Canterbury Bulldogs beat the Manly Sea Eagles in a thriller
VIDEO: THE Canterbury Bulldogs have defeated the Manly Sea Eagles 16-10 to advance to the preliminary final.
MANLY went into the match as premiership favourites. They came out the other side bruised, battered and on report.
The Sea Eagles were left counting a heavy toll that weighed far more than their 16-10 loss to former coach Des Hasler's Bulldogs in last night's finals series opener at ANZ Stadium.
Co-captain Jamie Lyon faces the possibility of playing no more September footy after leaving the field with a calf injury, while prop Joe Galuvao also suffered a match-ending ankle complaint.
See how we covered the game at our MATCH CENTRE
Of equal concern are the reports slapped on centre Steve Matai and Lyon's co-captain Jason King - both for first-half high tackles in the space of just two minutes.
Asked about the injury situation, ashen-faced Manly coach Geoff Toovey was almost lost for words.
"I wouldn't want to comment on it at the moment," he said.
"I'm not sure. (Jamie) has a calf. I don't know."
Asked for his opinion about the two reports, Toovey said just as little.
"It was a tough, physical game," he said. "It didn't look too bad to me. (But) we'll bounce back next week. There's no problem there. We're a really positive bunch of boys, we know what we need to do."
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If any club possesses the character to overcome deep adversity at this time of year, it is the Sea Eagles.
The type of character Hasler had built before defecting to Belmore late last year.
They will need it as they attempt to defend their title the hard way, while the Bulldogs will enjoy a week off and progress to the preliminary final.
Matai, whose judiciary record is far from perfect, was the worse of the two high shots after he had jumped up and hit Bulldogs winger Sam Perrett.
Only a minute earlier, King had swatted Bulldogs prop Aidan Tolman across the nose, but is likely to escape sanction. Lyon limped from the field and up the tunnel soon after and did not return.
"It was hard in attack missing Jamie," Toovey said.
Absorbing and fiery, the match was everything you would expect on the opening night of the finals series - even if it was messy at times.
The Sea Eagles led 10-6 at half-time, but the Bulldogs took the lead seven minutes after the break when halfback Kris Keating grubber kicked close to the line and scored.
The blinding speed of Bulldogs centre Josh Morris generated a try for winger Jonathan Wright in the first half, and it was again decisive in the second when he sent Dally M Medallist Ben Barba over for a try in the 56th minute.
Barba was denied a second in the 63rd minute when he sliced through out wide, only for video referees Steve Clark and Paul Mellor to rule backrower Frank Pritchard had obstructed Daly Cherry-Evans.
For their part, Manly had stayed in the game off the back of pure aggression and heart.
When they seemed to be burning out, back-rower Anthony Watmough would spark a melee, or cajole a Bulldogs rival - either Michael Ennis or five-eighth Josh Reynolds.
Despite the carnage, the heartening part of it for Manly was that the game wasn't dead until there were just 22 seconds on the clock when Glenn Stewart lost possession as his side pressed the Bulldogs line in search of the miracle victory.
"It was a brutal game," Hasler said. "A very tough game from both sides. Manly are a tough, grinding side. We'll enjoy the week off."
Said Ennis, who had left the field with a sternum injury but returned: "They're a great side Manly. I don't doubt we'll see them again if we're lucky enough."
Just like Toovey, neither Ennis or Hasler could remember the high shots that led to Matai and King being placed on report.
BULLDOGS 16 (B Barba K Keating J Wright tries K Inu 2 goals) MANLY 10 (B Stewart J Taufua tries D Cherry-Evans goal) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Ben Cummins, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 36,420.