Curtis Sironen stars as Manly Sea Eagles crush Gold Coast Titans
With his dad watching on Curtis Sironen has delivered in his 100th first grade game as the Manly Sea Eagles continue to defy the doubters and move to the brink of the top four.
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Curtis Sironen celebrated his NRL ton in spectacular style with the son of Tigers legend Paul scoring a first half double to inspire Manly to a blitzing win over the Titans on the Gold Coast.
Overshadowing man-of-the-moment Tom Trbojevic to put the Sea Eagles on the edge of the top-four, Sironen lived up to his famous surname by producing a performance to make his famous father proud in the milestone match as Manly piled on the points.
“Siro was outstanding in his one-hundredth game,’’ Trbojevic said.
“It was an honour to play alongside him in this match because he is a great competitor and a great football player.’’
Making it three wins in a row, the Sea Eagles continued their unlikely season charge with the blitzing 30-12 win at C-Bus Super Stadium.
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
A highlight in a career plagued by injury, Sironen stormed over the line to open the scoring for the Sea Eagles in the 6th minute as his famous father watched in the stands.
Down 2-0 after the Titans opted to kick for goal after receiving a penalty in front, the Sea Eagles opted to attack after receiving a penalty of their own.
The Sironen show continued in the 25th minute when the forward made it a double by scoring his second try in his 100th game.
Also setting up a third first-half try for Manly before being sin binned for a professional foul, Sironen has fought his way back from nine serious injuries during a stop-start career.
His father Paul proudly presented him his 100th jersey before watching the five-star performance on the Gold Coast.
“He is a good footballer and a better bloke so it was great to see him get two tries,’’
Trbojevic said.
THE TWIN TOWERS
Sironen was the star in Manly’s top-eight consolidating win – but the platform for points was laid by the Sea Eagles front row.
Continuing one of the NRL’s most impressive front row partnerships, Fonua-Blake and Marty Taupau combined for 135 first-half metres as they dominated the middle.
LISTEN! In a special one-on-one interview Matty sits down with Sam Burgess to talk through the highs and lows of his career, his desire to play at Manly and his venture into rugby union.
Fonua-Blake was a standout with the giant throwing off three defenders in a first half charge that saw him stopped just meters from the line.
The giant duo finished the game with a combined 224 running meters.
TURBO POWERED
It wasn’t the five-star performance that inspired NSW’s to a series levelling win over Queensland – but it was good enough.
While he failed to cross the line following his NSW hat-trick, Trbojevic set-up a try and helped create space for another as the Sea Eagles cemented themselves as this year’s biggest over-achievers.
The Sea Eagles were sitting in third place after making it three straight.
“I think the first half was hard to fault,’’ said Trbojevic.
“We came here knowing what we needed to do and we completed. We got through our sets but we got a bit sloppy in the second half. That will be something to look at going into next week.
TITANS OR THE TITANIC?
The Gold Coast are fast running out of excuses with a bailout bucket needed to stop the Titans from sinking.
Sure. They were again missing players with injury. Tyrone Peachey, Ashley Taylor and Jye Arrow to name a few. But even without three of their stars, the Titans should not have been mauled by a side they beat less than a month ago on their home ground.
Coach Garth Brennan is facing some serious heat.
Full-time Score
MANLY 30 (C Sironen 2 R Garrick M Suli J Taufua tries R Garrick 5 goals) bt GOLD COAST 12 (P Sami 2 tries T Roberts 2 goals) at Cbus Super Stadium. Referee: Chris Sutton, Phil Henderson.