Manly Warringah Sea Eagles suffered a disappointing 30-16 loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium today in round 24 of the Telstra Premiership.
The loss saw the Sea Eagles slip from seventh to eighth place to remain on 28 points with two games remaining.
The match marked the 100th NRL game of Manly prop Brenton Lawrence
In front of a crowd of 8,912, the Bulldogs opened the scoring in the fourth minute when the ball was shifted right for winger Marcelo Montoya to score. Hooker Moses Mbye failed to convert the try.
The Sea Eagles hit back five minutes later when lock Jake Trbojevic scored after hooker Api Koroisau kept the ball alive. Winger Matthew Wright converted for a 6-4 lead.
Montoya grabbed his second try when he dived over in the right corner. Mbye failed to convert from the sideline for an 8-6 scoreline after 19 minutes.
Manly regained the lead when full-back Tom Trbojevic put centre Brian Kelly over from a scrum win. Wright failed to convert the try for a 10-8 lead after 26 minutes.
The Bulldogs took a 12-10 lead into half-time when centre Josh Morris put his twin brother in winger Brett Morris over to score just before the break.
Second Half
The home side went to a 16-10 lead when full-back Albert Hopoate delivered his third try assist when centre Brenko Lee pushed off Kelly to score out wide. Mbye converted for an 18-10 lead after 49 minutes.
Manly lock Jake Trbojevic was denied a second try when the NRL Bunker overruled the referee’s decision of a four pointer after confirming he lost control of the ball in trying to plant the ball down.
A Matt Frawley grubber kick saw the ball bounce off the shoulder of Daly Cherry-Evans and into the arms of Josh Morris to score. Mbye converted for a 24-10 lead.
The Sea Eagles were denied a try to Wright when it was ruled he lost control of the ball in trying to plant it down one handed in diving for the line.
The Morris brothers then combined for a 28-10 lead when Brett scored. Mbye converted for a 30-10 lead after 71 minutes.
Lewis Brown scored in the 79th minute for Manly. Cherry-Evans converted for a 30-16 scoreline.
The Sea Eagles play the Warriors in Auckland next Sunday.
