NRL Round 3 2022: Sea Eagles v Bulldogs match report, score, Daly Cherry-Evans gets Sea Eagles back on track
It was fitting that on the same day Manly honoured one of their greatest servants, the player he had a major hand in persuading to stay at Brookvale, kicked them to a much-needed victory.
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He was the star halfback that then Manly head of football Bob Fulton convinced to commit a stunning contract backflip and become a Sea Eagle for life.
Daly Cherry-Evans had agreed to a $5m deal with Gold Coast in 2015 before Fulton intervened to persuade him to remain at Brookvale on an eight-year, $10m deal.
And it was fitting that on the same night the new Bob Fulton Stand was formerly opened at the north end of 4 Pines Park, it was Cherry-Evans who kick-started Manly’s season with a match-winning field goal.
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It was a spluttering team performance but Cherry-Evans’ one point gave Manly two vital points with a late 13-12 win over Canterbury.
This was Manly’s first win this season, players embracing with joy at fulltime after successive losses to Penrith and Sydney Roosters to start this season.
Canterbury once again displayed considerable resolve and courage. In three games this season, Canterbury won round one by two points, lost round two by six points and lost round three by one point.
Cherry-Evans ignored kick pressure and driving rain to navigate an ugly yet effective field goal which must have delighted Fulton, who was no doubt looking down proudly from above.
“He (Fulton) was a massive reason why I stayed at the club,” Cherry Evans said.
“His passing last year was so sudden and unexpected and he’ll always be a big part of this club.
“The stand is the least we could do for someone like Bob.
“It is now named the Bob Fulton Stand which is very sentimental to the club. I felt like we played with a little bit more emotion tonight and that probably helped us get there.”
After having an initial field goal attempt charged down, Cherry-Evans steadied himself and once again showed why he thrives on the clutch moments.
“I flushed it,” Cherry-Evans laughed.
“I don’t care how it went through, it just had to go through. It didn’t matter how we got the win. We just had to get it.”
Hasler described the field goal as “ugly”.
“But it doesn’t matter – as long as they go over,” Hasler said.
“It was important to get a win here tonight.”
Fulton’s family attended the game for a halftime ceremony to formally open the stand named in honour of the late, great ‘Bozo’ Fulton.
Fulton is the club’s only Immortal and without doubt the greatest and most brilliant player in Manly’s proud 75-year history.
With Fulton’s name having been moved to the new stand, an existing grandstand on the Pittwater Road side was renamed after club legends Cliff Lyons and Steve ‘Beaver’ Menzies.
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett returned to Brookvale Oval for the first time as an opposition head coach since controversially splitting with Manly in late 2018.
In his final year at Brookvale, Barrett complained about the club’s lack of resources and facilities. In the year he bailed out, Barrett claimed he brought his own backyard furniture for the team common room and a desk from home for his office.
On the day Barrett returned, Manly formally opened and showed off a new $33m facility, which included the Fulton Stand and a high-tech Centre of Excellence.
Asked did he cop any stick from Manly fans, Barrett said: “No, they were good. There are a lot of good people here. They are a good club, I had a good time.”
While Barrett played it down, every time the home side scored, Sea Eagles’ fans turned to taunt him, some even signalling ‘T’ for a try.
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It was in round five last year when Daly Cherry-Evans snapped their four-game losing streak with a dramatic field goal and kick-start their charge to the finals.
Almost one year on and the Manly halfback was again the hero by nailing a low one-pointer in the 76th minute to crack a 12-all deadlock against Canterbury and deliver their first win of the year.
It wasn’t pretty, and nor was it the Tom Trbojevic breakout game the 13,621 crowd was waiting for.
But on a night they opened their Bob Fulton stand, the Sea Eagles scratched and clawed their way over a gallant Bulldogs side that fought off 26 plays inside their 20-metre zone compared to nine.
Cherry-Evans’ clutch play was their only play of the half, and it was all that was needed to drag his team off the bottom of the ladder and leave the Wests Tigers as the only team without a win.
Trbojevic finished with a team-high 194 metres, four tackle busts, and a try.
“We liken that to the Warriors last year. The field goal was just as ugly as that one as well. But it doesn’t matter. As long as they go over,” Manly coach Des Hasler said. “I was particularly pleased with the way we defended tonight.”
In an energy-sapping contest played in torrential conditions, both teams enjoyed extended periods of possession but struggled to find the fluency in attack to convert it into points.
Canterbury showed plenty of guts in staying in the fight in the second half, and were on the cusp of entering the top eight for the first time in five years.
But in the end they couldn’t build enough pressure on the Sea Eagles line to land a final blow.
“To ultimately lose the way we did by a point, a lot of lessons there for us a little bit around game management around the back end there,” Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett said.
HALF A GAMBLE
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett made the shock decision to drop young halfback Jake Averillo in the lead-up, instead opting for another livewire in Brandon Wakeham.
The gamble paid off early, with Wakeham pouncing on a Morgan Harper error to claim first points.
But the diminutive playmaker was forced to undergo a head injury assessment midway through the first half, and struggled to inject himself into the play thereafter.
He finished the night with 64 metres from five runs to go with his four-pointer.
Barrett is at pains to find the perfect partner to Matt Burton, who terrorised the Sea Eagles back three with a vast array of towering bombs, but badly needs another outlet in attack.
Burton’s penalty goal with 10 minutes left to level the score were his team’s only points of the half.
“Yeah we just thought we needed it a little bit,” Barrett said of his surprise selection.
“Jake’s been doing a really good job there. He’s only young. He’s in the infancy of his career here — all our halves are, that we’ve got in our club
“But I thought Wakey did some really good things. He had a good first half and had his hand in a lot of good things we did in the first half.
“He’s played really well in reserve grade and we thought he needed an opportunity… Pretty courageous of him to come back on. He’s got a head full of stitches in there at the moment.”
Compounding the loss was a suspected shoulder injury to second-rower Jack Hetherington.
EVERGREEN FORAN
Foran wound back the clock with his first half display, putting centre Brad Parker into the backfield and gifting Tom Trbojevic the team’s opening points midway through the first half.
The 31-year-old, who is off-contract at the end of the year, also produced a sterling long-ball for Garrick to touch down moments before halftime.
FULTON FIREWORKS
The anticipated Bob Fulton stand was officially opened by state tourism minister Stuart Ayres, accompanied with a fireworks display at halftime.
It came just days after reports the state government is expected to announce a redevelopment of the dilapidated oval expected to cost over $33 million.
The 3,000-capacity stand that replaced the western hill was filled with a sea of maroon and white, who enjoyed perfect views of the first half tries to Trbojevic and Garrick.
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