
The Raiders will face off against the Broncos in Brisbane next Thursday night in what will be a battle for a place inside the top four as the green machine move into fifth position just one point behind the Broncos and Cowboys.
Final score:
Canberra Raiders 30
Manly Sea Eagles 18
The Canberra Raiders are hunting three wins in a row when they host the Manly Sea Eagles. Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for live coverage.
Last week, the Green Machine came from behind to earn a win over the fifth-placed Canterbury Bulldogs in Canberra, Joseph Tapine and BJ Leilua leading the way.
Junior Paulo will make his Canberra debut, after arriving from the Eels on Sunday, while Brenko Lee has been named to replace cousin Edrick on the wing. Josh Papalii returns from injury at the expense of Shaun Fensom.
The Raiders need to utilise their monstrous forward pack effectively against the Sea Eagles’ light forward rotation.
Manly need to lift their game in the middle of the park, but it will all come down to halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, who is yet to justify his hefty price tag this season.
Trent Barrett’s side will be boosted by the return of Steve Matai at centre, with Apisai Koroisau to come off the bench.
The two sides shared a win apiece in their encounters last year, with the Raiders coming out on top 29-16 in Round 5 at Albury, while the Sea Eagles won 26-24 in Canberra in Round 23.
In 23 meetings between the two clubs, the Raiders have won on ten occasions, with Manly victorious 13 times.
Prediction
Canberra will be far too strong and record yet another convincing win at home.
Raiders by 10.
Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
steveng
Roar Rookie
The Raiders have got allot of work do before they will be considered a threat to this completion! The last 30 minutes from the Raiders was a disgraceful performance and Sticky has allot of work to do before he can even consider his side to be a threat!
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Fair call. The Raiders were awful in the final 15 but I think we need to give some credit to Manly who fought on bravely despite their injury toll. Blokes like Myles, the Trbojevic brothers,Parcell and Koroisau really lifted for the Sea Eagles. Its hard to close out the opposition for a full 80 minutes but the Raiders did a good job of it for 60. Not sure whether to accuse the Raiders of putting the cue in the rack or whether it was the result of the 5 day turnaround or that Manly played the better footy. Probably a combination of all three. Really looking forward to the game against the Broncos. It will show whether the Raiders can be regarded as serious contenders this season.
turbodewd
Roar Guru
Warren endlessly talks about the pass. Gould's moaning is painful.
turbodewd
Roar Guru
Exactly!
JVGO
Guest
That game was rigged.
Tony
Guest
No Warden no Gould. Let's hope it's a sign of things to come.
Jono
Guest
The game was far from done and dusted with 15 to go. It a few minutes to go Manly was 30 cm from being within a converted try. The Raiders came close to throwing that game away. While I rather be disappointed with a win than pleased with a loss the fact the Raiders did win shouldn't excuse them from criticism.
Sham
Guest
BJ was awesome tonight. Interesting to contrast him with Dylan Walker don't get me wrong Walker is a good player but on what basis does he get picked for Origin while BJ does not get a look in? Daley can't use the big game excuse as BJ has played in big finals games and a grand final. That excuse or logic from Daley is selective anyway as he picked Moylan who was yet to play in what Daley describes as a big game. Earlier this year Daley basically dismissed the notion of Sezer or Austin playing Origin as they had not played in 'big games'. BJ is the sort of playet Daley would at least consider if he was really trying to win rather than playing it safe by being 'loyal' to some players apart from guys like Beau Scott of course.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
I'm sure we can think of something Chui. It was interesting to see the refs walk off Bruce Stadium completely unnoticed.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Settle down Jono. The Raiders were all over the Sea Eagles for close to 70 minutes. The Sea Eagles played pretty well for the last 15 minutes but by that time the game was done and dusted. Not sure what happened to Jack Wighton during the week but he was terrific both in defence and attack. BJ, Papalii, Sezer and Hodgson were also impressive for the Raiders. Three wins in a row. If you're not happy with that you're very hard to please.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Thanks Riley, no games in Sydney tomorrow, looking at the weather could be a good thing.
