NRL 2020: South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Manly Sea Eagles 56-16 | Match Report
The Manly Sea Eagles have hit a new low, recording their biggest defeat of the season as the Rabbitohs ran riot, playing themselves into top four contention with their fourth win in a row.
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Wayne Bennett described his team’s 38 first half points the best he had seen in the modern era. Four tries in 10 minutes led to South Sydney recording a record breaking 56-10 win against Manly to put a major dent in the Sea Eagles finals aspirations.
The Rabbitohs 38 first half points was their biggest in the club’s 112-year history and the final result their biggest victory against Manly prompting Bennett to give his side a glowing endorsement.
“Back in the 90s we played sides that weren’t strong that we blew away,” Bennett said. “Certainly the modern era it’s as good as start as I’ve been involved with. It was a great game of football.
“You feel very lucky to be part of something as great as rugby league.”
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TIGERS 16 ROOSTERS 38: Read full report
TITANS 16 RAIDERS 36: Read full report
Alex Johnston, Latrell Mitchell and Campbell Graham scored twice while Graham laid on two of Johnston’s four pointers. Rabbitohs skipper Adam Reynolds finished with an 18 point haul kicking nine from nine.
The Sea Eagles points drought ended in 51st minute via Jack Gosiewski but the Rabbitohs still scored 18 second half points.
Manly now sit four points behind eighth placed Cronulla and moves South Sydney two points from the top four in arguably their best performance of the season and sets up a blockbuster clash on Thursday against the Eels.
EMOTIONAL DEBUT
Steven Marsters only learnt he was going to make his debut on Saturday morning after Dane Gagai strained a hamstring at the captain’s run on Friday. Marsters didn’t have long to think about his first game and the 20-year didn’t have to wait long to score his first NRL try. Marsters, who broke down when Bennett told him of his debut, scored nine minutes in.
“I found out this (Saturday) morning),” Marsters said. “On Friday I found I was going to be 18th man but then Wayne called me.
“I called him back a few times. I was shocked. I was in tears, I broke down. My mum was in tears.
“It was awesome (scoring) It was surreal. I didn’t believe it happened until I looked up on the big screen.”
His debut came three months after Bennett told him “he wasn’t happy with his attitude” and would not play first grade.
EIGHT POINT TRY
Johnston scored in the next set following Marsters try and had his second just four minutes later. The second resulted in an eight point try after Manly fullback Tevita Funa whacked Johnston across the head when the Rabbitohs winger scored in an incident Bennett labelled “unnecessary”. Adam Reynolds nailed the sideline conversion before easily slotting the attempt in front to give South Sydney a 20-0 lead after just 16 minutes. Funa was sin-binned for the incident and Johnston didn’t return.
After throwing the final pass for two of Johnston’s tries, Graham scored halfway through Funa’s sin-bin stint.
Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler said his players were “disappointed, embarrassed and hurt” at half-time.
“It wasn’t a good night,” Hasler said. “The first eight minutes was as good as it got. Souths were very good. We were very poor in parts of our game. We couldn’t stop the momentum in the first half.
You can’t blame possession. We were inept. We don’t manage it well.
Graham had his second before the end of the first half. Funa’s woes continued when he popped a pass on the kick return straight into the arms of Latrell Mitchell to end the first half onslaught.
DESPERATE MANLY
Moses Suli (foot) failed to return after half-time. With just five rounds remaining they will almost need to win their remaining matches to be any hope of playing finals footy starting with a tough clash against the Storm next Sunday. Hasler said the task of playing finals football was “not impossible (but) it makes it harder.”
RABBITOHS 56 (Tries: Marsters, Johnston 2, Graham 2, Mitchell 2, Tatola, Murray & Goals: Reynolds 10/10, Mitchell 1/1) SEA EAGLES (Tries: Jack Gosiewski, Garrick 2 & Goals: Garrick 2/3) at ANZ Stadium.
