Manly Warringah Sea Eagles were defeated 48-18 by Cronulla Sharks in Round 19 of the Jersey Flegg Cup at Sharks Stadium on Friday night.
Match: Sharks v Sea Eagles
Round 19 -
home Team
Sharks
4th Position
away Team
Sea Eagles
13th Position
Venue: Sharks Stadium, Sydney
The Sharks, who sit in second place following the victory, were far too strong for the Sea Eagles, running in eight tries to three.
Five tries in the first half gave Cronulla a 20-point lead at the break which proved to be too much to come back from for the boys from the Northern Beaches.
Conceding three tries in the first ten minutes of the second half all but sealed defeat for Manly, with the result being their 13th loss of the season.
The Sharks dominated the opening stages of the match and shot out to a quick 18-point lead in the opening ten minutes.
Manly prop Campbell Munn was in the right place at the right time as he capitalised on an error to score in the 15th minute.
A looping kick was dropped by Sharks full-back Adrian Sandy, causing the ball to roll away from him. Munn, who was chasing hard, grabbed the ball on the fly and ran 30 metres to score under the post for an 18-6 scoreline.
Cronulla hit back with a try under the posts to Richie Tupuaailei in the 24th minute, extending the margin back out to 18 points with a 24-6 lead.
A smart short ball at the line by Sea Eagles' five-eighth Riley Barglik in the 31st minute sent Remi Mant through the defence untouched to score under the posts, cutting the deficit to 24-12.
The home side took a 30-12 lead as both teams continued to trade tries, with Sharks' half-back Riley Pollard forcing his way through the defence to score shortly before half-time.
Pollard converted a penalty goal as the siren sounded to push the scoreline out to 32-12 at the break.
Three tries in the first ten minutes of the second half pushed Cronulla's lead to 48-12.
Manly pulled a try back in the 60th minute through Thomas Epere. The prop found himself at dummy half metres out from the line and chose to back himself.
Epere managed to get out of the tackle and through the two defenders to ground the ball on the tryline for a final scoreline of 48-18.
The Sea Eagles travel to Belmore Sports Ground in Round 20 of the Jersey Flegg Cup to take on the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
