Manly Warringah Sea Eagles suffered a 34-18 loss to premiers Nth Qld Cowboys at Brookvale Oval tonight in round nine of the Telstra Premiership.
Winger Matthew Wright and five-eighth Pita Godinet made their club debuts for the Sea Eagles following the loss through injury to full-back Brett Stewart, winger Tom Trobjevic and hooker Api Koroisau. Dylan Walker moved from five-eighth to play full-back.
The Cowboys opened the scoring through a try to winger Kyle Feldt down the right flank. Jonathan Thurston converted from the sideline for a 6-0 lead.
Feldt then got his second try in the 13th minute through a wicked bounce off a grubber kick to score. Thurston converted from in front for a 12-0 lead.
Three minutes later, the Cowboys got their third try when the ball was shifted left through the backline for winger Antonio Winterstein to score. Thurston converted to score for an 18-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The Sea Eagles opened their account when a well weighted grubber kick by half-back Daly Cherry-Evans saw centre and captain Jamie Lyon dive on the ball to score. Lyon converted his own try to leave Manly trailing 18-6 after 25 minutes.
The Cowboys extended the lead to 22-6 when five-eighth Michael Morgan got on the outside with room to move to beat three defenders to score in the corner.
Second Half
Nth Qld went to a 26-6 lead when Gavin Cooper crossed out wide. Thurston converted for a 28-6 lead after 63 minutes before Kane Linnett crossed for a converted try for a 34-6 scoreline.
The Sea Eagles pulled one back when Cherry-Evans scored off his own grubber kick. Lyon converted for a 34-12 scoreline after 75 minutes.
A minute later, lock Jake Trbojevic broke clear before putting a kick through for Godinet to score next to the posts. Lyon converted for the 34-18 scoreline.
