Junior Reps: Round 3 Wrap

Manly’s Lisa Fiaola Cup were beaten 24–6 in a hard-fought match against the Steelers in Round 3 at WIN Stadium.

The Sea Eagles showed promising signs early, taking the game to their opponents with strong carries and energetic defence.

Momentum shifted midway through the first half when Steelers centre Ruby Coote crossed for a double in the 14th and 24th minutes, halting Manly’s attacking raid.

Illawarra extended their lead just before the break, with Emily Putland scoring two minutes from halftime to send the home side into the sheds leading 12–0.

Illawarra struck again immediately after the restart, with fullback Ava Alaban scoring within the opening minute of the second half.

Manly responded in the 38th minute when Indi Curr powered over beneath the posts to put the Sea Eagles on the board.

Any hopes of a late comeback were dampened in the 46th minute when Illawarra were awarded a possible eight point try to Jesse Rayner following a hair pull.

While the result didn’t fall their way, there were positive signs throughout the contest for Manly, who continued to compete until the final whistle.

The Sea Eagles now head into a bye next round, before turning their focus to Round 5 when they travel to Canberra to face the Raiders.

Tarsha Gale Cup

The Sea Eagles were defeated 34-6 by the Steelers in the Tarsha Gale Cup.

The home side made a fast start, crossing twice inside the opening six minutes through fullback Ella Churchill and winger Kiara Kostovski, who grabbed the first of her double.

Errors from the Steelers soon after handed Manly several attacking opportunities, but the Sea Eagles were unable to capitalize.

Illawarra continued to build pressure with five-eighth Skye Spencer adding another try, before Kostovski secured her second of the afternoon.

The Steelers led 24-0 at half time and extended their lead when Bridget Shearer scored in the 42nd minute.  A length-of-the-field intercept saw the home side jump out to a 34-0 lead before Manly hooker Maila-Lucia Sio-Namulauulu crossed for her team’s lone try late in the game.

The Sea Eagles have the bye next weekend before facing the Raiders in Round 5.

Harold Matthews Cup

The Sea Eagles went down 18-12 to the Steelers in Round 3 of the Harold Mattews Cup in a hard-fought clash at WIN Stadium,

The Steelers capitalised on an early Sea Eagles error to open the scoring and take a 6-0 lead, before Manly hit back in style.

Tom Longland pounced on a charged-down kick to level the scores at 6-6, swinging momentum briefly the visitors’ way. Illawarra responded in the 20th minute following another Manly mistake and executed a slick scrum play on the stroke of half-time to extend their advantage to 18-6 at the break.

Manly showed plenty of resolve to start the second half, defending their line strongly through the opening 10 minutes to stay within reach.

A turning point came in the 45th minute when a Steelers player was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle. With the extra man, it wasn’t long before Manly capitalised as Jett Watkin swooped on a loose ball to narrow the margin to 18-12.

The Sea Eagles threw plenty at the hosts in a spirited late comeback attempt, but Illawarra held firm to hand Manly their first loss of the 2026 season 18-12.

SG Ball Cup

The Manly Sea Eagles SG Ball Cup side made it three wins on the trot with a strong 26-10 victory over the Illawarra Steelers at WIN Stadium on Saturday evening.

Manly struck early when Onitoni Large put Beau McKee into a gap, crashing over for the opening try of the match.

The Steelers responded in the 14th minute, punching through the middle to edge ahead 6-4.

The Sea Eagles steadied before the break, with Oscar Crotty burrowing over from dummy half in the corner to give Manly an 8-6 lead at half-time.

The visitors wasted no time after the resumption, with Cooper Elkins darting from dummy half to extend the advantage.

Moments later, the Large brothers linked up down the right to create space for Tamoko Berryman-Duff, who crossed for Manly’s third try in a damaging two-minute burst to push the lead to 20-6.

Illawarra hit back in the 52nd minute off a close-range kick, but the Sea Eagles had the final say.

A powerful crash play saw Huss Said surge over to seal the 26-10 result, as Manly continued their unbeaten start to the season with three straight wins.