TIGERS SET TO MISS FINALS FOR NINTH STRAIGHT YEAR
—Michael Blok
You wouldn’t know there was an injury crisis at the Roosters by the way they played against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.
The defending premiers brushed off having $3 million worth of talent on the sidelines to produce a stunning 38-16 win against the Wests Tigers.
Without the likes of Luke Keary, Boyd Cordner, Angus Crichton, Daniel Tupou and Mitchell Aubusson, the young Roosters dominated the Tigers, scoring seven tries to three.
However the win didn’t come without a scare with the Tigers rallying early in the second half to reduce the margin to 10, but late tries to Drew Hutchison, Joey Manu and Brett Morris sealed the result for the visitors.
Young halfback Kyle Flanagan – who was dropped for two weeks – returned to the side in the absence of Keary and Lachlan Lam, and managed to lead his side to a much-needed victory.
It wasn’t all good news for the Roosters with winger Matt Ikuvalu being added to the injury list after suffering an ankle complaint in the first half.
The win lifts the Tricolours back inside the top four with five rounds remaining, however they remain four competition points from the third-placed Eels.
SEEING DOUBLE
Brett and Josh Morris are on the verge of re-signing with the Roosters after they once again proved how valuable they are on Saturday night.
Having both missed a number of games over the past month, the return of the Morris brothers was a giant boost for the depleted Tricolours.
The duo bagged two tries each, while Josh assisted Ikuvalu for the opening try of the night.
Brett, who returned from a knee injury, recorded 166 running metres and three line-breaks.
The brothers are both off contract at season’s end, but Roosters officials are optimistic of retaining the veterans for season 2021.
“Yep that’s the plan,” Robinson replied when asked if they will be at the club next season.
“It’s close to being sorted. We talked about it a while ago and life got in the way. We expect it to be finalised soon.
“It was great to watch them play again ... I wish we had them at the club when they were 25.”
HOPES DASHED
The Tigers’ hopes of breaking their nine-year finals drought look all but over after another disappointing display against a depleted side.
They rallied in the second half to give their fans hope, however a 20-point halftime deficit was too much of a challenge.
Hooker Jacob Liddle, who has struggled with multiple injuries over the past couple of seasons, scored a crafty try, while Benji Marshall rocketed a ball to fullback Adam Doueihi to score.
The loss means they remain four competition points outside the top eight with five rounds remaining.
They’d need to win at least four of their remaining games to have any chance, however they still have to face the top three sides – Penrith, Melbourne and Parramatta.
Although it’s a tough task, Tigers coach Michael Maguire has the belief his side can still make the finals.
“There were passages throughout that game that we showed we can mix it with the best,” Maguire said.
“It’s a matter of doing that for large periods at a time. If we can do that, you never know.”
Maguire is also hopeful gun hooker Harry Grant (knee) will return for next Saturday night’s clash against the high-flying Panthers.
“I think (he’ll play). We’ll have to check him early in the week though,” he said.
TEDDY RETURNS
Roosters fullback James Tedesco returned to Leichhardt Oval to haunt his former club with a sizzling performance on Saturday night.
It was the first time he had faced the Tigers at the iconic venue since departing the club for the Roosters in 2017 – and he put on a show.
The New South Wales fullback recorded 166 running metres, four tackle-breaks and a line-break, as well as having a hand in a couple tries.
A chorus of boos roared across the ground every time the star fullback touched the ball, but Tedesco had the last laugh.
“I thought Teddy was great. He was everywhere and tried so hard in lots of different areas,” Robinson said.
“He made a couple early line-breaks and then was good for the rest of the game. I thought he was very busy.”
TIGERS 16 (Tries: Liddle, Doueihi, Nofoaluma & Goals: Mbye 2/3) ROOSTERS 38 (Tries: Ikuvalu, B Morris 2, J Morris 2, Hutchison, Manu & Goals: Flanagan 5/7) at Leichhardt Oval.
