Manly put some distance between the wooden spoon with 18-6 win over fellow stragglers Canterbury
MANLY have ended any talk of winning their first wooden spoon after coming from behind to down Canterbury 18-6 at Lottoland on the back of a top performance from Addin Fonua-Blake.
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MANLY are finally out of the Doghouse.
A double from fullback Tom Trbojevic helped the Sea Eagles snap a six-game losing stretch at home with a commanding 18-6 victory over Canterbury.
The Sea Eagles had also lost six of their past seven matches against the Bulldogs, but on the back of Trbojevic they surged to a well-deserved win.
In a disappointing season marred by constant controversy and setback, Trent Barrett’s men have now won consecutive victories following their golden point triumph over Cronulla in round 21.
Manly move up to 12th position on the ladder following the Gold Coast’s one-point loss to the fast-finishing Panthers.
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With three rounds remaining in the regular season, the Sea Eagles have taken a giant stride towards avoiding the club’s first wooden spoon.
Turbo Tom starred with his two tries, but he wasn’t alone in the standout stakes for Manly.
Parramatta-bound back-rower Shaun Lane continued his impressive form with a team-high 159 running metres and 32 tackles.
Prop Addin Fonua-Blake was also enormous for Manly. The Mascot Jets junior ran for a whopping 138 metres while he made 23 tackles.
Sea Eagles lock Jake Trbojevic delivered his usual wholehearted effort, making a massive 45 tackles.
Skipper Daly Cherry-Evans also got through a mountain of work, often playing at hooker in attack and defence.
Barrett praised his players’ resilience as the key to victory.
“Probably our first half set it up,” Barrett said.
“We had 12 men and the defensive effort and they kept turning up.
“That was huge. To back it up after such a good win last week (against Cronulla), I’m just really happy for the players.
“They deserved it. They played really well.
“On the run of possession and 7-3 penalties against us, to come in at 6-4 was a really good result for us.
“I knew if we had enough good ball that we’d score enough points. Credit to the players, they did a terrific job.”
Barrett urged his players to finish the final three rounds on a high.
It is a directive Cherry-Evans says the playing group are determined to achieve.
“The wins haven’t come very often this year, so consecutive wins is really pleasing,” Cherry-Evans said.
“The playing group is absolutely buzzing. The next three weeks we’ve still got a lot to play for and hopefully we can continue our good form.
“I’d like to think there is a lot of character being shown by the playing group.
“We’ve got a strong leader in our coach and off the back of that it is pretty easy to get motivated for your coach.”
Manly deserve praise for the win, but Canterbury was disappointing.
Dean Pay’s men lead in the first half and looked destined to cruise to victory before going into their shells in a lacklustre second half.
Pay was bitterly disappointed with the loss, especially the first half when the Bulldogs failed to capitalise on a mountain of possession.
“We had an opportunity to put some pressure on and create opportunities, but we weren’t good enough in the first half with six points,” Pay said.
“It turned around in the second half and they (Manly) took their opportunities and built a lot of pressure on us.
“The boys kept fighting and they do every week, but we need to better in how we execute.”
Canterbury received a blow prior to kick-off with in-form playmaker Lachlan Lewis ruled out due to a personal family issue.
Despite this, Pay said Lewis will be fine to take on the Warriors at ANZ Stadium next Sunday.
MANLY 18 (T Trbojevic 2 A Fonua-Blake tries D Cherry-Evans 3 goals) bt CANTERBURY 6 (R Smith try R Martin goal) at Lottoland. Referee: Chris Sutton, Tim Roby. Crowd: 7,846