Manly captain Jamie Lyon might have played his final NRL game after aggravating a hamstring injury.
Battling hamstring issues for most of the year, Lyon hurt it again in Friday’s captain’s run, preventing him playing in his side’s 38-18 loss on Saturday evening to Melbourne.
He is considered a long shot to play next week in the Sea Eagles’ final home game of the year.
“Unlikely mate, which is a massive shame for us. Whilst he’ll do everything he can to get there, it’s not looking great at this stage and he’s devastated, obviously,” coach Trent Barrett said after the defeat.
“That’s something we’ll have to manage and cross our fingers and toes that he can, because he’s been a wonderful, wonderful player for the club and we want to send him out on the right note.”
Lyon’s pre-match withdrawal was a huge blow to the Sea Eagles, who were powerless in stopping Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu bagging four tries in 30 minutes to continue his remarkable rookie season.
Vunivalu has tallied 21 tries in just 16 games, equalling the rookie record set by former Storm star and eventual dual-international Israel Folau back in 2007.
But more importantly, the win guarantees Melbourne a home semi-final, and also keeps them on track for the minor premiership, moving three points ahead of Cronulla, who face South Sydney on Monday night.
“We knew that was the case tonight, but that certainly wasn’t a reason to go out there and play well,” coach Craig Bellamy said post-game.
“We’ve been a little bit off energy-wise the past two to three weeks, so that was our main aim tonight – to get everyone excited about playing together and go out there and perform well.”
In front of a modest crowd of 8241 at Brookvale Oval – their second smallest of the season – the Sea Eagles simply had no answer to Vunivalu’s try-scoring potency as the Storm cruised to a 26-6 halftime lead.
Vunivalu’s first try came when Cameron Munster darted a pass in the 10th minute, and then grabbed his second when he chased through a Cooper Cronk bomb that was inexplicably allowed to bounce in the 26th minute.
The Fijian scored his third and fourth in the space of just two minutes, taking another long ball from Munster in the 38th minute before finishing off a Cronk banana kick on the halftime siren.
However, as they have for most of the year, Manly refused to throw the towel in after the break, with another rookie Brad Parker completing a brace and Jorge Taufua crossing in his 100th NRL game.
Taufua’s 62nd-minute effort reduced the gap to 14 with just under 20 minutes remaining and, while tempers flared a number of times in the closing stages, the Storm held on to claim their 18th win of the year.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
I never understood the criticism for deciding not to be play Origin.
celtic bandaid
Guest
"You conveniently forget how Parramatta treated him in the lead up to his leaving ?" Tell me more. They paid him to play football but he walked out on then without telling anyone even his teammates leaving them in a lurch. Gee his life must have been so hard at that point compared to the rest of the world. Not exactly the bloke you'd want next to you in a battle Good luck getting a job in the media. They generally don't employ people who can't open their mouth when they speak (Fittler being the exception) BA you're right on the money. Bring on the investigation.
Officer59
Guest
Grow up mate! Screwing the club & their cap for several years?? After what's happened recently & goes back a number of years you can come out & say that he screwed the cap lololol. Throwing people under the bus who supported him? Really? You conveniently forget how Parramatta treated him in the lead up to his leaving!
Hard Yards
Guest
Geez BA I think you're being a bit hard on the bloke. He's been a great player all things considered: pace when he was younger; brains that just expanded as he got older; ball distribution; defence; goal kicking. A real all rounder. Remember also that he made the personal decision to not make available for selection for Origin when he was relentlessly bagged when he did pull on the blue jumper. So he said, 'you know what, I'm going to do everyone else and myself a favour and stay out of it'. And he stuck to that decision.
Jimmmy
Guest
Sorry BA disagree on his actual playing career for Manly. He and Matai were huge part of the sea eagles success . I have not seen a better centre at working out the numbers and setting up his suppers than Jamie Lyon. A lot of the young centres should spend a few hours watching his highlight reel. Would give them a few ideas about great centre play, As for the other stuff . It matters little in the overall scheme of his career. This lover of the game wishes him well,
BA Sports
Guest
Not every lover.. Plenty of Eels fans resent him (rightly) for what he did and they way he did it, screwing the club and their cap for several years, throwing people under the bus who gave him a start and supported him as a country kid in the big smoke Plenty of people who value Origin (not me personally) don't like the lack of respect for the game and history of the game that he has shown And then there is the fact that he is one of the biggest whingers in the modern game. Me personally; he had some good seasons and has some good moments in the attacking 20, but has never really helped his team come out of their own end like most backs do, and given his talent and what he showed back in 2001 (who can forget that try he scored against the Warriors in a final at Parra Stadium), I don't ever think he reached his potential.
MAX
Guest
Jamie Lyon. Shy and lethal with a football intelligence owned by the best. Every lover of the game will miss you. Sorry to see you go out injured.