NRL 2023: Manly Sea Eagles win 31-6 over Canterbury Bulldogs, Kyle Flanagan sin bin

The dog days are far from over for Canterbury, as a clinical Manly side shook off the pride jersey drama to put on a show for a sold out Brookvale Oval.

Kyle Flanagan was controversially sin-binned for a professional foul on Tom Trbojevic. Picture: NRL Imagery.

Maybe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The faithful who turned up to a sold out Brookvale certainly think so as the Anthony Seibold era started as good as the new coach could have hoped at Manly.

“We want to be connected to the community,” Seibold said. “We know how much the Manly team means to the northern beaches.

“I’m proud of the players. They’ve worked hard in the pre-season. Spent a lot of time working on what we’re trying to do this year. We spent a lot of time connecting as a group.

“It was a good feeling.”

Anthony Seibold gets a win in his first game as Sea Eagles coach. Picture: Getty Images.

All is not lost for the Bulldogs too who showed enough resolve in the opening 40 minutes that they will be a more competitive side than in recent years under new coach Cameron Ciraldo.

But the Sea Eagles stole the show in the battle of the new coaches. Manly dominated all but a 10 minute period in the first half.

Defensively they were brutal. No-one more so than centre Brad Parker who tasted success in the opening round of the season for the first time in his eight year career.

The platform led by Manly’s big men allowed them to expose a flimsy Canterbury edge defence.

The Sea Eagles were brutal in defence and ruthless with their attack. Picture: Getty Images,

“We wanted to build our game on our d,” Seibold said. “We felt we defended our try line really well. A couple of times they threatened with grubber kicks.”

The missing pieces for the Bulldogs is obvious. Their brittle middle was badly exposed with the injuries to Tevita Pangai Junior and Luke Thompson. And with the pair missing long-term there is no quick fix for Canterbury.

They conceded two tries with Kyle Flangan sin-binned either side of halftime and could not recover.

Five-eighth Matt Burton had a performance to forget.

Twice the Bulldogs kicked out on the full in general play and Burton sent another set restart out of bounds.

While most Bulldogs players had a game to forget, Reed Mahoney was ‘incredible’ in his first game for Canterbury. Picture: Getty Images.

“We made it hard for ourselves,” Ciraldo said. “Completion (rates) weren’t where we needed them to be. Where we gave them the ball wasn’t where we planned to. I thought we could’ve handled the (sin bin) better.

“We lacked cohesion.”

Reed Mahoney was a shining light given a new lease on life particularly in attack. Winger Jacob Kiraz was another strong performer for the Bulldogs while Max King was praised by Ciraldo.

Ciraldo said Mahoney was “incredible”.

“He showed why he is our captain.”

MATCH REPORT: DOGS REBUILD FAR FROM FINISHED AFTER MANLY DUST-UP

—Matt Cleary

In his first game for Manly since May of 2022, superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic enjoyed a stellar return to 4 Pines Park, playing a leading hand in his team’s 31-6 win over Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.

You could sense the Sea Eagles’ faithful holding their collective breath each time the champion fullback tested hamstrings so valuable and volatile that the Sea Eagles flew him to America for reconditioning by Bill Knowles, a famous hamstring expert.

Trbojevic’s movements away from the Steeden were controlled and low-key. He clearly played within himself. Yet when he turned it on he drew in defenders and gifted space to those outside.

Simply, where Turbo went there loomed possibility.

And a full-house of 17,217 left ‘Fortress Brookie’ – after their first win since round 18 of 2022 – happy to see him play 78 minutes well – and injury-free.

The Manly Sea Eagles put on a show for a sold out Brookvale Oval, cruising past a clunky Bulldogs side. Picture: Getty Images.

With temperatures nudging 27 degrees, Manly centre Brad Parker’s defence was strong early, ripping off three solid tackles in the opening ten minutes.

Perhaps rattled, Dogs pivot Matt Burton kicked out on the full. Four minutes later he swung a wide ball to Viliame Kikau who also kicked out on the full.

Trbojevic opened the scoring when he fell on a Daly Cherry-Evans grubber at the Bob Fulton Stand end.

Reed Mahoney scored on debut for the Bulldogs after his grubber ricocheted off the left hand upright and back into his arms before he was adjudged to have grounded the ball despite the ministrations of several Sea Eagles.

With six minutes to go in the first half Kyle Flanagan was sent to the sin bin for placing a hand in the small of Trbojevic’s back.

Kyle Flanagan goes to the sin bin for ten...

A HUGE call, but was it the right one? 🤔

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Reuben Garrick was over in the next set, beneficiary of a Turbo-charged try assist.

After Garrick converted his own try, quite a lot happened: Burton put the kick-off out on the full, Trbojevic fumbled, Garrick kicked twice, Josh Addo-Carr fumbled, the ball ricocheted into the Bulldogs’ in-goal, prop Max King grounded the ball just before Cooper Johns.

And the Sea Eagles went to the break leading 12-6.

Three minutes into the second stanza the 12-man Dogs shifted it wide within their own 20m zone before debutant Paul Alamoti fumbled and Daly Cherry-Evans toed ahead to score.

The captain had a double after Trbojevic ran off a Taniela Paseka bust and set Cherry-Evans free on 30m run to the line.

Garrick’s conversion notched 800 NRL points before Cherry-Evans landed a field goal and plucked an intercept and ran 60m for his hat-trick.

Things went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs, after Kyle Flanagan was controversially sin-binned for a professional foul on Tom Trbojevic. Picture: NRL Imagery.

Kikaut

The Bulldogs $3.2 million man, Viliame Kikau, had an ordinary first outing in blue-and-white, kicking out on the full and being easily contained by Manly’s right side defence.

When he was taken off after 65 minutes he’d made seven runs for 74 metres.

Home Debut for Hunter Prince

Melbourne Storm recruit Cooper Johns, the son and nephew of Newcastle royalty Matthew and Andrew Johns, enjoyed something of a home debut when he jogged out onto 4 Pines park in the No.6 jumper.

Johns is a resident of Collaroy and an old boy of St Augustine’s College, the high school a torpedo punt kick away on Alfred Road.

Johns enjoyed a largely composed and controlled debut with some tidy touches under pressure.

Originally published as NRL 2023: Manly Sea Eagles win 31-6 over Canterbury Bulldogs, Kyle Flanagan sin bin