NRL Round 7 2024: Manly Sea Eagles win 34-30 over Gold Coast Titans
In a game that featured a whopping seven lead changes, Manly survived a brave fight back to hand the Titans a sixth straight loss, in a 64-point extravaganza.
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Des Hasler’s Titans fell agonisingly short of delivering their coach a drought-breaking win against former club Manly as Gold Coast’s winless start to the season continued in an entertaining grudge match.
The Sea Eagles escaped with a 34-30 win against the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night, consigning Hasler to a 13th straight defeat in the NRL and ensuring Gold Coast remains winless after six games this year.
Defence went out the window in an 11-try spectacle which included seven lead changes, a Tom Trbojevic double ultimately being the difference.
While the win kept Manly in the top eight, the Titans remain rock bottom and the only team without a win this season as Hasler’s Gold Coast takeover continues to stutter.
“We’re trying really hard and the effort’s there but it’s not appearing on the scoreboard or ladder,” Hasler said.
“No one remembers (the effort), only the result and where we are.
“I felt for them tonight. We were in a position to win that game.
“We’re going through a tough run at the moment.”
HASLER’S HELL
Hasler is one of Manly’s all-time greats, having played 256 games for the club before notching 303 as coach, including two NRL premierships.
But he left the club on bitter terms in 2022 after being sacked on the back of a seven-game losing streak and the Pride jersey saga which divided Brookvale.
Hasler remains locked in a legal battle with Manly over his dismissal and it’s fair to say there is some bad blood between the parties. He would have loved nothing more than to break his Gold Coast duck against the club that axed him.
It looked like the Titans were destined for a sixth straight loss after Manly bolted to a 10-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes with tries to Trbojevic and Jason Saab.
But a quickfire double to speedy winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira got the Titans back in the contest before the teams traded tries, the Titans eventually taking a 24-22 lead into the break.
The Sea Eagles edged ahead 34-30 through Ethan Bullemor and no more points were scored in the final 24 minutes as Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans guided the visitors to victory.
“I don’t think it was remarkable. It was disappointing from a footballing point of view,” Hasler said.
“We’re guilty of not controlling the match. We let them out to a 10-0 lead.
“We showed a lot of character. Once we got into set-for-set we’re a pretty tight footy side.”
MANLY MARCHES ON
After bursting out of the blocks with wins against Souths and the Roosters to start the season, Manly has struggled for consistency.
The Sea Eagles have beaten defending premiers Penrith but lost to the Eels and Dragons while drawing with the Warriors and going within a whisker of defeat against the Titans.
They have the team to play finals this year but need to find some consistency to be a genuine title contender.
Trbojevic was excellent with 175m and Matt Lodge (132m) made an encouraging return from a knee injury.
“It was a really strange old game,” Manly coach Anthony Seibold said.
“The pleasing thing is we managed the back end of the game really well. Taking the two points is what we came here for.
“I always thought it’d be a struggle and it was. There’s disappointment leaking 30 points but we came here to get a result.
“We’ve been reasonably consistent. The Dragons and Titans are the only two games we’ve been favourites and we’ve been a bit scrappy.
“We’ve had some really good victories. I’m pleased with how we’re progressing and I think we’ve got a heap of improvement in us.”
TITANS HALF MEASURE
The Titans recruitment department needs to find a top quality halfback if they want any chance of being an NRL powerhouse. They only had to look at how Cherry-Evans controlled the crucial finish to the game to see that.
After being sent to reserve grade last week, Tanah Boyd was recalled in another spine re-jig following fullback Jayden Campbell’s latest knee injury.
Boyd toiled hard but the intercept pass he threw for Tolu Koula to give Manly the lead just three minutes into the second half was another poor play in what’s been a tough season.
Boyd gives it everything, as evidenced by his 53rd minute try, but it’s hard to see the Titans becoming a premiership contender with him in the No.7 jersey.
EX-SEA EAGLES SIZZLE
Former Manly players Kieran Foran and Brian Kelly played like men with a point to prove against their old club.
Foran wound back the clock with a brilliant display, setting up two tries including a pearler for flying fullback AJ Brimson with a perfectly-executed banana kick.
It was salt in the wounds for a Manly team that let Foran go to the Titans last year after prioritising the retention of Josh Schuster, whose $800,000-a-season deal has turned into a disaster.
Kelly continued his hot form with a series of crucial plays but he couldn’t do enough.
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Originally published as NRL Round 7 2024: Manly Sea Eagles win 34-30 over Gold Coast Titans
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