Match Report: NRL Round 27 vs Warriors

The Sea Eagles fought back from a 24-12 deficit to take a six-point lead late in the second half, only for a 77th-minute field goal from Chanel Harris-Tavita to seal victory for the Warriors.

Manly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when fullback Tom Trbojevic broke through the Warriors’ defence before linking with centre Reuben Garrick. Halfback Jamal Fogarty added the extras to give the Sea Eagles a 6-0 lead.

The Warriors hit back six minutes later through centre Adam Pompey, who received the ball on the left edge before stepping back inside to score from close range. The conversion was unsuccessful, leaving Manly with a 6-4 advantage.

A brilliant long-range effort restored Manly’s six-point lead in the 17th minute. Winger Jason Saab intercepted the ball 90 metres from the Warriors’ line before the Sea Eagles shifted play across the field, with winger Lehi Hopoate finishing in the corner for his 18th try of the season. Fogarty converted to make it 12-4.

The Warriors reduced the deficit in the 21st minute when halfback Te Maire Martin found back-rower Jacob Laban with a short ball. Laban offloaded to fullback Taine Tuaupiki, who crossed before converting to make it 12-10.

Just minutes later, Martin combined with Tuaupiki again, this time finding the fullback with an inside ball. Tuaupiki burst through a gap to score under the posts and added the extras as the Warriors took a 16-12 lead.

Manly were reduced to 12 men in the 28th minute when back-rower Ben Trbojevic was sent to the sin bin for a hip-drop tackle on Warriors hooker Sam Healey.

The home side capitalised two minutes later when Martin threw a long cut-out pass for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to score in the corner. Tuaupiki was unable to convert from the sideline, with the Warriors taking a 20-12 lead into the break.

The Warriors extended their advantage five minutes into the second half when Martin sent a cross-field kick towards Nicoll-Klokstad, who crossed for his second try of the afternoon. Tuaupiki was again unable to convert, leaving the Warriors 24-12 ahead.

Manly hit back shortly afterwards through a brilliant piece of individual play from Trbojevic, who skipped out of several tackles before grubbering for centre Josh Feledy to score.

Remarkably, the Sea Eagles had scored 18 points without a single play-the-ball inside the Warriors’ 20-metre zone. Fogarty converted to reduce the margin to six points at 24-18.

Off the restart, Manly shifted the ball early to their left edge from inside their own 10 metres, sending Hopoate into space for a full-field runaway try. Fogarty converted to level the scores at 24-all.

The Sea Eagles reclaimed the lead in the 65th minute when Haumole Olakau’atu offloaded to Trbojevic, who burst downfield before finding Garrick in support.

In his 180th and final game for the Club, Garrick raced away to score his 100th try for Manly, becoming just the fifth player in Sea Eagles history to reach the milestone. Fogarty converted to put Manly ahead 30-24.

With 12 minutes remaining, Tuaupiki showed his class, beating several defenders through the middle of the field to complete his hat-trick. He added the extras to level the scores at 30-all and set up a grandstand finish.

Then, with just three minutes remaining, the Warriors edged ahead when five-eighth Harris-Tavita calmly slotted a field goal to give the home side a 31-30 lead.

The Sea Eagles were unable to find a response in the closing minutes, with the Warriors holding on to claim a dramatic victory in the final game of the regular season.