Manly’s march to the finals continues with dominant 32-12 victory over Wests Tigers

Manly’s aspirations for the finals double chance go on the line in the next fortnight. Coach Des Hasler’s expects two tough clashes to be a test of the Sea Eagles’ title credentials.

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All hail Hasler.

That’s the triumphant chorus being sung on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in honour of coach Des Hasler’s impact on a resurgent Manly this season.

On the back of Hasler’s smarts in the coaching box, the finals-bound Sea Eagles put a dent in the Wests Tigers’ top-eight hopes with a dominant 32-12 victory at Lottoland.

Led by a double from improved back-rower Jack Gosiewski and the brilliance of skipper Daly Cherry-Evans, Manly were too strong for an injury-ravaged Tigers side missing a cast of players, including stars Robbie Farah and Moses Mbye.

Hooker Jacob Liddle was also carried off the field with a suspected ACL knee injury six minutes into the match, adding to the Tigers’ injury woes.

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Manly were too good for the battling Tigers. AAP Image/Brendon Thorne.

As a result, the understrength yet brave Tigers couldn’t contain a confident Manly side on home turf. In fairness, nine of Wests’ youthful starting 13 were in primary school when Benji Marshall won the 2005 grand final.

Regardless of age, the Tigers must be more consistent if they want to squeeze into the top eight. Michael Maguire’s men are in 10th position with winnable clashes against the Knights (home), Dragons (away) and Cronulla (home) to finish the season.

MANLY’S MOJO

Forget the Tigers for now - it’s Hasler’s Manly boys who will dominate the headlines.

This time last year, it had emerged coach Trent Barrett had resigned in July while the Sea Eagles were battling out for the wooden spoon.

Flash forward 12 months and Manly are in contention for a top four finish with three rounds left.

The Sea Eagles face a tough but achievable run home against Canberra (away), Melbourne (home) and Parramatta (away).

Coach Hasler deserves huge praise for Manly’s return to form.

The veteran mentor has instilled a belief in his players that anything is possible with hard work and dedication.

This mentality is on show in spades every time the Sea Eagles take the field.

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Hasler is now the overwhelming favourite to claim the coach of the year honours following his remarkable revival of Manly this season. The two-time premiership-winning mentor says he hasn’t been surprised by his side’s surge up the ladder in 2019.

“Not really,” Hasler said.

“You have to understand that it has come off the back of working really, really hard.

“If you are working hard, you can expect to get some results off it. I’m really proud of how they (the players) have responded to the whole year but we can get a lot better.

“I thought we squandered a bit of possession in the first half but they are high quality problems to have.”

Manly’s top four aspirations go on the line in the next fortnight when they play the Raiders in Canberra before a date with Melbourne at Lottoland. Hasler’s expects both clashes to be a test of the Sea Eagles’ title credentials.

“It won’t be easy but we’ll just wait and see what happens,” he said.

The Tigers couldn’t keep up with the Silvertails. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

TIGERS RUNNING OUT OF TROOPS

The Tigers need Farah and Mbye back to have any chance of competing.

They were gutsy against Manly but lacked the polish that comes with having veteran campaigners.

Farah isn’t expected back from a knee injury until the final round against Cronulla at Leichhardt Oval. Depending on results, the Tigers’ season could be over by then.

Adding to Wests’ woes, halfback Luke Brooks was placed on report for dropping his knees on Gosiewski in the first half.

The win moves the Sea Eagles into the top four. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

MANLY SING FOR INJURED CLUB LEGEND

There is more to life than rugby league.

This hit home for Manly players on Thursday night when they played without one of the club’s longest serving officials watching on.

Warwick Bulmer, 78, cracked five ribs, dislocated an elbow and fractured his shoulder in a fall down backyard stairs at his Narrabeen home recently.

Bulmer is in hospital so he couldn’t sing the team song with the players like he has done for decades.

To make amends, a group of Manly players travelled to the club legend’s Frenches Forest hospital to belt out a special rendition of the Sea Eagles’ team song.

MANLY 32 (J Gosiewski 2 A Fonua-Blake M Suli J Taufua D Walker tries R Garrick 4 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 12 (L Brooks D Nofoaluma tries P Momirovski 2 goals) at Lottoland. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Chris Butler. Crowd: 8,512