Junior Reps: Round 9 Wrap

A strong defensive effort laid the foundation in Manly’s 14-4 win over the Central Coast Roosters on Sunday in Round 9 of the Harold Matthews Cup.

The Sea Eagles led 6-0 at half-time on the back of some superb defence on their own line to set up the win ahead of next week’s finals.

Manly qualified for the finals after finishing the regular season in seventh place with five wins from eight games under Coach Tom Giles.

The Sea Eagles opened the scoring at Central Coast Regional Sporting & Recreation Complex, Tuggerah, when hooker Ashley Dene dived over from dummy half on the back of a great break by five-eighth Riley Carter for a 6-0 lead after 17 minutes.

Manly certainly had their defence on song after having to soak up some heavy pressure on their line from several attacking raids for the next 13 minutes to take a six-point lead into the break.

The Roosters threw plenty in attack again for the first five minutes of the second half but Manly’s defence remained very strong.

It took until the 47th minute for the Roosters to crack the Manly defence through a try out wide to centre Harry Calkin for a 6-4 scoreline.

Three minutes later, the Sea Eagles got the margin back out to six when winger Jack Smith dived over in the corner for a 10-4 lead.

A short grubber kick from half-back William Tartonne saw tall back-rower Jayden Richards get low to the ground to score out wide for a 14-4 lead after 54 minutes.

The Sea Eagles remained strong in defence for the well-deserved victory.

SG Ball Cup (U19s)

A gritty Manly Warringah Sea Eagles recorded a hard fought 24-18 victory over the Central Coast Roosters on Sunday in Round 9 of the SG Ball Cup.

Having already qualified for next week’s finals, the match was a perfect test for the Sea Eagles who had to soak up plenty of goal line defence throughout to claim victory.

The Sea Eagles finished the regular season in fourth place with seven wins from eight games under first season coach in former club hooker Lachlan Croker.

The Roosters cracked Manly early at Tuggerah when centre Eli Bennett dived on a grubber kick from half-back Jack Keenan to convert his own try for a 6-0 lead after 10 minutes.

A wealth of possession to the home side paid off again when Roosters full-back Samuel Eggins ran off a short pass to score for a 12-0 lead six minutes later.

Manly opened their account in the 22nd minute when five-eighth Onitoni Large sent a lovely pass to centre Max Davies, who balanced himself up well to cross out wide for a 12-6 scoreline.

The commitment of the Manly defence was evident to see when winger Quinn Timperon chased hard to take Keenan into touch after the Roosters half-back took an intercept and raced for the corner in the 28th minute.

The Sea Eagles were rewarded in the next set when full-back Oscar Crotty showed his class to beat three defenders to score out wide to make it 12-all heading into half-time.

A classic dummy from Onitoni Large gave Manly a 16-12 lead five minutes after the break.

Manly started to show their true attacking ability when the ball was shifted across the backline for winger Nathaniel Robinson to dive over for a 20-12 lead after 42 minutes.

The Roosters hit back seven minutes later when lock Charles Barnes ran off a short ball to score next to the posts to leave the home side trailing 20-18.

Manly found some breathing space when halfback Beau Alexander threw a dummy before slicing his way through to score next to the posts for a 24-18 lead after 62 minutes.

The Sea Eagles showed defensive grit in the final five minutes to hold up the Roosters three times under heavy goal line pressure to secure the win.