The Manly Sea Eagles have come out of their crucial Round 26 game with a thumping 16-point win over the Penrith Panthers to confirm their spot in the NRL finals.
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The Panthers also clung onto their spot at the bottom of the top eight. They came into the match with a 38-point for and against advantage over the North Queensland Cowboys for seventh spot. At one point, the score read 28-0 and Penrith fans would have been getting nervous, but a couple of consolation tries has kept their season alive.
For Manly, it was as good as a must-win game, and they didn’t disappoint, setting the tone from the kick-off. Their first defensive set of the game saw Penrith barely break-out of their red-zone.
Manly’s patience in attack was impressive though, and it took seven minutes for the first try to come. Brian Kelly was the beneficiary of some nice work inside from Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic as he stood up Waqa Blake to race away and score in the corner.
Cherry-Evans himself was next over as Manly continued to dominate the contest. Penrith were out on their feet, and it showed with the ease of the break, before Jake Trbojevic scored seven minutes before the halftime break off a Lloyd Perrett offload.
While Manly dominated possession during the first half, Penrith’s defence was soft and became worse as fatigue set in. The Sea Eagles defence, on the other hand, set the tone for the game with their great line speed and aggressive intent on Penrith’s front rowers.
The second half didn’t start any better for the Panthers, who conceded a try in the opening set. A break from Tom Trbojevic down the left-hand side, followed by an offload back to Trbojevic from Kelly after some nice work out of dummy half saw the lead extend to 22-0 with 39 minutes to go, leaving the Panthers with just 16 points to play with in their quest for the finals.
Curtis Sironen was next to burst over 27 minutes from fulltime, running a lovely inside line from a short ball.
Penrith then managed to muscle up, fending off a number of repeat sets before they got some ball, evened the contest and clung on for dear life with Tyrone May finally breaking their deadlock in the 76th minute, before Reagan Campbell-Gillard scored a second consolation try in the final minute.
The Panthers survived, but little more than that and they will need to improve out of sight next week if they are to make a dent in the finals. Manly, meanwhile leapfrog to sixth (possibly fifth if Cronulla lose by 22 points on Sunday) and will have a home elimination final at either Allianz or ANZ Stadium.
Manly Sea Eagles 28
Penrith Panthers 12
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