The return of halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Jamie Lyon could not stop Manly slumping to a 30-26 defeat to North Queensland in Townsville on Monday night – their seventh straight NRL loss.
A try-scoring double to Kiwi backrower Jason Taumalolo helped the Cowboys (3rd, 10-5) remain in touch with the top two.
It was the home side’s 10th straight home win, a record stretching back to the end of last season.
While it was an impressive return from Cherry-Evans, which included a first half try, he also had a 73rd minute effort disallowed before his deft kick set up a Lewis Brown four-pointer in the dying minutes to reduce the deficit to 30-26.
Sea Eagles’ Addin Fonua-Blake bagged a second half double in five minutes (54th, 59th) after fellow reserve forward Siosaia Vave (46th) crossed and suddenly Manly led 22-18 with 20 minutes left.
But the luckless Eagles couldn’t hang on.
NSW prop James Tamou (65th) bulldozed over and hulking backrower Taumalolo bagged his double (68th) to give the hosts a 30-22 lead.
Manly – boasting a nine-strong injury list – had plenty of new faces in their side, and it showed early.
The Sea Eagles looked out of sorts with unfamiliar combinations, leading to unforced errors and plenty of frustration as North Queensland stormed to an 18-4 halftime lead.
North Queensland scored two tries in seven minutes to finish the first half strongly.
Along the way North Queensland’s Johnathan Thurston overtook Manly’s Graham Eadie (1,917pts) at sixth in the all-time point scorers.
It was the Cowboys’ fifth straight win over Manly, who have all but let their finals hopes slip.
pjm
Roar Rookie
I think it's already accepted by all parties that he will be going at the end of the year. We are truly seeing a legacy being ruined though.
Hard Yards
Guest
Manly did play well - as compared to how they've played this year. They need to get rid of that coach of theirs. Which brain surgeon thought that it would be a good idea to hire him?
Tony
Guest
Agreed. I wonder if his hammy will "go" some point soon and see Tommy T moved to fullback. Perhaps if we had some better options than Williame to fill the backline it would have happened already.
Busty McCracken
Guest
Having watched B Stewart reguarly since his debut, it definitely looks to me something way bigger than old age or even allegations hanging over... with the game on the line, manly put up a bomb which coote took comfortably in the end.. Stewart came through to contest it and didn't even look like touching the ball in the end. Stewart catches those balls and scores every day of the week or at least forces an error trying. Won't be surprised if he's playing his way to a tap on the shoulder from the club, saves him being the bad guy for quitting. Big call, could be wrong but when you've set such a high standard for so long, questions have got to be asked.
Joe
Roar Rookie
One of the better performances by Manly this year. The bench especially has been exceptional with Fonua-Blake and Vave really putting in a lot of hard yards. The Trbojevi brothers were dangerous and will be great players that Manly can build around. Can see the potential that is in the team when they play like that.
Chui
Guest
I wonder if in Stewart's case it isn't a combination of things. Age, injury and the weight of allegation.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
I am just glad Manly didnt roll over and give up. It might have been a loss, but it was a good 80 minute loss. No shame in going down to the Cowboys at home by only 4.
Bulldog
Guest
Geez I think you are being tough on Manly. They were a bit rusty in parts of the first half but I thought they played pretty tough in the second half. I think they will win more than they lose going forward if they play they way they did last night. I think the only concern is Brett Stewart - he seems to be playing in 'limp mode" lately. Not sure what the issue is.
Haradasun
Guest
I thought manly had a crack at least. They looked a lot better than previous efforts.
S.L. Craven
Guest
Fair dinkum. Watching Manly this year is like a rerun of the Hindenburg disaster. Oh, the humanity.