It was all set up for the Sea Eagles. A trip across the ditch to take on a frustratingly inconsistent Warriors side that was coming off consecutive losses; the most recent, a thumping at the hands of Canberra on their home patch.
While a continuation of Manly’s recent run of form seemed likely, there is always an alternative scenario, one that often spells disaster.
The Warriors can be enigmatic and a visit to Mount Smart Stadium on a wet and slippery night has caught many a top-eight team off guard over the years.
The mad scientist that is Des Hasler would have planned for every contingency and emphasised to his team that a place in the top four was in the offing.
Despite little early ball for the Warriors in attacking position, Ken Maumalo scored two tries in the opening 26 minutes.
Ligi Sao also found the stripe after magnificent work from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck that involved the use of his foot, both hands and an eventual pass through his legs. It has to be seen to be believed.
Brad Parker left the field for the Sea Eagles after a bizarre incident in which he appeared to tweak his knee while taking a tap and when Daly Cherry-Evans re-injured his troublesome ankle with eight minutes remaining in the first half, the doomsday nightmare appeared to be unfolding for the Sea Eagles.
If improved ladder position was the number one criteria for the NRL Coach of the Year award, Hasler would be the hot favourite right now.
However, that counted for nothing as the Warriors took the contest to his troops and a late penalty sent the home side to the sheds with an 18-0 half-time lead.
Manly were stunned, I was stunned, I think even the Warriors’ fans were stunned. It was not the way Dr Des had planned the itinerary. The next 30 minutes became something of a slog, as the clouds above the shaky isles opened further.
It took the visitors 69 minutes to find a four pointer, yet off the back of Adam Blair’s sin binning, the Sea Eagles came to life.
Reuben Garrick began scoring tries and kicking goals and with just five minutes remaining, Manly were briskly within two points at 18-16.
Alas, a late try to Jazz Tevaga sealed the deal for the home side and Manly’s trip from hell was complete. How often have we seen a side heavily favoured to win, experience a disastrous, wet and frustrating night on the road such as Manly did last night?
They will rue the wasted opportunity and the Bunnies will look to capitalise on the Sea Eagles’ failure to sneak into the four when they face the Storm on Sunday.
In the second Friday night game, both the Sharks and Panthers had the chance to solidify their claims on a top eight spot. Level on 20 competition points, the teams played accordingly and nervously in the early minutes; fully aware of what was at stake.
The Panthers took the early initiative and a Brent Naden try helped build an 8-0 lead midway through the first half.
The home side did have a considerable wind at their back in the first 40, a wind so strong that the writers’ toupee came adrift a number of times during one of Sydney’s windiest days for some time.
Despite no James Maloney to choreograph things for the Panthers, young Matt Burton stepped up and produced a quality opening half.
It reminded everyone of the immense talent pool at the Panthers’ disposal and the 19-year-old from Dubbo was composed and effective with the ball.
Can the Panthers keep their hot streak up? (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The Sharks did pull one try back into the breeze when Shaun Johnson sent Wade Graham over the line in the 32nd minute yet Nathan Cleary responded with a try of his own to give the Panthers a 20-4 lead at the break.
If there was any thought of the Sharks using the conditions to their advantage and mounting a serious challenge in the second half, it seemed unlikely early.
However the visitors were to find their mojo and tries to Jack Williams and Josh Morris brought the visitors within ten points with 15 minutes remaining.
When Sosaia Feki crossed on the left wing with just five minutes on the clock, Cronulla were back within six yet Burton produced a stunning defensive effort on a rampant Johnson in the dying minutes to deny John Morris’ team and the Panthers iced the game 26-20 soon after.
It was a stunning debut from Burton. In both attack and defence, the youngster led the way and worked brilliantly in unison with Cleary around the ruck.
A host of NRL scouts will have noted his performance, knowing that the production line of Panthers’ juniors cannot be retained by the club in its entirety.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Any team which has lost a whole heap of games in a row is a dangerous proposition and the Warriors were always going to beat someone. Manly weren't making breaks or looking dangerous and the Warriors defence aimed up well. The Knights are going to touch someone up soon as well.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Yeah we lost PS but us Manly fans know 5th is better than 15th! Bit of advise you won’t be Premiers in 2019 or 2020 so enjoy your last premiership cause you will be waiting 30 years for the next
Tom G
Roar Rookie
The problem is that during any season you’re going to get games like that .. No point in looking for a stellar refereeing performance. They seldom happen. Manly’s problem is, that unlike other top sides, they don’t seem to have a plan b. They just keep forcing passes under pressure, getting frustrated, silly kicks early in the tackle count, dropping balls and giving away dumb penalties and panic. When they finally did adjust to the opposition and conditions last night they looked great. Sadly it took 60 + minutes of agony to get there. They need to sort it out by Thursday because they always struggle against the Tigers for some reason
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Like I said following Manly's win against the Storm, that game was brutal and was always going to take a toll on both sides in the coming weeks. The Sea Eagles got passed the Knights because they are folding like a house of cards at this point of the season but the first team that showed up and put it on the Sea Eagles was always the team most likely to benefit from any residual fatigue from the Storm game. It was evident from the kick-off that the Warriors were motivated and going to be physical pinning Manly inside their 20 early. If Souths turn up and test the Storm tomorrow then the same thing could happen. It's hard to imagine that though given their poor performance last week and with Sam Burgess and Braidon Burns as late withdrawals. At this point it is about consistency, continued improvement and building momentum ahead of the finals and all top 5 sides have room for improvement but the Storm have less improvement in them compared to the other 4 top 5 sides. They are at full strength and are already playing at close to their best.
stevesyd
Roar Rookie
Sore loser. Penrith the better side for 90% of the game. Move on.
