Manly Warringah Sea Eagles recorded its biggest win of the season in crushing South Sydney 46-8 at Allianz Stadium tonight in round nine of the Telstra Premiership.
The 38 point margin eclipsed the team’s 36-0 win over the Bulldogs in round four at Lottoland.
Sea Eagles winger Akuila Uate had a night to remember, feeding off Dylan Walker to score four tries. The last time he scored four tries in a match was against Souths playing for Newcastle in round 26, 2011.
A dominant first half performance laid the foundation for the comprehensive victory.
The Sea Eagles ran in six tries in the opening 40 minutes with Uate scoring twice in five minutes to give Manly a 30-2 lead at half-time.
It was Manly’s fifth win of the season with the team unbeaten in four away games.
Souths opened the scoring with a penalty goal from 30m out in the fifth minute to half-back Adam Reynolds after Manly prop Brenton Lawrence was penalised for a play the ball infringement.
The Sea Eagles opened the scoring when a great inside pass from five-eighth Blake Green saw prop Brenton Lawrence show his pace and skill to beat the defence to score from 15m out. Centre Dylan Walker converted for a 6-2 lead after 12 minutes.
After going close to scoring again through winger Jorge Taufua and Green, the Sea Eagles crossed for their second when a smart grubber kick by half-back Daly Cherry-Evans saw the ball bounce up in-goal. In trying to score, Walker missed the ball, allowing second-rower Curtis Sironen to dive on the ball to score. Walker converted for a 12-2 lead after 23 minutes.
Four minutes later, the Sea Eagles were in again when left centre Brian Kelly found open space to send winger Jorge Taufua over for a 16-2 lead after 20 minutes.
A fifth tackle bomb four minutes later by Cherry-Evans was not contested by Souths, allowing for Manly full-back Tom Trbojevic to take the ball. He sent it right and several hands later, winger Akuila Uate dived over for a 20-2 lead.
Uate then grabbed his second try in the 35th minute when Walker found open space to race 30m before sending his winger over for a 24-2 lead.
The Sea Eagles were not done with and were in again a minute before half-time when Tom Trbojevic delivered a superb pass short of the line for Jake Trbojevic to score. Walker converted to give Manky a commanding 30-2 lead at the break.
Second Half
South Sydney scored their first try when winger Hymel Hunt managed to get the ball down despite a great effort by Kelly to hold him up. Reynolds converted the try from the sideline for a 30-8 scoreline after 52 minutes.
Uate then grabbed his third try of the game when he dived over in the corner after Walker managed to use his strength to offload in a three man tackle for a 34-8 lead after 60 minutes.
A few minutes later, Uate scored his fourth try when Walker put the foot down to hit a hole before standing in a tackle to pop a pass to his winger. Hastings converted for a 40-8 lead after 71 minutes.
Tom Trbojevic then sent Green on his way to the line to score. Hastings converted for a 46-8 lead after 76 minutes.
Next round
The NRL competition stops next weekend due to representative matches.
Manly will take on Brisbane Broncos in a ‘home’ game at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, May 13, in the second Brisbane Double Header.
