There hasn’t been a swing to the right in the Sutherland Shire this dramatic since Scott Morrison got elected.
Manly won in a landslide at Cronulla on Sunday after peppering the Sharks’ toothless left edge to convert a 24-0 half-time advantage into what turned out to be a cliffhanger 30-26 victory as the visitors tired due to a glut of injuries.
Daly Cherry-Evans clinically and continually targeted Cronulla’s defensive weak link with the Sea Eagles running riot with five unanswered tries in the opening 40 minutes.
The upset triumph reinvigorated the Sea Eagles’ playoff hopes, lifting them to a point off eighth spot, while the home side is now staring down the barrel of missing the finals after being third a fortnight ago.
Cronulla have plummeted to sixth and with a trip to Penrith and a much further journey west to Perth the following week against Souths, they could be out of the finals equation.
(Photo by Tim Allsop/Getty Images)
Sea Eagles fly right past Sharks before late comeback
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon overhauled his left edge after their 44-12 shellacking at the hands of the Warriors the previous week.
Siosifa Talakai, Wade Graham and Matt Moylan were replaced by Connor Tracey, Jesse Colquhoun and Braydon Trindall, but their defence remained just as flimsy and disorganised.
“It was a new left edge, obviously combination needs more work,” he said.
Cronulla had a strong southerly at their backs in the first half but the Sea Eagles flew in the face of expectations to keep the ball deep in enemy territory for the overwhelming majority of the first half.
Tracey made a bad read in defence, rushing out from the goal line to create an overlap for Manly and Cherry-Evans found Josh Aloiai to barge over for a 4-0 lead in the sixth minute.
They were up 10-0 at the mid-point of the opening half when Cherry-Evans sidestepped his way into the backfield and his chip ahead was fumbled by Nicho Hynes to gift Lachlan Croker a try.
The Sea Eagles soared to a 14-point advantage on the half-hour mark when a seemingly innocuous Josh Schuster chip over the line bounced away from three Sharks into the arms of Haumole Olakau’atu.
It was 20-0 a few minutes later when Cherry-Evans spun the ball wide to Jason Saab, whose desperation flick enabled Tolu Koula to join the right-side raiding party.
Cherry-Evans knew which way to go with the last play of the first half, sending a bullet pass to Koula, who linked with Saab to send Garrick away for 24 unanswered points before the siren.
When Koula sprinted over for his second try four minutes after the interval, a cricket score looked on the cards with former Test captain Steve Waugh watching on from the stands.
The Sharks finally stemmed the bleeding with a Ronaldo Mulitalo try in the 46th minute and fellow winger Sione Katoa cut the scoreline to 30-8 midway through the second half but it was just window dressing.
Hynes was lucky not to be banished to the sin bin after he abused touch judge Belinda Sharpe when she ruled an overhead pass to Katoa was forward with referee Peter Gough remonstrating with the Cronulla halfback about his theatrics.
A Cameron McInnes try nine minutes from the final bell gave Sharks fans a glimmer of hope and when Jesse Ramien scored another a short time later, the deficit was back to 10 points.
Tracey put Mulitalo flying down the flank to kick infield for Will Kennedy to make it a four-point margin with five minutes left to make the Sharks fans who had left early to beat the traffic start second-guessing their decision.
Fitzy not impressed with refs or ‘flat energy’ of his side
Fitzgibbon was pleased about the second-half comeback but not happy with the first 40 minutes, or the refereeing.
“I don’t normally complain about the officials but I’ll have to talk to somebody (at the NRL) during the week because of what was going on there,” he said.
“If I start raising which issues I thought were hard calls we’ll be a while.”
The disallowed try to Katoa in the second half appeared to be a pain point but Fitzgibbon didn’t want to go into specifics.
“There was a real flat energy about us to start the game and I was bitterly disappointed. It ended up costing us. The ball never bounces your way when you’re not in control of the energy and it kept happening.