Up the Wahs
Roar Guru
My bad shouldn’t of generalised, I think it’s ridiculous how we are a slight chance after the season we’ve had.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Four words... "sore loser" and "bad sport". So YOU can blame the refs but Rabbitohs fans can't? Face the facts, the Seagulls aren't a top 4 side. At full strength they couldn't beat the 11th placed Warriors. They couldn't even score a single point until the Warriors had a player sent to the sin-bin and were forced to play with 12 vs 13. That was when Manly scored all their points.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
I think Manly’s Game against the Storm a couple of weeks ago probably took more out of them than we might like to admit. I mean, that was the game of the Season to date and as much as I hate to admit it, I think the Storm are a better side than the Boys this year. I won’t say Manly we’re lucky to beat them, but I will say they pretty well drained the tank to do it. They’ll be ok. I mean, even in their stupor they put on some points toward the end last night. Maybe that game was the monkey they needed to get off their back. Tigers on Thursday at Brookie, then Raiders and Storm, followed by the Eels (at BankWest which is probably worth 10 points to them). Big games ahead.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
There’s only one guy complaining. Swings and roundabouts. Manly were impatient, moved away from what has made them a top team in 2019, as I think they probably thought tries would come easily. But they didn’t anticipate that the Warriors were on song all night. They just kept turning up in defence. Warriors fans must be asking why they rarely produce that ever. Cause they obviously can. Still, Manly can take a bit from the game. If the game had gone for a further 10mins I think they’d have got the win. They were the stronger finisher. But it didn’t, so they are licking their wounds this morning. A good win for the Warriors.
Up the Wahs
Roar Guru
I honestly thought the penalty count was kind of warranted, the Blair sin bin was tough and I think his reputation hurt him there but oh well. I think it’s rich of manly fans to complain about the reffing when it was 100% manlys tactics, decision making plus the bounce of the ball that influenced the result.
Jacko
Guest
Go look at the Warriors being penalised at the 20 min mark for being offside....The Manly player plays the ball 14 mtrs from where the penalty for being inside the 10 was ruled.....Warriors were all on side...just not according to the useless refs....manly were the team offside all night..
LHK
Roar Rookie
Penrith always seem to function better in attack without the Malonley- Cleary combo. Cleary looks much more comfortable with Maloney off the field. I know it seems counter intuitive - but seeing how Malonley is leaving should Ivan give young Burton a chance to continue in first grade?
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
Only managed to watch a mini version of the Warrior's match this morning jamesb but it did appear that Warriors were pretty much in control of the match (....at least until Blair was sin-binned). Some outstanding line defence with CHT playing a blinder. A well deserved victory.
Stu
Guest
The sad thing is that constitutes a reffing performance in favour of the warriors.
Up the Wahs
Roar Guru
13-5 penalty count plus 57% of possession and a sin bin equals refs fault that manly lost.
Albo
Roar Rookie
We have seen it all before with the Warriors. Just when they look at their lowest , they pull off a big upset win. The wet conditions helped , but their commitment was the key for about 70 minutes that was enough to get them home. RTS and Jazz Tevaga give it their all every week, but this week they had some extra back up with Chanel Harris Tavita having his best game in the top grade and Burr, Paasi and Papalii working hard in the middle. Manly were caught out . DCE was limited ( injured) , Jake is in need a week off and Turbo was not allowed to run rampant this week. As for the Panthers , they will rue their awful performance last week against the Dogs. But they again showed the latent abilities they have when they got the early jump on the Sharks via a strong performance by the Panthers pack and the halves controlling the play. Fisher-Harris, Liam Martin and Kenny were outstanding in the middle and Cleary showed his best and young Burton had a debut to remember. But again the Panthers exposed their defensive weaknesses around their left side around Naden & Mansour, giving up now 8 tries there in the past 3 matches. Something needs to be done Ivan !
souvalis
Roar Rookie
They’ve taken the quick play the ball away from every team...but that was the key area the Warriors were flogged in last week by Hodgson’s Raiders, logically couldn’t see it happening again 7 days later..
jamesb
Roar Guru
I guess this article is concentrated on Manly missing the opportunity of moving into the top four, but you have to give credit to the Warriors, and in particular, Chanel Harris Tavita. He was brilliant. CHT had two try assists and was a menace in defence. Warriors coaching staff and management should ask themselves: why did they sign Nikorima? Warriors were able to function more adequately in attack with CHT at six. Maybe Kearney might shift Nikorima at nine, with Luke likely to depart at season's end. In the second game, Prior's early injury really hurt the Sharks. While Fifita clearly is not fit. They could be without both props next week. As for Penrith, young Burton was impressive. It will be interesting to see how Penrith manage Cleary, Luai and Burton in the halves next year. I guess there was a reason why Penrith were happy to let Maloney go.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Yeah agree my point wasn’t meant to be disparaging of Boyle, more that he’s just not there or ready yet. He certainly could be down the track. Once Taupau and AFB have done their shift I’d like to see Paseka and another big body come on. I think it should be Olakau’atu. But it could even be a guy like T-Rex. If you only need a good 25mins from him I reckon he could be a dangerous bench option.
Dutski
Roar Guru
I’ve am sways liked Boyle and hoped he would have kicked on under Des. He’s only young, hopefully that will happen in time.