Daly Cherry-Evans leads Sea Eagles to golden point win over Raiders

LET’S be honest. At the start of the season hardly anyone gave Manly a hope of playing in the finals this year.

Daly Cherry-Evans. Picture: Brett Costello

LET’S be honest.

At the start of the season hardly anyone gave Manly a hope of playing in the finals this year.

But at the midway point of the season they are sitting sixth on the ladder.

And they are doing it with arguably their best player, Tom Trbojevic, out injured.

Asked if his players had surprised him, Trent Barrett said after Manly’s gutsy and thrilling 21-20 ­golden-point win over Canberra: “I always knew I had a good side.

“I knew we’d have to work real hard to get there. We can sort of use it as motivation that no one gave us a hope and probably still don’t.

“I think there are a lot of people still waiting for us to fall over. But I can’t control that. What I can control is how they prepare.

Daly Cherry-Evans celebrates his winning field goal.

“They train hard every day. They are good blokes and they enjoy being around each other.

“It is pretty easy to coach them when they turn up every day wanting to work with each other.”

But after Daly Cherry-Evans nailed the win with a field gold in extra time, Barrett also revealed that while Jorge Taufau might be gone for the season with an ACL injury, Tom Trbojevic will be back very soon.

Daly Cherry-Evans celebrates his matchwinning play.

Barrett said that after Manly get through Friday night’s game against last-placed Newcastle, they have a bye before the flying fullback should be back from his leg ­injury to face Cronulla.

In what has been one of the season’s outstanding coaching performances, the Sea Eagles scored another vital win, but it didn’t come without a few tense moments.

Manly looked home at halftime when they raced to a 20-6 lead with four tries to one.

Another barnstorming display from Martin Taupau gave them the momentum in the middle and from that Cherry-Evans and Dylan Walker shined before a second-half double to Jordan Rapana set up a thrilling finish.

Cherry-Evans very nearly went from hero to villain when he gave away a penalty for holding onto Jarrod Croker for too long with in the final ­minute.

Barrett labelled the penalty as “pretty rough” .

Croker then nailed the conversion but not before Cherry-Evans delivered him a spray.

In the end it was the Manly skipper, who can’t seem to get a look-in with Queensland, who delivered the knockout punch after a costly early tackle turnover in golden point from Junior Paulo.

Martin Taupau on the charge.

“That’s what the good halfbacks do,” Barrett said. “Cherry has got the No.7 on his back for a reason and he had a bit of heat coming on too.

“It was a hard game. They are a good side.

“They are a difficult side to defend against.

Jorge Taufua (centre) scores for the Sea Eagles.

“We would have preferred for it not to go to golden point. We were a bit unlucky with the penalty there.

“It was 4-0 penalties in the second half to Canberra. It made it quite difficult.

“We only needed one and I think we would have been okay but we couldn’t buy one.

“But a very gutsy performance. We were a bit flat and a little bit off.

“I think probably six weeks ago we would have lost that.

“But I think the team is coming along nicely. I think it was just a really gutsy effort from our blokes and a very valuable two points for us.

“I’m happy with where we are at.

“I know there is a long, long way to go, though.

“We are learning something every week with the team that we have got.

“We are getting put in positions today that are going to help us improve again.

“I am a good mate of Sticky’s but I am not sure if I am game to go in the shed and have a beer with him.

“But that’s the way it goes. We were lucky enough and good enough to win in the end.”

MANLY 21 (D Cherry-Evans J Taufua M Taupau D Walker tries M Wright 2 goals D Cherry-Evans field goal) bt CANBERRA 20 (J Rapana 2 B Austin tries J Croker 4 goals) in extra time at Lottoland. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Chris Butler. Crowd: 11,318.

Originally published as Daly Cherry-Evans leads Sea Eagles to golden point win over Raiders