“We showed some resolve to get back in the game – we ran a bit harder, tackled a bit harder and that’s what we’re capable of when we do.”
Injuries mount for Manly
Manly coach Anthony Seibold said he was nervous during the final stages and conceded his team gave Cronulla a bit of a sniff but “I thought for 55 minutes we were outstanding today”.
“We were left with one on the bench and they were coming to get us but we set up the game really well,” he said.
“We didn’t have much petrol left, I’m really proud of the guys.
“We scored 30 points in 50 minutes against a pretty fair side so I’ll take that every day of the week. I just need to fix up the back-end stuff.
“If we’d lost today it’s a long road ahead for us. I think we’re one point outside the eight now so we’re still alive.”
Big prop Taniela Paseka hobbled off with a grade-three MCL sprain after a three-man Sharks tackle bent his leg back at a dangerous angle midway through the first half so he is unlikely to play again this year.
There was conjecture that it may have been a wishbone style tackle but the bunker cleared the defenders of any illegal play.
Aloiai joined Paseka on the sidelines in the 62nd minute clutching at a dislocated shoulder.
Seibold said it had actually come out twice prior earlier in the game and he is also looking at a “significant amount of time” on the sidelines.
A third forward, Jake Trbojevic, was sent to the sidelines for a HIA late in the piece but he did not seem too troubled despite copping a high shot from Royce Hunt.
With mid-season recruit Matt Lodge making his club debut, his addition to the roster could be even more timely for Manly as they try to sneak into the finals.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Moylan didn’t play that game . Was dumped to NSW Cup for being a liability in defence.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
I disagree. I won't be debating this any further.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Defence is the issue but that doesn’t mean Muzz is wrong. Both points aren’t exclusive of one another.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
The problem with claiming that "game management" is the issue is that no matter how well the game is "managed", on numerous occasions over the 80 minutes a team's defence will be tested - it has to be. In the case of Cronulla's left edge it is failing every test - every time. It is letting in an avalanche of points - it has been since late last season. That is the problem. Had it not done so Cronulla would have secured their place in the finals this year. Defence is the cornerstone of success in league. It is non negotiable. That is the key problem right there in my view and it's also the view of Fitzgibbon, Hynes, McInnes, Finucane (who have all spoken about the subject), Slater, Gould, Gallen, Fittler and others.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
souv, Hynes plays the game at high speed and loves to shift early. There are times when you need to slow things down and play boring footy.Focus on winning the middle third; complete your sets with a kick to corner and then attack in defence. What this does is break down and fatigue the opposition exposing gaps and a disjointed D making your offence more efficient. Nicho needs to learn how to play the long game! This is how the you beat the top teams. Cleary is a master at it. Cam Smith was the best game manager. Cronk added it to the Roosters and they went back to back.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
I’m interested Muzz. What have you picked up about Nicho’s management in particular over his Sharks duration ?
