Manly Sea Eagles power home to beat the Dragons 20-8 thanks to a Michael Oldfield hat-trick

MANLY relied on an unsung free agent - Michael Oldfield - to clinch a dour 20-8 victory over St George Illawarra at Brookvale Friday night.

Michael Oldfield

TWO weeks ago Melbourne Storm officials paid for one of Manly's cast of free agents to fly south and tour their facilities at AAMI Park.

Because neither Tony Williams, Kieran Foran, Brett Stewart nor Steve Matai were on the plane, the trip remained quiet until the mystery man grabbed a hat-trick at Brookvale last night.

Of Manly's 10 off-contract first- graders this year, winger Michael Oldfield boasts the lowest profile.

But the Sea Eagles junior and former junior athlete's three tries were the highlight of a grinding contest against St George Illawarra that was not sealed until his final try in the 74th minute.

"Hopefully this should help (me get a contract next year), but time will tell," Oldfield said.

"It's great to get one try let alone three, so this was special."

None of Oldfield's tries will make the end-of-season highlights reel, with the winger benefiting from superb lead-up work from inside men Jamie Lyon and Glenn Stewart on all three occasions.

But much like the tattered premiers, he nevertheless got the job done with a minimum of fuss.

One of four teams without a bye over the season's first half, Manly gladly limped into next weekend's blessed break with a host of stars on ice.

See how we covered the game at our match centre.

For the third straight week, Anthony Watmough failed to finish because of neck soreness that surely must be hindering his chances of an Origin recall.

And Jamie Buhrer's hopes of staying on the NSW bench took a dive after he walked up the tunnel with a back strain midway through the second half.

Throw in Foran's tentative return from an ankle injury and Jason King's withdrawal because of dizzy spells and it's understandable why coach Geoff Toovey was delighted following last weekend's uncharacteristic surrender to the lowly Panthers.

"They turned things around and showed what they are capable of," Toovey said. "We challenged a lot of people last week after the Penrith game."

With Origin team announcements and officiating bust-ups capturing most attention this week, the build-up to a traditional crowd-puller between two Sydney powerhouses was non-existent.

And a pitiful Friday night crowd of less than 12,000 reflected as much. They were rewarded with an 80-minute blueprint of physically exhausting football between two sets of iron-willed defence.

St George Illawarra's attack, however, is too far removed from the groove to threaten Manly's class and poise.

After Oldfield posted his second try to give the hosts a 10-2 lead just after half-time, the Dragons did admirably to respond through Daniel Vidot and threaten an upset. But they enjoyed precious few chances to crack Manly's tryline because of the opposition's short kicking game that forced four goal-line drop-outs.

So it was inevitable Manly would cash in, with Oldfield and powerful benchman Darcy Lussick securing victory via a pair of late tries.

The Dragons have now won just two of their past seven games - a pair of Houdini triumphs against the Roosters and Eels.

"We pride ourselves on having a dig and we certainly did that tonight," coach Steve Price said.

"We just couldn't play out the last couple of minutes."

And neither could Williams.

Widely expected to declare his future in the Manly sheds after full-time, T-Rex was not spotted and the suspense over his rumoured move to Canterbury next year continues.

Fulltime score: MANLY 20 (M Oldfield 3 D Lussick tries J Lyon 2 goals) bt ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 8 (D Vidot try J Soward 2 goals) at Brookvale Oval. Referee: Tony Archer, Chris James. Crowd: 11,855.

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