The Sydney Roosters have compounded further misery into Manly’s disastrous season, recovering from a slow start to hold out for a 22-20 win at Allianz Stadium.
After Manly fired to lead 10-0 early, the Roosters clawed it back 14-14 at halftime and took the lead shortly after through a surging Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
From there, the Roosters never let the advantage slip as they climbed back into the top eight.
The result came despite the Sea Eagles looking by far the most likely team for the majority of the second half, however they could only get themselves back within two with four minutes to play when Akuila Uate crossed out wide.
But the Roosters’ defence was resolute, as Manly were left to rue a missed Daly Cherry-Evans conversion from in front early in the physical match.
“I thought we were the better team today to be honest, but we just couldn’t get away with it in the end,” Manly coach Trent Barrett said.
“(Our luck) will change.
“If you keep turning up to training like they have been and keep committing to each other and play with that commitment and attitude, we will win. It’s not that far away.”
Making matters worse for Manly was the fact five-eighth Dylan Walker finished the match with a hyper-extended knee after he was hit in a tackle by Roosters winger Joseph Manu.
Walker will be assessed during the week, but he completed the match and Manly are confident he will be fit to take on Brisbane next week.
If Walker is to be ruled out, it will again raise questions about whether Jackson Hastings will be recalled to Manly’s halves following the season-ending knee injury to Lachlan Croker last week.
It was a gutsy effort win by the Roosters, who earned their stripes in defence as much as attack.
Bench forward Victor Radley pulled off an exceptional try-saving tackle on Walker with 25 minutes to play.
With the tryline wide open after Walker broke through the Roosters’ defence, Radley covered across from the centre of the field to put an absolute bell-ringer on Walker.
From the Roosters’ ensuing set, they earned a penalty from a kick and then capitalised on Jake Trbojevic being called offside to extend the score to 22-14 via a penalty goal.
“It was the biggest moment for us in that game,” coach Trent Robinson said.
“We’d had a few sets on our line there and there was nothing else that was going to happen other than score a try or Radley making a huge play to bring him down one on one.
“And he made the play.”
The win was a vital one for the Roosters, who have been criticised for their attack with a low-scoring victory over Canterbury their only win over the previous three weeks.
Prop Sio Siua Taukeiaho was dominant, running more than 150 metres, while Waerea-Hargreaves and Isaac Liu both crossed for tries.
RoryStorm
Guest
Let's be honest Scott the Chooks weren't very good at all. As Max said Taupau nearly ran more metres than the whole Chooks team combined. It wasn't just the fact he ran so many metres it was the way he ran them. He was nothing short of phenomenal. I'm not a fan of Manly but full credit to the way they took it right up to the Chooks. Just a shame Tom T was out of sorts today. He's obviously lacking confidence after the comeback from his injury. The one gripe I do have about Manly is Cherry Evans. What a spoilt prat he is. If he wasn't the Captain and the highest paid player in the team he would be running around in reserves. He's bringing nothing to the table at the moment. When mention was made in the press conference after the game about him missing that gimme kick he batted it away as if to say he didn't cost them the loss. That may be the case but he didn't help.
madmax
Guest
So it was a gutsy win by the Rooster?? Really?? lolol..........how about a lucky win against a team missing Taufua, Gosiewski, Sironen, Tanginoa, Croker, Parker, Tom Trbojevic ankle issues, Walker cannon balled late in the game & the Roosters were gutsy? You're kidding mate. Manly were unlucky to have a number of tries disallowed controversially but the Roosters were gutsy with an almost full strength team! You mention how dominant the Roosters forwards were & the meters they made yet not one word about Taupau & his 260 meters plus! But then again i guess you're a Roosters man!