Renegade
Roar Guru
I do get the point Muzz is making… they almost try to score off every set which leads to a brand of footy that is exciting as any team playing RL right now, but sometimes you just need the patience and be able to absorb momentum and control the contest. That’s what Muzz is talking about, knowing when to hold back on trying to score every play and when to unleash.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
Yep, defence is the issue. It is extraordinary that anyone could think otherwise.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
Like defence? LOL.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
I would actually - when younger I played in a team that beat a team what a fella called Wally Lewis in it - perhaps you've heard of him - probably not. An "off day"? Leaking 30 points in a half against a team not even in the eight! The week before being flogging by the Warriors 44-12. Another off day. Gee, they're having a lot of "off days". I wonder why. Could be it that letting in 74 points in two games shows their defence is rubbish. I reckon I am on to something. Even their coach agrees with me - take a look at his press conferences. Then there are the likes of Slater and Gallen and Gould and ... I could go on but surely even you get the point I am making. They all agree with me that defence is the issue. But hey, you keep rabbiting on about "game management". But here's a tip - don't ever go for a job as an NRL analyst - the interview won't go well.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
I would actually - in my younger days I actually played in a team that beat a team containing a young Wally Lewis - perhaps you've heard of him - probably not. If you think that the only problem with Cronulla is "game management" then I can't help you. Perhaps you should listen to Fitzgibbon - he doesn't think so - he thinks it's defence. He's right - but then anyone other than an idiot would realise that. Funny how so many others agree with him - the likes of Slater and Gould and Gallen etc etc etc - in fact anyone who knows anything about football. But hey, what would they know - it's "game management" right? Here's a clue why they think that - floggings at the hands of Melbourne, the Warriors, the Dolphins (!), Souths last year and now letting Manly score 30 points in a half of football. Plenty of other shocking defensive displays too - here's another one being up 20-0 against the Warriors at home and being run down. But it's "game management" - that's the problem! Here's a tip - best you don't go for a job as a game analyst - the interview process may be 'challenging' to say the least.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
souv, scoring plenty of points and quickly is great but it won't win you big games and a premiership without managing other critical aspects of a game.
Renegade
Roar Guru
EJ, They put 44 on the cows and 30 each on the warriors & Parra as well. Line breaks, etc are high in every game… they tore the broncos to bits but couldn’t capitalize. They leave a lot of opportunities on the floor, just look at Sunday’s examples… defence is the issue. I just hope they are competitive on Saturday, on current form could be a disaster… hopefully the last 15 mins on Sunday was the spark to restart their season.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
cheers mate.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
I’ve got no doubt the club has dreams of a sooner rather than later premiership but the current roster was never going to get closer than best case scenario regular season 6th in ‘23 and the realists all knew that. To beat Penrith now, after the last fortnight, would be a win for the ages. Far too much chronic ill discipline, wilting (laziness) under fatigue and a general lack of stoic essentials that seemingly only Penrith consistently show at the moment are a greater core problem imho. You may have noticed Oregon Kaufusi being called out 3 times by the referee late in the game on Sunday, but he still went in. Yep, Nicho got frustrated the other day and questioned the linesman, a rarity, but regardless was able to orchestrate that 30 points in 40 minute snatch despite the knuckleheadedness of a few support crew. And if we somehow attribute the first half to the Cronulla half then logically the Manly half takes the head shots for the second. There were clear and obvious shortcomings of the side in the first half but would never have listed poor game management as one of them, with specifics, would you ?
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Souv, but what do the stats say after you remove the beatings the Sharks have handed to the Dogs (twice), Dragons (twice) and Tigers (once). They scored 209 points in those 5 games alone at an average of 41.8 ppg. Remove those 5 and they sit at 22 ppg. Not everyone has had the luxury of playing the bottom 3 so often. Nicho can certainly break up weak defences very well. Good ones? No so much. If Fitzy has dreams of a premiership he has a fair bit of work to do. Big test against the Panthers.
The Spectator
Roar Guru
If only Garrick could kick into the wind !
souvalis
Roar Rookie
I don’t know what the most accurate measurable factors of organization are beyond the eye test but thus far this side has scored the most number of points, the most number of line breaks and the equal most number of tries in the NRL. You can’t break defences up to that level with shabby game management from the 7.
NSWelshman
Roar Rookie
Understand mate…..I don’t think either side will make a dent in the premiership if they make the 8……
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Start me off? lol. You wouldn't know what an A defender was if he ran into you. :laughing: All that and they got within a whisker of winning on an off day. The Sharks play high risk footy, Early shifts hence why no forward ran more than 100m.They're 6 points off 1st place and their stats are solid. I wish my team was in their position. They definitely need better game management. Hynes is no organiser and Moylan is too timid. Having better game management from their five-eighth would take the pressure off Hynes allowing him to play his natural game whilst keeping them within the parameters of their playing system.