NRL 2020: Penrith Panthers beat Manly Sea Eagles 42-12 | Match Report
While Panthers are clear competition leaders, Manly’s finals chances are beginning to fade after conceding nearly 50 points, while their injury toll continues to mount, ending the game with just 14 players.
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A blistering opening 30 minutes by the Panthers led by Nathan Cleary helped Penrith blow away the Sea Eagles 42-12.
Manly have made a reputation out of ambushing their rivals at Brookvale. They did it just two weeks ago against the Eels.
But not this time around where they finished the game with just 14 players.
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*Roosters 18 Titans 12: Read full match report here
*Cowboys 12 Raiders 14: Read full match report here
Penrith – who won their seventh consecutive game - stunned the home crowd by racing in 22 points in the opening half an hour to keep their spot on top of the premiership ladder.
Manly’s poor start started when prop Addin Fonua-Blake fumbled the ball in the opening set of the game and Dylan Walker limped from the field soon after.
Cleary’s opening half was sensational laying on one try, having a helping hand in another plus kicking a 40/20.
Rookie winger Charlie Staines scored two of the first three tries while lock Isaah Yeo took advantage of some poor defensive work in the Sea Eagles middle of the field to cross.
The Sea Eagles clawed their way back from a 22-0 deficit when Jake Trbojevic scored to eventually trail 24-6 at halftime.
Cleary’s onslaught was only broken by the halftime break. He scored the first try in the second half after regathering his own grubber 10 minutes into the second half. He finished with a 18-point haul.
The Panthers halfback won the battle of the No.7s but opposite Daly Cherry-Evans tried his best to spark his side – laying on Manly’s try to Jorge Taufua with a cross-field kick and made a try-saving tackle after a Brent Naden intercept.
Ivan Cleary said Nathan is “having a good year.”
“He has been pretty good most weeks,” Cleary said.
“He leads our team around. His kicking game was really good. He stuck solid to the plan the whole night. He understands his role better, the game better.
“It was important we started well. It has been a corner stone of our game.”
MANLY WOES
Walker hadn’t played since round six after suffering a foot injury.
His return lasted just 10 minutes after again re-injuring his foot in Manly’s first defensive set.
Walker tried to play on but couldn’t and eventually limped from the field. While it is on the same foot, early indications suggested it was a different part.
Lachlan Croker – who threw a crucial intercept pass - replaced Walker off the bench but they have a ready-made replacement in Cade Cust who was unlucky to be dropped to accommodate Walker’s return after impressing when filling-in.
The Sea Eagles were dealt a further blow when centre Brad Parker (concussion) came from the field with 10 minutes left in the first half and did not return.
Curtis Sironen (knee) limped from the field with five minutes remaining.
“We will assess how we are fitness wise,” coach Des Hasler said.
“We will have some players. (Penrith) played well. Super-disciplined with the ball. First half we found it difficult to get into the game. You can lean on the fact (we have) injuries but they were better than us in key parts of the game.”
STAINES’ STREAK
Staines had a dream debut when he crossed for four tries against Cronulla last month.
And it took him just eight minutes to add to his impressive tally. By the 25th minutes he had a double.
Staines backed himself after receiving a bit of space to get on the outside of the Sea Eagles defence and slide over the tryline.
The second try was a piece of brilliance – with his whole body in the air above the sideline to plant the ball down for a try.
His try-scoring spree and the free beer at the Forbes pub came to an end shortly after his second try when he was replaced because of a hamstring injury, which Cleary said would rule him out against Canberra.
“It’s a shame,” Cleary said said.
“Pretty good finishers weren’t they? We have a lot of faith in Charlie. He is a good kid. A good future ahead of him. He has had a couple of those soft-tissues.”
SEA EAGLES 12 (Tries: J Trbojevic, Taufua & Goals: Garrick 2/2) PANTHERS 42 (Tries: Staines 2, Yeo, Crichton, Cleary, Naden, Koroisau & Goals: Cleary 7/8) at Lottoland.
SIX AGAIN CALL 10 MONTHS IN THE MAKING FOR RAIDERS
—Martin Gabor
A six again call 10 months in the making has helped Canberra to a crucial 14-12 win over the Cowboys in Townsville.
Down by four points, the Raiders were awarded a set restart by old foe Ben Cummins which led to a Curtis Scott try from the ensuing set.
It was little comfort given what happened against the Roosters last year, but it proved to be a telling moment on Saturday as the Green Machine did just enough to claim two vital competition points.
“I don’t think we deserved to win, but we found a way,” coach Ricky Stuart said.
You could hear the screams coming from the nation’s capital when Cummins awarded the Cowboys what would have been a game-tying penalty goal from in front, but a terrific captain’s challenge saved any potential drama when Dunamis Lui was ruled onside.
The Cowboys played with plenty of spirit but they were let down by poor execution at the business end of the field.
“We saw signs of the type of team that I want to see, but we keep shooting ourselves in the foot,” interim coach Josh Hannay said.
“At some point as a footballer – no matter what level of experience you have – you need to grow up and do your job in big moments.”
Six to go!
It’s a phrase that keeps Canberra fans up at night, especially when combined with the name Ben Cummins after last year’s blunder in the grand final.
