Manly overcome Daly Cherry-Evans injury to roll Raiders 24-20
Manly overcame a 12-0 deficit to defeat Canberra 24-20 at a noisy Brookvale Oval amid fears skipper Daly Cherry-Evans could sensationally miss the entire State of Origin series.
Manly did it without Daly, but can Queensland?
The Maroons’ captaincy debate took another twist, this time a cruel one, when Daly Cherry-Evans came from the field with an ankle injury in Sunday’s brave 24-20 victory over Canberra at a noisy Brookvale Oval.
Cherry-Evans will go for scans on his right ankle on Monday, with fears he could miss up to 10 weeks, depending on the severity of the injury.
The Sea Eagles remain hopeful of having their skipper back in two to three weeks, but there is the potential for Cherry-Evans’ stint on the sideline to be much longer, which would be shattering for Manly and Queensland. He will have scans for possible syndesmosis.
Cherry-Evans collapsed to the ground after a heavy collision with Canberra forward Elliott Whitehead in the 48th minute.
He stayed down for two minutes, wincing in pain before he eventually walked from the field and went straight up the tunnel for treatment, accompanied by strength and conditioning coach Don Singe.
“You don’t like to see any player go down, particularly Cherry, he is a pretty tough customer and he would have hated more having to come off than the actual injury,” Manly coach Des Hasler said.
Cherry-Evans watched the final 32 minutes of the match from Manly’s player enclosure at Brookvale with ice strapped to his ankle. Curtis Sironen shifted into five-eighth.
The Maroons have already lost incumbent skipper Greg Inglis to retirement, while Cherry-Evans joins fellow captaincy candidate Jake Friend on the injury list.
The Maroons’ short list is shortening by the day, with North Queensland duo Michael Morgan and Matt Scott the likely frontrunners to lead them into next month’s Origin opener.
SUPER SEA EAGLES
Manly hung in there on Sunday through some difficult times and snatched the momentum midway through the second half. It was a typical performance from a Hasler team.
Canberra looked the winners for a large portion of the game but a gritty Manly somehow stayed in the game. Tries to Lachlan Croker (53rd minute) and Reuben Garrick (56th) snatched the game away from Canberra.
“We found a way to win,” said Sironen, whose side was also missing Tom Trbojevic, Dylan Walker and Addin Fonua-Blake.
Offloads killed the Raiders. Manly hookers Api Koroisau — who injured a calf — and Manase Fainu tore Canberra apart out of dummy half. The entire Manly pack were dominant.
Manly showed considerable resilience to hit back given how desperately unlucky they were to lose last week to St George Illawarra. The Sea Eagles have now won four from seven this year.
“To keep cool heads and claw our way back into the game, to regroup, is particularly pleasing,” Hasler said.
RUDDERLESS RAIDERS
Ill-disciplined Canberra imploded. The Raiders looked strong all first half but the wheels tumbled off in the second 40 minutes. They are still rolling down nearby Pittwater Road.
The Raiders fell off tackles, threw panicked passes, even kicked out on the full from a goal-line dropout.
Canberra did lose winger Jordan Rapana to a knee injury, causing a reshuffle, and lost the penalty count 8-2 in the second half and 13-5 over 80 minutes.
“We got outplayed today from a team perspective,” Stuart said. “It’s not something we didn’t prepare for. We knew what we were in for and we got it.”
CHARGING CROKER
Two tries, a 25-metre untouched effort just before halftime and again in the 53rd minute to give Manly a lead for the first time, came much to the chagrin of his uncle.
Lachlan Croker was a late inclusion in the Manly side — with Hasler omitting Kane Elgey — and scored
Croker is a Raiders junior and the nephew of Canberra champion Jason Croker. They are both very distant relatives of Canberra centre, Jarrod Croker.
“He stepped up really well,” Hasler said.
DES’ DOGS
Hasler’s next match will be against the team that sacked him in 2017 — Canterbury.
“There’s nothing personal,” Hasler said. “It was two years ago. Not personal, not at all. They are a capable footy side who, if you just underestimate them a little bit, can burn you.
“I have done a lot of tape on them. They are a good footy side. I like the style of footy they’re playing. They are backing each other and playing for each other.”
WONDERFUL WIGHTON
Can we add Jack Wighton to the NSW Origin debate? Wighton scored two tries in the opening 13 minutes on Sunday, cutting Manly open in the 10th minute and crossing again three minutes later after playing a role in the lead-up.
Wighton, who shifted from fullback to five-eighth this season, has the natural ability and toughness to revel in the Origin cauldron.
“He was tremendous,” former rep star Darryl Brohman told 2GB.
SUPER SLEDGE
The best sledge came in the 30th minute when Canberra opted for a penalty goal to extend their lead to eight points rather than push for a try.
The Brookvale faithful let it be known they felt Canberra were being negative.
One wag roared: “You’ve already put your cue in the rack you bunch of public servants.”
SUNNY BROOKIE
Agreed, nothing beats Bankwest Stadium as state-of-the-art. A few can match the grand old SCG for history and tradition.
She may be outdated and old but Brookvale Oval on a sunny Sunday afternoon, yes please. The old hill, the makeshift player tunnel made up of plastic and chicken wire, you can smell the hot dogs, the popcorn.
We know things have to change these days, we know Brookie has to be revamped. Fans deserve. Yet the fans I spoke to wouldn’t have Brookvale any other way.
MANLY 24 (L Croker 2 R Garrick M Taupau tries D Cherry-Evans 2 R Garrick 2 goals) bt CANBERRA 20 (J Wighton 2 C Nicoll-Klokstad tries J Croker 4 goals) at Lottoland. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Adam Gee. Crowd: 10,706
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