Cowboys
20
Match Complete
Sea Eagles
22
| 61 |  | R. Garrick | ||
| 60 |  | C. Cust | ||
| 45 | | J. Taufua | ||
| J. Clifford | | 39 | ||
| F. Molo | | 39 | ||
| J. Clifford | | 37 | ||
| T. Opacic | | 36 | ||
| J. Clifford | | 34 | ||
| K. Feldt | | 33 | ||
| 27 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 26 | | J. Thompson | ||
| 23 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 22 | | C. Sironen | ||
| J. Clifford |  | 13 |
| 3 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 1 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Super Saturday round 13 will conclude with the Manly Sea Eagles travelling north to Townsville to face the North Queensland Cowboys, and with several behemoths set to be let loose on 1300SMILES Stadium, this shapes up as a very exciting clash. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 7:35pm AEST.
The battle for the middle third of the field should shape the entire contest, with Jason Taumalolo along with Josh McGuire and Jordan McLean coming up against Addin Fonua-Blake, Marty Taupau and potentially Jake Trbojevic should he back up from Origin duty.
Manly coach Des Hasler has named the elder Trbojevic and captain Daly Cherry-Evans on an extended bench, although it’s unclear at this stage whether the Origin pair will back up or not.
However, there are two big ins for Manly. Moses Suli returns to partner Dylan Walker in the centres, while superstar Tom Trbojevic will also return from injury to take his place at fullback in what is a massive boost for the team.
With an injury cloud now hanging over NSW and Canberra winger Nick Cotric, the man they call “Tommy Turbo” will be looking to make an immediate impact, and convince Blues coach Brad Fittler that he is ready to reclaim his place on the right wing, at the expense of his fellow Serb Cotric.
For the Cowboys, their two Origin stars Michael Morgan and Josh McGuire have both been named to start, McGuire in the front row while Morgan will shift to the back to cover for the loss of Jordan Kahu through a shoulder injury.
Prediction
It cannot be overstated how big an inclusion Tom Trbojevic is to this Manly side. They’ve battled admirably without him, showing plenty of grit and determination and winning enough games to put them in seventh spot. He will bring so much to the side, and will give the Cowboys plenty to think about in defence.
The inclusions of his brother Jake and skipper Daly Cherry-Evans would be equally huge, as they take the pressure off Tom to conjure up tries out of nothing.
The Cowboys’ biggest strength is their middle, although Manly are hardly weak in this department. The massive difference between these two sides lies in who plays in the key positions.
For the Cowboys, Jake Clifford has shown plenty of inexperience this year and has not been overly impressive, while John Asiata (a very skilled player no-doubt) is a makeshift five-eighth.
Meanwhile the combination of DCE and Cade Cust excites me greatly. The experienced Queensland and Manly captain steering the team around while the young upstart works off the back of him – what a combination!
Manly’s class in key positions should see them home in this game, although late withdrawals of Jake Trbojevic and/or DCE would make this game much more of a coin toss.
Manly by 12 (on the assumption that Jake and DCE play).
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:30pm AEST.
Where: 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville
When: 7:35pm
Streaming: NRL Digital Pass, Kayo Sports
TV: Fox League
North Queensland Cowboys
1. Michael Morgan 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Mitchell Dunn 4. Tom Opacic 5. Enari Tuala 6. John Asiata 7. Jake Clifford 8. Josh McGuire 9. Jake Granville 10. Jordan McLean 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo 14. Reuben Cotter 15. Shane Wright 16. Scott Bolton 17. Francis Molo 18. Peter Hola 19. Javid Bowen 20. Corey Jensen 21. Emry Pere
Manly Sea Eagles
1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Dylan Walker 4. Moses Suli 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Cade Cust 7. Kane Elgey 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Martin Taupau 11. Joel Thompson 12. Curtis Sironen 13. Jack Gosiewski 14. Manase Fainu 15. Brendan Elliot 16. Morgan Boyle 17. Taniela Paseka 18. Jake Trbojevic 19. Daly Cherry-Evans 20. Haumole Olakauatu 21. Lloyd Perrett
Tonester
Roar Rookie
I feel like his presence was felt - Manly's go-to play in the opposition 20 is to go to him chiming into the backline, and the first two tries to the backrowers were made possible by the threat of him getting the ball. Clever play.