You could only laugh on Saturday when referee Cummins restarted the tackle count when who else but Jack Wighton was held down late in the set with his side trailing 12-8.
A few plays later, the Raiders crossed through the returning Curtis Scott before Jarrod Croker converted to give his side a lead that they were never going to surrender.
Reason to sweat?
It wasn’t just the humidity that had Josh Papalii sweating bullets, with the representative star placed on report after his forearm made contact with the head of Cowboys fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow early in the second half.
The tackle was innocuous, but there’s no doubt the match review committee will look at it closely given the need to protect the head.
“He won’t have a case to answer. I don’t think he’ll be suspended for that,” Fox League commentator Braith Anasta said.
Kicking the habit
It’s not binding, but the saying goes that possession is nine-tenths of the law. Sadly, no one told the Cowboys. The best teams cherish the Steeden like their lives depend on it, but for some reason, North Queensland’s modus operandi was kick, kick and kick again.
It’s a great tactic in the wet, but putting boot to ball early in the tackle count for no good reason isn’t going to get you many wins. Anasta was miffed by the ploy that reaped no rewards against the Raiders.
In the first half alone, the hosts kicked early in the count at every opportunity, with one Ben Hampton chip going dead. You can only hope they play with more poise when skipper Michael Morgan returns next week.
A shocking kick by Jake Clifford 10 minutes into the second half would have had Josh Hannay reconsidering his career choices, but they finally went back to their biggest strength with powerhouse Jason Taumalolo smashing through in their next set.
Taking the Bate
John Bateman showed why he is regarded as one of the best back-rowers in the world with an 80-minute performance in his first game of the season. The Wigan-bound star showed no signs of rust, finishing the contest with 151 metres, 30 tackles and a try assist.
“Having Johnny Bateman there this week really stiffened that right edge up,” Stuart said.
COWBOYS 12 (Tries: Robson, Taumalolo & Goals: Feldt 2/2) Raiders 14 (Tries: Williams, Scott & Goals: Croker 3/3) at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville.
LUCKY CHOOKS HOLD OFF TITANS TO AVOID UPSET OF THE YEAR
—James Phelps
Trent Robinson declared his team “not good enough” after the Roosters held off the Titans to avoid the upset of the year.
In a wing clipping 18-12 scare at the SCG, Joseph Manu scored a screamer to save the Roosters the embarrassment of losing to the Gold Coast - but that did not spare them a spray from Robinson.
“You have to acknowledge any NRL win because they are all hard,” Robinson said.
“But I was really disappointed in the second half when we got to 18-6. I was not happy. Not happy. We didn’t shut the game and finish it and that is what was not good enough.”
SHOCK START
It took just four minutes for the Titans to expose the Roosters when Ash Taylor and Jamal Fogarty combined to give the premiers a wake-up call.
Expected to be cannon fodder even though the Roosters injury crisis deepened when Josh Morris was ruled out, the Titans showed they would be no easy beats when they busted straight through the middle to score what would have been the first try had it not been denied by the video-referee.
The Titans split the Roosters again in the 10th minute to stun the premiers with a 60m try.
Stripping the Roosters with an early tackle shift, Anthony Don pounced on an infield kick to land the blow after James Tedesco committed a professional foul in a failed attempt to stop the try.
SIN BIN CITY
Tedesco’s failure to stop the try was the only thing that saved him from the sin bin.
But the Gold Coast weren’t so lucky when Brian Kelly was marched for the same offence in the 16th minute when he obstructed Manu in what was ruled to be a try-scoring chance.
Keegan Hipgrave was also sin-binned in the second half in a Gold Coast double blow.
MANU MAGIC
It took the individual brilliance of Joseph Manu to finally break the Titans when powerhouse centre in the game plucking a bomb from the air to score a screamer.
Also saving a try with a contender for tackle of the year, Manu was the Roosters best.
“He was best on field,’’ Robinson said.
“He was an eight or a nine but I want him to turn into a nine or ten.”
WHERE ARE THE ROOSTERS AT?
A loss to the Raiders, an eight-point win over the Warriors and now a scare against the Titans, is anyone prepared to write the Roosters off?
No.
The Titans wouldn’t have stood a chance had it not been for the Roosters shocking injury toll.
No Boyd Cordner. No Victor Radley. No Angus Crichton. No Morris brothers. With just nine players from last year’s premiership winning team taking the field on Saturday, the Roosters still got the job done.
The question that will not be answered until the Roosters get their big guns back is whether or not the constant ins-and-outs will cost them a three-peat.
A MASTER CLASS
Trent Robinson gave Justin Holbrook full marks after his former student proved it was a case of lessons learned.
A former Roosters assistant coach, Holbrook came within just six points of matching Robinson in his first match against his mate and former master.
“Justin and his crew are doing a really good job,” Robinson said.
“He knows how to form a season and you can see that he is getting the best of them. They are improving each week and it is a real credit to him.”
ROOSTERS 18 (Tries: Aubusson, Manu & Goals: Flanagan: 5/6) TITANS 12 (Tries: Don, Sami & Goals: Taylor 2/3) at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Originally published as NRL 2020: Penrith Panthers beat Manly Sea Eagles 42-12 | Match Report