Manly Sea Eagles win 34-6 over Broncos in first Brookvale clash in over a decade
Daly Cherry-Evans came into Manly’s clash against the Broncos with his Origin future on the line. And he sent a message to Maroons coach Billy Slater as he weighs up the biggest call of his career.
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Daly Cherry-Evans came into the match for the Sea Eagles with his Origin future on the line. Rumblings suggested he was under extreme pressure to keep his spot with Queensland giving serious consideration to making the rare decision of axing their captain mid-series. Tom Dearden is in line to start at halfback following Queensland’s 18-6 loss to NSW.NRL Match Day Widget
Cherry-Evans has made it clear he wants to play in game two after becoming the oldest Queenslander to wear the jersey on Wednesday night.
“Of course (I will put my hand up),” Cherry-Evans said. “I love playing footy. All I can control is my next game. I am always going to be putting my hand up. Like the Aussie stuff they’ll have to drop me to get rid of me.
“Winning and losing Origin – high or low – you ride it. At the end of the day the part we love most is game day. If there was a chance my body was going to hold up I was always going to play. I love my teammates at the club. It was great to get out there and play.”
Just four days later he gave a timely reminder of his class. The plan had been to rest Cherry-Evans from Manly’s match against Brisbane. But with a growing casualty ward including Jake and Tom Trbojevic the decision was made to have Cherry-Evans line up for the Sea Eagles.
And thankfully for Manly and Cherry-Evans he did.
With their season delicately placed, Cherry-Evans starred as the Sea Eagles overcame another poor Broncos showing with a 34-6 win.
Cherry-Evans laid on two first half tries with his boot. Grubbers produced both tries in the opening half with the first to Clayton Faulalo after six minutes. Bench forward Nathan Brown pounced on another Cherry-Evans grubber 21 minutes later after the Manly halfback again went deep into the line before putting boot to ball.
He wasn’t technically given a try assist for Manly’s final four pointer of the first half but it was again off his boot. A grubber from 40 metres out landed in the hands of fullback Lehi Hopoate who was credited with the try assit by delivering the final pass to Haumole Olakau’atu. But without Cherry-Evans the four-pointer would not have happened.
“If there was ever a game where we should be confident after beating a great side, a few senior players out this a really good one for us,” Cherry-Evans said. “I was proud of the team. We just set the platform in the first half. Mentally and physically we were there. We didn’t deviate from our game plan. It was a really good all round performance from the team.”
The Cherry-Evans selection for Queensland looms as one of the biggest decisions Billy Slater will make as Queensland coach. After showing his worth on Saturday night, he will have just one more chance to press his claims when the Sea Eagles play Newcastle on Thursday.
The early game gives Slater plenty of thinking time where an axing of Cherry-Evans would almost certainly end his decorated Origin career.
HORROR BRISBANE RECORD CONTINUES AS MANLY RUN RIOT
—Dave Lyall
Daly Cherry-Evans kicked his disappointment in Queensland’s opening State of Origin loss to kerb with a commanding performance at 4 Pines Park on Saturday night.
The Manly and Maroons skipper was involved in four Sea Eagles tries as Lehi Hopoate ran riot at fullback in the absence of Tom Trbojevic.
Cherry-Evans’ performance should go a long way to ease the pressure from pundits who suggested the veteran half be axed ahead of Origin 2 in Perth on June 18.
The 34-6 victory snapped a three game home losing streak for Manly, while Brisbane, playing their first NRL game at Brookvale since round 21 in 2014 – 3,957 days ago – now own an unwelcome winless run of four.
Manly made all the early running and scored first in the sixth minute via Clayton Faulalo off a Cherry-Evans kick.
Faulalo, deputising for the ill Jason Saab, grabbed a second midway through the half, before Cherry-Evans manufactured two more four pointers with an in-goal kick for Nathan Brown and a dribbling mid field grubber for Hopoate to set up Haumole Olakau’atu.
The home side headed to the sheds at the break, up 22-6.
In the second period Cherry-Evans controlled the game with a brilliant long kicking display, while Luke Brooks got into the act setting up tries for Olakau’atu and Tolu Koula.
Like Cherry-Evans, Hopoate was sensational, running for a game high 228 metres and setting up two tries.
Jazz Tevaga, making his 150th NRL appearance, was the pick of Manly’s forwards alongside Olakau’atu.
“We can be as good as we want to be,” Seibold said.
“Fantastic start the season and we’ve sort of gone win, loss, win, loss over the last five games.
“I feel like tonight was somewhere near our best. There’s a lot of spirit in the group, really good connection in the group.
“When we’re willing to turn up like that, we give ourselves a chance against anybody.”
The Broncos, for their part, were never really in the game, lacking spark in attack and dropping too much ball.
Despite the crushing loss, Brisbane coach Michael Maguire remained circumspect after the game.
“It was a tough old night, patches of what we can do and there’s patches that we need to improve on, it’s straightforward from how I see it,” Maguire said.
“Just being able to do things for longer periods of time. So, have a look at it and make sure that you get long periods of what we want to do in our game.”
ORIGIN WATCH
While Cherry-Evans was the star of the show, Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan were Brisbane’s best in a badly beaten side.
Coming off the back of a man of the match performance in Origin 1, Haas had an uncharacteristically poor start to the game, badly missing a tackle on Hopoate that led to a line break, then spilling the ball in a routine hit up, all within the first three minutes.
The hulking front rower recovered well and put in a herculean effort alongside Carrigan, the representative pair powering through almost 30 minutes in both of their stints on the field. Each ran for 139 metres, with Carrigan also producing 47 tackles.
Maguire was suitably impressed by the duo. “They’re two special humans (who) backed up and (were) really keen to get out and play with their teammates, like all the boys, they’re putting in plenty of effort,” he said.
Olakau’atu had his best game in several weeks, snaring a double to remind NSW coach Laurie Daley of his credentials.
NO LOVE FOR MAM
The Brookvale faithful let Ezra Mam know he was public enemy number one, unleashing a chorus of boos every time the Broncos five eighth touched the ball or made a tackle.
In his first game away from home since returning from a 9-week suspension following an off-season drug-driving incident, Mam received a taste of what the rest of his season might look like.
The jeering reached fever pitch when Man scored Brisbane’s only try in the 12th minute.
WALSH IN WAITING
Prodigious Manly half Joey Walsh is yet to play NRL, but the 19-year-old must be getting close to an opportunity after another impressive outing in NSW Cup that included a brilliant individual try.
Manly struggled for direction and rarely threatened in attack with Jake Arthur in the number 7 jersey during last week’s loss to Parramatta and the time might be right for Anthony Seibold to introduce Walsh to the big stage when Cherry-Evans next plays for Queensland.
Walsh is a Northern Beaches local who attended St Augustine’s College, across the road from 4 Pines Park, where he captained the Australian U18 rugby side and the Sea Eagles beat a host of suitors for his signature, inking a three-year deal that began this season.
With Jamal Fogarty set to arrive at Manly in 2026, there may be no better time than the present to give the rising youngster his chance.
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