Insider
Roar Rookie
I’ve no confidence in any referees, like I said the inconsistency is pathetic. If these guys were players they would have been relegated to reserve grade. Ok I get you can’t see every forward pass but knock ons? Acts of foul play? The ruck, the 10, some blokes don’t even play the ball correctly. And the bias towards the clubs in top half of 8 is very telling.
db
Guest
If you think the games tonight followed a script then what did you think of Grant Atkins sribbly scriptings last night?
R N
Roar Rookie
Well done cows... stuck with it through injuries, Green and a few iffy decisions! Asiata at 5/8 should be put to bed! I love him but a few really poor passes and decisions! They where really clunky but good effort! They really are hard to watch though ... Greenball needs to get more adventurous. Mrs Green must really.....
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Turbo struggled in some ways but he adds a huge amount to the team. He was close to scoring and setting up numerous tries but lacked the strength, speed and confidence of his other couple of matches but he always looked likely. Message to Manly wingers , stand DEEPER for crying out loud. That lost try at the end shows exactly why I have been banging on about it for a while now. It's criminal to work hard for these chances and bomb them because of a simple strategy of not standing deep. Des , you let Watmough make mistakes for years before pulling him in to line , don't wait so long for pulling Jack Gosweski into line and have a word to the wingers.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Absolutely, but luck and adjudication are seperate dynamics, the two games I’ve watched tonight are following the same script and that is the referees inconsistency has to be made accountable, blow the penalty that’s fine but too many times in the same game the refs with penalise one side and not the other for the same thing
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
Full Time Full time here in Townsville and Manly have managed to come from behind to seal a two-point victory over their opponents the Cowboys. Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic both played brilliantly for the Sea Eagles after playing Origin on Wednesday, whilst brother Tom looked dangerous at times in his return from injury, but also shaky at times under the high ball. For the Cowboys, Jason Taumalolo was brilliant as usual, while Michael Morgan had a great game at fullback, adding fuel to the fire that is the debate over which position he is best-suited to. The Cowboys drew first blood in the 13th minute with a penalty goal by Jake Clifford right in front of the sticks. However it would be the Sea Eagles who scored the first try, with right back-rower Curtis Sironen hitting a great hole off a Tom Trbojevic pass to score. This was followed up by a similar play 3 minutes later, Cade Cust putting Joel Thompson through a hole on the other side for a 12-2 lead. However the Cowboys came back late in the second half, with tries to Kyle Feldt, Tom Opacic and Francis Molo between the 33rd and 40th minutes for a halftime lead of 20-12. Manly began the second half with a bang, Jorge Taufua crashing over in the 45th minute to make it just 4 points the difference. When Jack Gosiewski was sin binned for a professional foul on Scott Bolton, the Cowboys looked to capitalise, and had several opportunities to do so. Unfortunately they were unable to take these opportunities, and it was actually Manly who came back to score while Gosiewski was off to take the lead 22-20. From there Manly was able to grind out a win through good game management from Daly Cherry-Evans, who limited the time of the ball in play with some clever kicking. It helped too that Jordan McLean did his hamstring minutes after the Cowboys had used their last interchange, forcing them to play the last 12 minutes with one less player. Ultimately Manly will be happy with the win despite not putting in an 80-minute performance. Tommy Turbo will be better for the run, although including him in the NSW team at this stage seems a long shot, with several handling errors gifting the Cowboys chances which they were unable to capitalise on. The Cowboys will be very disappointed, although it's fair to say that except for a 10 minute purple patch in the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Cowboys didn't bring much to the table in attack. This concludes the Roar's coverage of NRL Super Saturday! Thanks for joining us! Cowboys – 20 Sea Eagles – 22
Scott Pryde
Expert
Gritty win for Manly - really needed that. As for the Cowboys... Jeez.
db
Guest
There is aways an element of luck in a game and it doesn't always come your way. It's best to appreciate those times when the fickle finger of fate points in your direction.
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