The Sea Eagles have suffered back-to-back losses after going down 28-14 to a strong South Sydney Rabbitohs side on the hallowed Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday night.
After knocking the ball on from the kick off Manly gifted South Sydney the ball and they managed to score off the back of 3 straight sets through a pin point kick landing on the chest of winger Elliot Gorman who strolled over to score
It wasn’t until the 7th minute of the game that Manly finally got their hands on the ball, and looked a chance of leveling the scores after a centre-field break from Jamil Hopoate but after a slick off-load Jesse Ramien was denied the try in the corner by the ref.
Souths then took the ball the length of the field off the next set, to be the next to score with Jack Gosiewski getting the try and giving Souths an 8-0 lead after 12 minutes.
After finally stringing together a couple of sets Manly were the next to score in the 15th minute after winger Latrell Schaumakel acrobatically finished a great back line move to get the ball down centimetres inside the white line.
Both sides were guilty of some poor discipline throughout the first half but it was Souths who suffered the most after giving away a penalty to Manly deep in their own half and were able to get out and score off the ensuing set courtesy of fullback Tom Trbojevic to level the scores up at 8 all after 24 minutes.
The following 30 minutes stagnated and became a who would blink first contest with both sides making errors to finish sets and struggling to convert any field position into pressure on the scoreboard.
Neither side was giving anything away and was further highlighted by an all in scuffle that resulted with a player from each side being sent to the bin for 10 minutes.
Manly finally broke the deadlock in the 56th minute after being gifted a repeat set on the Souths goal line after another player was sent to the bin. Five-Eighth Will Pearsall was the beneficiary crashing through the 11 man Souths defence to score under the posts, and with a successful kick gave the Sea Eagles a 14-8 lead.
Even with 11 men on the field Souths weren’t going to roll over, hitting straight back with a great forwards try. With the conversion sailing over the scores were back together at 14 all after 62 minutes.
After getting their full contingent back on the field Souths managed to get themselves across the line again, off the back of a Manly error and penalty to give them the ball 20m out. Jack Gosiewski forced his way through the defence with a left foot step and a solid run to get the ball down, to give Souths a 20-14 lead after 70 minutes.
Manly were fast becoming their own worst enemies. After failing to find touch off a penalty kick coming off their own line, gave Souths the ball back and they were able to score in the 76th minute after Dummy-Half Aaron Booth bustled his way through to give the Bunnies an unassailable lead 26-14 with only 4 minutes to go.
The game finished with another gentlemen’s disagreement and Manly's Luke Garner and Souths Sam Amnuleleua each sent for an early shower, meaning that both sides finished with 12 men. Souths gained the penalty from the scuffle and Wallace Tangiiti added a further 2 points to give Souths a solid 14 point victory 28-14.
