Daly Cherry-Evans stars as Sea Eagles smash Bulldogs 36-0

DALY Cherry-Evans was simply brilliant, laying on five try assists as Manly ended a six-game losing streak against the Bulldogs dating back to 2014.

IT took some luck at Lottoland but Fortress Brookvale is finally back.

Inspired by a masterclass from skipper Daly Cherry-Evans, the Sea Eagles snapped a 237-day drought at home to charge to a commanding 36-0 victory over Canterbury.

Cherry-Evans was simply brilliant, laying on five try assists as Manly ended a six-game losing streak against the Bulldogs dating back to 2014.

The $10 million dollar man justified his significant pay packet with one of his best performances to steer the Sea Eagles to a formidable 26-0 lead at the break.

Manly's Brian Kelly celebrates scoring a try with Daly Cherry-Evans. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Canterbury did their best to fight back in the second half, but they proved no match for a dominant Manly outfit which fell two points short of equalling the club’s biggest victory over the Bulldogs — set in 1954.

The win came against Manly’s former premiership-winning coach Des Hasler, who helped coin the phrase, “Fortress Brookie”.

Hasler was bitterly disappointed with the loss, which will only add fuel to the fire surrounding speculation he will be sacked by the Dogs.

“We were terribly flat and Thursday (against Brisbane) can’t come soon enough,” he said.

“Our players know that, they are aware of that and we need to turn it around quick smart.

“We really couldn’t get into it, we were flat and they (Manly) out enthused us.

“We were down in energy right across the park, so that is disappointing and we didn’t help ourselves.

“Consequently they brought plenty of that and you could liken it to an old ambush couldn’t you?”

Curtis Sironen celebrates after scoring a try for the Sea Eagles. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Exactly Dessie, just like the good old days at Brookvale when you were Manly coach.

Rookie centre Brian Kelly was strong for the Sea Eagles, crossing for a double in a professional performance well beyond his 20 years.

Prop Martin Taupau returned from suspension to deliver a mostly composed and damaging display, including an impressive 168 running metres.

Manly coach Trent Barrett was rapt with the win, labelling it the best “team performance” in his time at the club.

“We were pretty determined to back up last week’s win and it was an outstanding defensive effort again I thought,” Barrett said.

“But we’ve just got to keep going. We play the Roosters on Friday night on a short turnaround.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet, but we are on the right track and all the hard work that they’ve been doing has been paying off.”

The Bulldogs had a day to forget against the Sea Eagles. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Cherry-Evans described the win as “one of my most enjoyable days”, but he was particularly satisfied to end Manly’s winless run at Brookvale, extending back to round 21 last year when they defeated back-to-back wooden spooners Newcastle.

“It was definitely spoken about this week,” he said.

“We have a lot of new people at this club, so Manly’s a difficult one for them to comprehend because they are all so new.

“But we’ve had a chat about what Manly now means to us as a side and with that moving forward it will help us play our best football here hopefully.”

Dylan Walker scores a try for the Sea Eagles. Picture: Gregg Porteous

On top of the heavy defeat and substandard ball handling, Bulldogs halfback Moses Mbye could face scrutiny from the match review committee for a shoulder charge on Curtis Sironen in the first half.

The NRL will also review five-eighth Josh Reynolds, who returned to the field too early in the first half after suffering a leg injury.

Brian Kelly celebrates scoring a try for the Sea Eagles. Picture: Gregg Porteous

The laws state that when a player goes down with an injury at a scrum, they must leave the field of play but not return until the next stoppage or when their team regains possession. Reynolds is likely to only receive a warning for his breach.

To complete a nightmare match for the Bulldogs, forward Josh Jackson was also sin-binned in the first half for a professional foul.

MANLY 36 (B Kelly 2 A Koroisau C Sironen T Trbojevic A Uate D Walker tries D Walker 4 goals) bt CANTERBURY 0 at Lottoland. Referee: Gavin Badger, Jon Stone. Crowd: 9,610.