A Magic Round first for Manly

The Sea Eagles take on the Wests Tigers in a Saturday afternoon blockbuster to mark a new opponent in Magic Round for the club.

Gone are the days of playing the Brisbane Broncos on their own home turf at Suncorp Stadium.

The Sea Eagles struck a deal in 2015 to take home games against Brisbane from Brookvale Oval to the Broncos' traditional home ground.

Of the three games played at Suncorp Stadium between 2016-18, the Sea Eagles emerged victorious once with a 38-24 win in 2018.

The introduction of the NRL Magic Round in 2019 then saw Manly, as the 'home' team, play Brisbane as a Friday night fixture on five occasions.

Unfortunately, Manly won just one of the five Magic Round games played at Suncorp between 2019-2024, with the 2020 edition cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

Here is a recap of Manly’s record in Magic Round as part of our 80th Anniversary.

2019

The Sea Eagles suffered a 26-10 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.

Hooker Api Koroisau caught Brisbane’s defence napping from dummy half for a 6-all scoreline at half-time.

The Broncos got out to a 22-6 lead late before second-rower Jack Gosiewski steamrolled his way over in Manly’s only second half try.

2021

The Sea Eagles recorded a crushing 50-6 victory in their biggest ever win over the Broncos in front of a crowd of 41,367.

Manly dominated the first half to take a commanding 20-6 lead into half-time through tries to Tom Trbojevic, Sean Keppie and Jason Saab.

The Sea Eagles then clicked into third gear with further tries to Saab, Jake Trbojevic, Lachlan Croker, Tom Trbojevic, and Josh Schuster.

Winger Reuben Garrick kicked nine from nine goals in a memorable night at Suncorp.

‘Brookvale North’, as Manly fans in Queensland call it, was certainly rocking that night!

2022

Manly copped a 38-0 loss to the Broncos. Enough said!

2023

The Sea Eagles suffered a 32-6 loss to Brisbane in the annual home game against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.

A series of errors and missed tackles saw the Sea Eagles produce a poor first half to trail 20-0 at half-time before Ben Trbojevic dived over in the 78th minute for Manly’s lone try.

2024

A Jock Madden field goal broke the Sea Eagles hearts after a gallant comeback in a 13-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium on Friday.

Trailing 12-0 after 50 minutes, Manly rallied through a try to Reuben Garrick off a slick pass from Haumole Olakau'atu.

Manly debutant Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega then crossed in the corner to make it 12-all with 10 minutes remaining before Madden got the Broncos home to give Brisbane their fourth Magic Round victory against the Sea Eagles.

2025

Manly banked two points with the bye in Magic Round last year.