Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic steers Sea Eagles into the top eight
WITH his predecessor Brett Stewart watching on, Tom Trbojevic delivered a performance to make “Snake” proud by steering the Sea Eagles to 28-12 victory over Penrith.
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The new “Prince of Brookvale” has arrived to guide Manly back to the finals.
With his predecessor, Brett Stewart, watching on, Tom Trbojevic delivered a performance to make “Snake” proud by steering the Sea Eagles to a commanding 28-12 victory over Penrith.
On the back of Trbojevic’s scintillating solo try and two assists, Manly surged to a comfortable win to snap a two-year finals hiatus.
The Sea Eagles will play St George Illawarra or Penrith at Allianz Stadium next Saturday in an Elimination final depending on the Dragons’ result against Canterbury on Sunday.
There is also a chance they could move as high as fifth if Newcastle upset defending premiers Cronulla on Sunday.
Manly coach Trent Barrett said his team had responded well to criticism after dropping as low as eighth following four losses in five games recently.
“That irked me and everyone a little bit and that is why it is so satisfying to finish the season where we have,” Barrett said.
“It’s extremely satisfying because we’ve copped some during the year. We had the two disappointing games there and everyone was quick to jump on our form.
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“We’ve won seven out of 13 in the first half of the year and we’ve never lost more than two games in a row, but everyone was quick to talk about us as an inconsistent side.
“Well there are 10 more inconsistent sides behind us.
“But we are there now and we’ve got a real opportunity to do something special as a team.”
Skipper Daly Cherry-Evans was also outstanding for Manly, scoring a try and controlling proceedings with his pinpoint passing and kicking. Prop Jake Trbojevic was his usual damaging best with a try and 100 running metres.
Manly may have been brilliant, but the same can’t be said for Penrith.
The Panthers looked lacklustre in attack and defence to raise serious questions about their premiership aspirations.
The huge defeat has come at the worst possible time with uncertainty surrounding captain Matt Moylan, who will meet with club officials on Monday to discuss his future.
Moylan is understood to be unhappy at the Panthers, prompting rival clubs to court in his services with four years left on his contract.
Either way, Penrith will look to settle their captain’s future this week as they look to make amends for their forgettable night at Brookvale.
Manly, though, deserve praise for defying the doubters this season.
With up to $1.2 million from Stewart and Steve Matai’s salaries included on the salary cap, the Sea Eagles weren’t expected to shine.
Throw in a slow start, resulting in pressure on coach Trent Barrett and the Manly rebuild was going in reverse.
Someone, though, forgot to tell the Manly players who were hell bent on kick-starting a new era at Brookvale in style.
Granted, the Sea Eagles were in third after 19 rounds and could have finished higher, but their resurrection under Barrett is in full swing.
Before kick-off, Manly farewelled retired stars Brett Stewart and Matt Ballin with a lap of honour in front of the Brookvale faithful.
This inspired the Sea Eagles, who opened the scoring after seven minutes through rookie centre Brian Kelly.
The Lismore-born flyer received a perfect face ball from Tom Trbojevic, before brushing past two Penrith defenders to give the home side a perfect start.
With their season on the line, Manly opened proceedings full of purpose in defence to force repeat errors from the Panthers.
The Sea Eagles had a chance to extend their lead through Dylan Walker in the 19th minute, but Cherry-Evans’ assist was ruled forward.
Manly made amends three minutes later when Cherry-Evans finished off a brilliant team try.
Tom Trbojevic made a break, before finding Kelly, who passed back inside for his skipper to race away and score.
Cherry-Evans kicked an impressive 40/20 nine minutes from halftime, opening the door for Jake Trbojevic to barge over from close range.
Wright converted to give the Sea Eagles a commanding 16-0 lead at the break.
Tom Trbojevic extended Manly’s lead one minute into the second half with a special solo try.
The Sea Eagles put their foot on Penrith’s throat in 53rd minute when back-rower Curtis Sironen crossed.
The Panthers scored two late tries, but it mattered little with Manly cruising to a dominant victory.
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