Match Report: Jersey Flegg Cup Round 25 vs Knights

The team showcased their attacking brilliance at the Knights Centre of Excellence to make it a clean sweep in all three grades over the weekend in Newcastle.

Manly got off to a flying start scoring three quick tries before taking an 18-10 lead into the break.

The Sea Eagles opened the scoring early through forward Freddie Benson-Sparkes.

Benson-Sparkes picked up a loose ball after fullback Will Herbert contested a bomb, batting the ball back to the big front rower for the opening try.

Herbert converted from in front to lead 6-nil after 10 minutes.

Defensive pressure from Manly forced errors out of the home side as Newcastle looked for a response.

That pressure led to quick back-to-back tries for Manly.

First, it was winger Mitchell Heather who cleanly grounded a grubber from Herbert in the left corner.

Then just ten seconds after entering the game, interchange forward Christian Tuala broke through the line and found support in hooker Zaidas Muagututia.

Herbert’s conversions had Manly leading 18-nil after 20 minutes.

Penalties began to creep into the game, causing a momentum shift as the Knights responded with two tries of their own.

Winger Benji Thompson went over untouched after a clean cut out pass from fullback Tallan Egan.

And then on the half hour mark, centre Harrison Kearsey crossed after finding a gap in Manly’s sliding defence.

Newcastle searched for a third unanswered try as half time approached but were unsuccessful, leaving the Sea Eagles ahead 18-10 at half time.

Manly were fast out the blocks after the break, scoring two tries in the opening five minutes.

Halfback and skipper Charlie Boyle was heavily involved in the quick blitz, scoring a try of his own after using great footwork to find the line.

High on confidence Boyle broke the line in the next set finding his centre Benjamin Keene-O'Keefe whose explosive speed saw him burn the Knights’ fullback to score the Sea Eagles' fifth try.

Herbert’s conversions put Manly out to a 20-point lead early in the half.

The game then slowly turned in the Knights’ favour with a try to halfback Chase Butler who leaped above Herbert to score under the posts in the 55th minute.

Muagututia was then sin-binned for repeated infringements, and the Knights took full advantage.

They scored two quick tries to be trailing Manly 30-28 heading into the final stages.

Forward Riley Wells showed his strength crossing for the Knights, before Thompson scored his second try with 15 minutes to play.

Muagututia returned to play and instantly made his presence known, darting from dummy half to score his second for the afternoon.

Herbert converted from in front to give Manly an eight-point, sealing a 36-28 victory.

Manly will be chasing their sixth win of the season in their final game against the first-placed Dragons next Saturday at Lionel Watts Reserve.