Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have fallen to their ninth defeat of the season, going down 32-10 to the Western Suburbs Magpies in round 15 of the NSW Cup at Lidcombe Oval this afternoon.
Match: Magpies v Sea Eagles
Round 15 -
home Team
Magpies
9th Position
away Team
Sea Eagles
11th Position
Venue: Lidcombe Oval, Sydney
Manly were hard done by, with the match being closer then the scoreline suggests. The boys in maroon-and-white opened the scoring before conceding three straight tries.
A try around the hour mark brought them back within touching distance. The home side shattered any chances of a win for the Sea Eagles with two tries in the final five minutes for a 22-point victory.
Poor discipline and a lack of attacking options on the day proved to be the difference between the two sides, with Manly having several chances to pile more points on the board.
NSW Cup: Round 15 - Magpies v Sea Eagles
Manly opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Brandon Wakeham. A crafty grubber kick by Joey Walsh to the left corner poked through for Wakeham to gather and score for a 4-0 scoreline.
The Magpies hit back with tries in the 20th and 27th minute to jump out to a 12-4 lead.
Manly had a handful of chances in the final ten minutes of the half, but weren’t able to crack the home side’s defence as they went into the sheds with an eight-point deficit.
The Magpies scored four minutes into the second half through Charlie Staines off the back of an aerial challenge to take their lead to 18-4.
Walsh worked his magic to bag his second try assist of the match as he sent Caleb Navale over for a try in the 53rd minute. Manly’s young half-back stepped at the line before throwing a perfectly-timed pass to Navale who went over untouched next to the posts for an 18-10 scoreline.
The Magpies were struggling to crack the Sea Eagles’ defence and chose to go for the shot at two points after being awarded a penalty deep into the half. Kurt Falls converted to take his side’s lead out to 10 points with eight minutes to play.
Poor discipline by Manly led to another conceded penalty deep into their half. The Magpies chose to take another shot at two points, with Falls extending his side’s lead to 22-10 with three minutes remaining.
An error by Western Suburbs on their own 40-metre line gave Manly a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, they turned over possession moments later, scuppering any chances of a comeback.
The home side scored two tries in the final minutes of the match to rub salt in the wound. Krystian Mapapalangi and Josh Feledy scored in the left corner for a final scoreline of 32-10.
The Sea Eagles take on the Rabbitohs in the second of two matches on Saturday June 21, 5:15pm, at Accor Stadium for round 16 of the NSW Cup.
