Match Report: NSW Cup Round 8 vs Dragons

It was a one-sided affair, with the Sea Eagles scoring their only try of the match in the final ten minutes.

A heavily rotated squad saw several changes to Manly’s lineup, with three players in the starting 13 who were originally named on the bench.

Sea Eagles’ second-rower Jacob Sykes did well to prevent the opening try in the third minute, making a one-on-one strip in his own in-goal to instead concede a drop-out.

Manly’s defence was tested early on and they managed to hold on for the first 20 minutes.

The Dragons finally broke through with a try in the 23rd minute to Ben Rumble. The winger went over untouched after a quick shift to the edge for an early 4-0 lead.

St George Illawarra’s winger Nathan Lawson bagged himself a double with tries in the 34th and 38th minute to give his side a 14-point lead at half-time.

Manly were energised and had a string of chances deep in the opposition’s half in the opening minutes of the second half, but just couldn’t break through as the Dragons continued to hold the upper hand.

The home side went on to score three tries in a 14-minute period to shoot out to a 32-0 lead.

Faitala-Mariner scored in the 46th, Lawson completed his hat-trick in the 52nd, and Ramsey crossed at the hour mark.

The Dragons scored their seventh try in the 67th minute as centre Nick Tsougranis went over on the right edge for a 36-0 scoreline.

With seven minutes remaining, the Sea Eagles finally struck to score their only try in the match through Jake Arthur. Manly’s captain took on the line himself and threw a dummy pass to free up some space before barging past one defender to score, cutting the deficit to 36-6.

The Sea Eagles have a bye next week and take on the Sydney Roosters in Round 10 on Sunday May 11 at Scully Park in Tamworth.