TACKLE OF THE YEAR! RAIDERS’ SEASON DEFINING MOMENT
—Travis Meyn
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart declared prop Josh Papalii will go down as one of the greatest players in the club’s history after the Raiders crushed the Titans 36-16 on the Gold Coast.
Jack Wighton was the star with two tries in a dominant outing at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the Raiders overcame a slow start to remain in top four contention.
But it was Papalii’s desperate ankle tap tackle which prompted Stuart to rank the forward alongside the likes of Mal Meninga, Brad Clyde, Laurie Daley and Glenn Lazarus.
After a patchy post-COVID period, last year’s beaten grand finalists have now won five of their past six games and are well in the crucial top four mix with five rounds to play.
Canberra’s only defeat in that time was a 28-12 loss to the competition-leading Penrith Panthers and the Green Machine has an opportunity to avenge last year’s grand final loss to the Roosters.
While the Raiders have missed star hooker Josh Hodgson (knee), Wighton can ensure they are a genuine premiership threat if he continues this type of form at five-eighth.
Last year’s Clive Churchill medallist busted seven tackles, ran for 80m and scored two tries within six minutes to help Canberra to a 22-4 halftime lead.
Despite trying hard, the Titans were never able to get back into the contest as Raiders forward Ryan Sutton (191m), Joe Tapine (141m) and Papalii (153m) battered their rivals.
BIG PAPA’S MAGIC PLAY
While Canberra’s form has been mixed in 2020, what can rarely be questioned is the Raiders’ effort and nothing summed that up better than Papalii’s remarkable ankle tap.
Midway through the second half, Titans halfback Jamal Fogarty, in his debut as captain, raced into open space from a 20m restart and had no-one in front of him with 20m to go.
But the 120kg Papalii refused to give up, trailing Fogarty for 60m before producing a desperate dive to trip his much-smaller opponent and force a knock-on.
Papalii, who came off the bench, was the best prop in the NRL last season and this was the type of effort play that can inspire a team and take them deep into the finals.
Holyyy smokes, BIG PAPA!
— NRL (@NRL) August 22, 2020
ðŸ˜Â #NRLTitansRaiders#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/sUFnIpJbdI
“Josh Papalii showed what this jumper is all about and the type of character these boys have inside,” said Stuart.
“Papa will go down as one of our greatest players ever when he retires. He is one of the boys’ favourites, they love playing with him.
“He’s got a wonderful motor and is very skilful. I don’t say that lightly. He will go down as a great of this club and it’s a very deserving accolade.
“That’s part of our make-up, it’s within us. There’s a lot of character in this joint.”
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TITANIC FORM FLUCTUATIONS
The Titans may be Queensland’s top team but they are a long way off being a consistent force.
The Gold Coast started the game superbly and were rewarded when Phillip Sami scored the opening points to shock the scattered Raiders.
Fullback AJ Brimson was sensational with four line breaks and 147m, but simple errors once again cruelled them as the Raiders piled on 18 straight points to consign the Titans to their fifth loss from six games.
Compounding the defeat was injuries to Keegan Hipgrave (ankle) and Nathan Peats (calf), with Jai Arrow (shoulder), Ash Taylor (quad) and captain Kevin Proctor (suspended) also sidelined.
Prop Moeaki Fotuaika was placed on report for a crusher tackle and Taylor is no certainty to return against the Dragons on Friday after succumbing to a leg injury before kick-off.
“We made three or four errors in a row and they took control of the game and never let us back in it,” said Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
“We fought bravely in the second half, I’m proud of that.
“We’re not a million miles off. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”
TITANS 16 (Tries: Sami, Brimson, Hipgrave & Goals: Fogarty 2/3) RAIDERS 36 (Tries: Cotric 2, Wighton 2, Starling, Young & Goals: Croker 6/7) at Cbus Super Stadium.