Simon
Guest
Can I just say how much I've actually enjoyed Channel 9's pre and post game coverage tonight? The combination of Yvonne, Sterlo, Joey and Darren Lockyer seemed to work pretty well. The coverage just seemed smart and sensible, with heaps less of the over the top stuff you often get
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
That concludes The Roar's coverage of Canberra Raiders vs Manly Sea Eagles. Be sure to join us over the remainder of the round, with live coverage of all three games tomorrow starting with Scott Pryde taking you through New Zealand Warriors vs Brisbane Broncos from 3pm (AEST). Thanks for following along.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
The week ahead: New Zealand Warriors versus Brisbane Broncos - Saturday, June 4, 3pm (AEST) at Mt Smart Stadium North Queensland Cowboys versus Newcastle Knights - Saturday, June 4, 5:30pm (AEST) at 1300Smiles Stadium Melbourne Storm versus Penrith Panthers - Saturday, June 4, 7:30pm (AEST) at AAMI Park Sydney Roosters versus Wests Tigers - Sunday, June 5, 4pm (AEST) at Allianz Stadium South Sydney Rabbitohs versus Gold Coast Titans - Sunday, June 5, 6:30pm (AEST) at nib Stadium Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs versus Cronulla Sharks - Monday, June 6, 7pm (AEST) at ANZ Stadium
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
The ladder as it stands: 1. Cronulla Sharks - 20 2. Melbourne Storm - 20 3. Brisbane Broncos - 16 4. North Queensland Cowboys - 16 5. Canberra Raiders - 15 6. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - 14 7. Parramatta Eels - 14 8. Penrith Panthers - 12 9. South Sydney Rabbitohs - 12 10. Gold Coast Titans - 12 11. St George Illawarra Dragons - 12 12. Manly Sea Eagles - 10 13. Wests Tigers - 10 14. New Zealand Warriors - 10 15. Sydney Roosters - 6 16. Newcastle Knights - 3
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
MVP Nominations 3 - Jack Wighton 2 - Joseph Leilua 1 - Jake Trbojevic Canberra Raiders 30 Manly Sea Eagles 18
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
FULL-TIME Possession: 55% - 45% Completions: 27/37 (73%) - 26/31 (84%) All Runs: 152 - 153 All Run Metres: 1536 - 1389 Line Breaks: 6 - 4 Offloads: 10 - 9 Tackles: 305 - 301 Missed Tackles: 28 - 36 Penalties: 10 - 7 Errors: 7 - 4 Canberra Raiders 30 Manly Sea Eagles 18
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
FULL-TIME The Canberra Raiders have endured a late Sea Eagles fightback to earn a 12-point victory in the nation's capital. It didn't start off well for the home side after Josh Hodgson kicked out on the full on their first drive with two penalties following suit. Manly opened the scoring with Daly Cherry-Evans showing some nice footwork to make his way through the line. The Raiders had their say just five minutes later however as Jack Wighton stabbed a kick in for Brenko Lee. The try was denied at the bunker with Lee knocking on. He got another sniff of the ball only three minutes later this time managing to hold onto the ball and make his way over the line after Jack Wighton helped him to the line. The next scoring opportunity didn't come until the 32nd minute when a gut-busting effort from Siosaia Vave almost saw Tom Trbojevic storm over only for the winger to be bundled into touch. Josh Hodgson extended the Raiders' lead just before the break off a Joseph Leilua offload which saw the England international fool the Sea Eagles' defensive line and score to put Canberra in front 12-6 at half-time. The second half started on a sour note for Manly with Daly Cherry-Evans sidelined with a syndesmosis injury. It only worsened with Elliott Whitehead galloping over after Joseph Leilua offloaded to Josh Papalii to help the Englishman over the line in the 44th minute. Jack Wighton then leaped high in the air to scored off an Aidan Sezer kick only five minutes later before setting up Papalii on the shortside in the 53rd minute. With Jamie Lyon and Brenton Lawrence joining Cherry-Evans on the sideline, Trent Barrett had very few troops at his disposal. Manly took a massive hit after Jamie Buhrer was steamrolled by Canberra's latest addition Junior Paulo who demolished Buhrer from the kick-off sending the former State of Origin representative into the sheds. It was relatively quiet from then on with Matt Parcell making the most of a tired Canberra line to dart through and score. It sparked a revival from Manly with Apisai Koroisau putting on a one-man show to go over three minutes later. Tom Trbojevic nearly went over as the Silvertails hunted for two late tries but it wasn't enough in the end with Canberra storming home to hold on 30-18. Canberra Raiders 30 Manly Sea Eagles 18
Chui
Guest
Well, look on the bright side.... At least there shouldn't be any dreary columns on The Roar this week about how Canberra were robbed, or how much better they'd be if no one recruited their juniors.
JoM
Roar Rookie
I can't stand Manly, but in their defence they have had a horrendous last 24 hours which would have to have affected them. At one point there was nobody left on the bench to bring on. I thought they showed a lot of heart in the second half so well done to them on that.